Manager, Legal Project Management

Firm Summary

White & Case is an elite global law firm serving leading companies, financial institutions and governments worldwide. Our long history as an international firm means we are perfectly placed to help our clients resolve their most complex legal challenges, wherever they may be.

With lawyers operating from more than 40 locations, working in virtually every country of the world, we have invested heavily in building a high-quality full-service practice competing at the top of the market. We are distinguished by our on-the-ground presence in the world’s key financial markets and our strengths in handling complex cross-border work.

It is not just about our global network of offices; it’s the global interconnectedness of the Firm that our people, and our clients, value most. We work well together across geographic and practice boundaries. It is one of the reasons we attract and retain cross-border work and why we attract a diverse group of people.

Our lawyers are globally minded, enterprising, collaborative and committed to excellence. Diversity is a core value of our Firm and it has been recognized with numerous awards and top rankings around the world. Our people represent 90 nationalities and speak 80 languages.

Position Summary

This is a unique opportunity to join a team that is implementing significant change, by focusing on client service excellence and process innovation. This Manager role is a key part of the Firm’s strategy to deliver an enhanced client experience, increase profitability and demonstrate operational efficiency.

This role is part of the Firm’s global Legal Project Management (LPM) team. The team was set up to work with our lawyers, as well as with our clients and their in-house legal and operational teams, to manage client portfolios and to co-deliver projects.

The main focus will be on Legal Project Management. From advice to delivery of the full project/matter life-cycle, the ideal candidate will have demonstrable project management capabilities preferably gained in a professional services environment. The candidate will be required to understand and assess business and change management needs and will have experience delivering complex projects across multiple business functions, teams, geographies/jurisdictions and industries, defining scope and identifying the most appropriate project delivery approach in collaboration with our lawyers, other key stakeholders and clients.

The Manager will have the opportunity to influence and help to grow the LPM capability and may also have line management responsibility for Analysts/Senior Analysts. They will be involved in development opportunities for more junior members of the global team. The Manager will be someone who is able to work with limited supervision to effectively build relationships and manage project delivery.

The success of this role will be measured by the candidate adding value to the organization by contributing to the roll out of LPM best practices, tools and techniques across our global practice groups.

Duties and Accountabilities1

• In collaboration with the LPM leadership, build out the LPM capability and pipeline of work, influencing Partners and lawyers to adopt LPM on their matters
• Operational management and co-delivery of legal projects/matters by:
  • arranging kick-off meetings, project team meetings and steering meetings, ensuring attendees, standing agenda, record keeping and circulation are appropriate to the meetings’ purpose
  • defining and validating project scope, not simply management of scope
  • defining and tracking timelines, milestones, deliverables, assumptions and dependencies at the outset
  • financial/budget management on projects/matters
  • tracking progress and escalating changes in scope, time and/or budget to project stakeholders and ensuring effective corrective action is implemented, where required
  • implementing effective risk and issue identification and management strategies, providing options for mitigation or resolution
  • leading post project review and Lessons Learned workshops
• Use of appropriate project management tools and techniques including drafting of all project-related documents and project artifacts such as project approach, project plans, schedules, action trackers, availability trackers, correspondence trackers, risk logs and status reports
• Implement and ensure effective communication strategies are in place and acting as the interface, where appropriate, to project specific stakeholders including  our clients, lawyers in other practice areas and offices, external and opposing counsel, as well as third party vendors
• Provide LPM guidance on best practices, tools, techniques, roles and responsibilities
• Collaborate with legal teams to identify the most cost effective level of resources available
• Collaborate with legal teams to draft and submit budget proposals and, with support from the Finance team, track and analyze actual project costs against budget and proactively address budget variances
• Build relationships and foster a collaborative approach between project work streams, as well as between our lawyers and our clients
• Focus on lean principles and use of innovation and business process mapping, contribute to continuous improvement of the LPM Team’s processes, including project management methodology, governance, training for legal teams and LPM best practice, and support change management to implement these elements
• Management of concurrent projects
• Management of client portfolios with emphasis on legal operations, disputes and transactional projects and management of Firm’s strategic client initiatives
• Line management of junior team members, as required
• Support LPM leadership with LPM collateral for bids, tenders and pitches to portray LPM as an innovative way in which to deliver legal services
• Contribute to the development of LPM training and deliver same to clients and lawyers
• Identify opportunities to cross-sell LPM services in our global business
• Be seen as a key contact point for Partners and senior stakeholders for LPM globally, and build relationships and foster a collaborative approach to working with clients and across all departments

Qualifications

• A minimum of three (3) years’ relevant experience in Legal Project Management required
• Significant experience of managing project teams and supporting complex, multi-jurisdictional matters in a dedicated project management capacity, including experience of working with global legal teams
• A strong academic record, preferably of graduate level (Law Degree or other relevant Post Graduate Degree an advantage)
• Formal project management qualification essential, for example APMQ or PMP
• Experience in change management
• Knowledge and proficiency in extranets, online data rooms, collaboration tools, legal tech and SharePoint sites; proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office including Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, Project and Power BI
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to manage multiple priorities with “can do” attitude, work cross-functionally, and meet tight deadlines
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; able to interact at all levels including with senior business stakeholders to negotiate and persuade in order to achieve successful outcomes
• Understanding of law firm financial and performance metrics and ability to analyze financial reports of varying levels of complexity, providing financial analysis with a focus on delivering value to clients
• Willing to challenge and question assumptions
• Ability to work well under pressure and manage/prioritize workload
• Advanced organizational and time management skills
• Flexible and resilient with ability to change and adapt in a fast moving, detail oriented environment
• Sensitivity to cultural differences across project teams

Location and Reporting

• This is a hybrid in-office/remote role, which can be based in our New York or Washington, D.C. office.
• This role reports to the Senior Manager, Legal Project Management.

Equal Opportunities

White & Case is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. It is our Firm’s policy to recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, religion, creed, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other category protected by applicable law.

If you require assistance and/or accommodation to participate in our application and/or interview process, please email the recruiting contact listed for the relevant position. We will be happy to work with you.

The Firm may modify and amend this job description at any time at its sole discretion. Nothing herein creates a contract of employment or otherwise modifies the at-will nature of employment. 

1The above is a general description of the essential duties associated with this position and does not represent an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all duties.