Strategic Lateral Onboarding & Intake Lead

Sidley Austin LLP; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 300,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago, Illinois, seeks a Lateral Intake Director to lead the onboarding of new lateral partners and their client matters. Reporting to the Deputy General Counsel, you will coordinate conflicts, new business intake, and cross-functional teams to ensure fast, accurate transitions with minimal disruption to practice continuity.

The role requires a JD, 10+ years in conflicts/new business intake or legal operations at a large firm, plus strong program and project management

Qualifications

• J.D. required with bar admission.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in conflicts, new business intake, legal operations, or related risk management at a large firm, including 3+ years in leadership.
• Experience managing complex cross-functional projects with multiple stakeholders and deadlines.
• Working knowledge of ABA Model Rules and law firm conflicts processes.
• Experience with law firm new business intake and lateral partner integration.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and conflicts/risk management applications.

Responsibilities

• Direct the lateral partner onboarding and intake program as the principal point of accountability for opening new matters.
• Collaborate with Lateral Recruiting, Lateral Clearance, and New Business teams to prioritize conflicts searches and matter openings.
• Coordinate with Accounting, Billing, Records Management, IT, HR, and BD to align systems access and billing setup.
• Establish onboarding timelines and KPIs; escalate delays to senior leadership.
• Serve as primary contact for lateral partners during transition.
• Develop and maintain firm-wide policies and playbooks for onboarding.
• Lead cross-functional staff, provide guidance and performance feedback.
• Report on status of transitions, onboarding metrics, and risks.
• Collaborate on pre-arrival due diligence and onboarding planning.
• Perform special projects related to integration and new business intake.
• Leverage AI to improve processes.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Attention to detail

Discretion/confidentiality

Communication skills

Problem solving

Multi-project management

Education

J.D.

Tools

Intapp Open

Intapp Walls

Elite

Job description

Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago, Illinois, seeks a Lateral Intake Director to lead the onboarding of new lateral partners and their client matters. Reporting to the Deputy General Counsel, you will coordinate conflicts, new business intake, and cross-functional teams to ensure fast, accurate transitions with minimal disruption to practice continuity.

The role requires a JD, 10+ years in conflicts/new business intake or legal operations at a large firm, plus strong program and project management