Sr. Manager, Business Development - Litigation

Gibson Dunn; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 220,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care

Retirement benefits

Paid time off

Performance-based bonuses

Job summary

Gibson Dunn is seeking a Business Development Senior Manager in Washington, D.C. This role will drive business growth, collaborate with lawyers on marketing initiatives, and lead delivery of business pitches.

Ideal candidates will have a university degree, 8+ years in professional services, and strong project management skills. Compensation ranges from $220,000 to $240,000 annually, alongside various benefits including health care and retirement plans.

Qualifications

• Solid understanding of law firm needs and priorities.
• Exceptional professional interpersonal skills.
• Strong written and project management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead client teams to create exceptional client experiences.
• Collaborate on cross-selling and bespoke offerings.
• Support business development planning with practice leaders.

Skills

Business development

Interpersonal skills

Project management

Microsoft Office

Problem-solving

Education

University degree

Tools

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

Gibson Dunn is a leading global law firm, advising clients on significant transactions and disputes. Our exceptional teams craft and deploy creative legal strategies that are meticulously tailored to every matter, however complex or high‑stakes. The firm’s work is distinguished by a unique combination of precision and vision.

Based in New York, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Los Angeles or San Francisco, the Business Development Senior Manager will be responsible for driving business growth and supporting lawyers with their marketing initiatives. Serving as a business partner to our lawyers, the Senior Manager will write and implement business plans—including identifying opportunities and target lists, develop unique offerings for key client touchpoints, lead develop a high impact team, and add value for our clients and lawyers.

This position will also lead the delivery of multiple business pitches, suggesting the go‑to‑market approach and how to position the firm to win while ensuring the content is up to date and accurate. This role will direct efforts to cascade new information about capabilities and client wins through marketing materials including practice group descriptions and attorney biographies.

This role reports to the Senior Director of Business Development.

Responsibilities

• Leading a select set of client teams, driving the group to create an exceptional experience for the client such as setting the agenda and cadence for decision making, presenting internal analysis and making suggestions for the approach. And taking responsibility for summarizing outcomes and driving action items to completion.
• Collaborating with other Litigation and Transactional Business Development team members to cross‑sell and develop bespoke offerings with multiple touchpoints for our clients.
• Working with practice leaders and individuals, supporting business development planning by overseeing target list management, identifying opportunities for thought leadership (speaking, writing), suggesting client events, supporting social media efforts and other strategic initiatives.
• Overseeing experience management for applicable practices and marketing collateral creation, updating and use in pitches, submissions, bios, web content.
• Business development coaching for lawyers at all levels, in group and individual settings.
• Partnering closely with colleagues on the practice management, client events, communications, content, technology, creative, directories, social media, and recruiting teams on regular and special projects.
• Overseeing client continuing legal education events, ensuring a strategic approach is taken to invitations, production and follow‑ups.
• Staying current on market intelligence, as a tool to support individual pitch efforts and practice area or region strategic projects.
• Creating a point of view on the competitive landscape and acting as a resource to practice, industry and office leaders by presenting updates on this as appropriate.
• Working with the CRM team to ensure high‑quality client contact data is maintained.
• Taking responsibility for the growth, development and advancement of junior business development team members.
• Submitting to select directories and rankings organizations to raise and promote the firm’s profile.

Qualifications

• Solid understanding of the needs and expectations of law firms and the ability to work in an environment with shifting priorities and many constituents.
• Exceptional professional interpersonal skills.
• Exceptional executive presence.
• In depth understanding of the practices and areas of law the position will cover.
• Significant experience managing a team of business development professionals.
• Strong written communication skills.
• Strong project management and time management skills.
• Exceptional in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Outstanding problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Attention to detail.

Experience

• University degree.
• 8+ years of experience in professional services, legal preferred.
• 2+ years of team management experience, with direct reporting lines.
• Experience with strategic business development planning and pitching, with litigation knowledge preferred.

Compensation & Benefits

The annual compensation range for this position is $220,000 - $240,000. The salary offered within this range will depend upon qualifications and other operational considerations.

Benefits offered for this position include health care; retirement benefits; paid days off, including sick time, and vacation time; parental leave; basic life insurance; Flexible Spending Accounts; as well as discretionary, performance‑based bonuses.

EEO Statement

Gibson Dunn is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities. We strive to ensure an inclusive and accessible hiring experience. The Firm will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities to enable participation in the application and recruitment process, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, participate in an interview, or otherwise take part in the recruitment process, please contact us at [e-mail]. This email inbox is dedicated exclusively to assist applicants with accommodation requests related to the recruitment process. Inquiries about the status of an application or other non‑accommodation matter will not receive a response.