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Legal Project Manager

Employer
DLA Piper
Location
London (Central), London (Greater)
Salary
Competitive
Closing date
23 Jul 2019

View more

Vacancy Type
Other specialist roles, Project management
Contract Type
Permanent
Experience Level
Manager
Role Classification
Other Professional

Job Details

THE OPPORTUNITY       

The purpose of these role is to be a Legal Project Manager within the Legal Project Management team("LPM") team, which is part of the Service, Delivery & Quality ("SDQ") team. The LPM Team is client facing and acts as the business partner between the wider SDQ team and our clients. LPM is already well established and tested within the firm. The LPM team works alongside lead Partners to deliver legal project management activities and advise on best practice in relation to matter management.   

The focus of the LPM team is to drive and implement significant change by focusing on delivery, process improvement and innovation, to increase efficiency and provide excellent client service on the most complex matters through effective legal project management. This is an exciting time to join the firm as developing more efficient ways of working lies at the heart of the firm's current strategy.

You will demonstrate a track record of matter management within a law firm.     

The Legal Project Manager will report to a Senior Legal Project Manager. You will work closely with lead Partners and their teams to lead the project management activities and to co-ordinate delivery of the legal work to meet the clients' needs to an agreed timeline and budget. This will involve client contact from the outset to define and document scope, advice on and set-up of internal matter management structure and governance, resourcing and budgeting, tracking transaction and financial progress, managing risk and identifying efficiencies throughout the life of the project.

This role will be based in a specified office but the Legal Project Manager may be expected to

travel as and when required as part of their role.    

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES       

  • Provide Legal Project Management support in any of the DLA Piper offices as required

  • Working alongside the lead Partner and core legal team to support on project delivery

  • Coordinate work effort, scoping, pricing, planning, fee monitoring and reporting, status reporting, liaising with clients (where agreed), tracking scope changes, liaising with specialist departments and potentially other DLA Piper offices

  • The extent of activity per project will depend on the size and type of project. In some larger projects a fuller level of project management activity will be required with potentially greater interaction with the client but with smaller matters, a "Lite" level of project management will be needed to offer leaner support to the lead Partner

  • To promote the services of the Service Delivery and Quality team as well as those of other Service Areas as part of a holistic solutions based approach

  • Work with a Legal Project Management tool to set up and track the status of each project;

  • Research working processes through discussions with fee earners

  • Analysis of work product to identify any tasks that could be done by different/other resources

  • Introduce new working efficiencies where appropriate and develop improved processes, tools and systems

  • Roll out improvements and solutions through coaching and training sessions

  • Support fee-earners to ensure they have accurate information and support available to them

  • Develop strong working relationships with other departments and teams including Finance

ABOUT YOU

Technical:

  • Minimum of 2 years' relevant experience leading projects is preferred

  • Prince 2 or similar qualification is an advantage but not essential

  • Having worked "client side" is an advantage but not essential

  • Preferably experience of working in a large international organisation

  • Analytical and strategic mind set

  • Financially aware and numerate

  • Strong computer skills and experience in using MS Office tools (in particular Word, Excel, Outlook; PowerPoint and Internet Explorer)

  • Technology savvy - able to use various other IT tools to support efficient working processes

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Behavioural:

  • Exposure to professional services culture would be advantageous but not essential

  • Ability to grasp tasks quickly and work autonomously

  • Flexibility to adapt to different activities

  • Good attention to detail

  • Collegiate and team based approach

  • Customer focussed with desire to improve working practices

  • Strong communication skills

  • Analytical and strategic mind set

  • An ability to quickly prioritise between competing demands

  • Ability to multi-task

  • Maintain poise and patience under pressure

  • An excellent attention to detail

This job description is not designed to be exhaustive and can be varied, as required, to develop

or fulfil the role of the Legal Project Manager.   

ABOUT US    

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Our global reach ensures that we can help businesses with their legal needs anywhere in the world.  We strive to be the leading global business law firm by delivering quality, service excellence and value to our clients and offering  practical and innovative legal solutions to help them succeed. Our clients range from multinational, Global 1000, and Fortune 500 enterprises to emerging companies developing industry-leading technologies, as well as government and public sector bodies.   

OUR VALUES    

In everything we do connected with our People, our Clients and our Communities, we live by these values:

  • Be Supportive - we care about others, value diversity and act thoughtfully

  • Be Collaborative - we give, we share and we join in

  • Be Bold - we stand tall and challenge ourselves to think big

  • Be Exceptional - we exceed standards and expectations

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION       

At DLA Piper we are working hard to ensure that our talent pool is diverse. For us, diversity isn't just about visible differences, it's the unique blend of talents, skills, experiences and perspectives that makes each of us an individual.     

We know it's crucial to have a culture and environment where those differences are genuinely valued and that's why we strive to be a business where everyone can thrive, develop and succeed based on their talent.  Our aim is to build an inclusive and supportive culture where all our people feel they belong and can achieve their best.     

AGILE WORKING     

We recognise that people have responsibilities and interests outside of their career and that as a business, we all benefit from working flexibly.  That's why we are open to discussing with candidates the different ways in which we are able to support requests for agile working arrangements.   

PRE-ENGAGEMENT SCREENING   

In the event that we make an offer to you, and where local legislation permits, we may conduct pre-engagement screening checks that may include but are not limited to your professional and academic qualifications, your eligibility to work in the relevant jurisdiction, any criminal records, your financial stability and references from previous employers.

Company

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs around the world.

We strive to be the leading global business law firm by delivering quality and value to our clients, and we achieve this through practical and innovative legal solutions that help our clients succeed.

We’re proud to serve an international client base that includes more than half of the Fortune 250 and nearly half of the FTSE 350 companies. We help the world's top companies with their business-critical issues. Many of the deals we work on are complex and challenging – transcending not just practice areas, but borders, languages and legal systems. With offices throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, we represent more clients in a broader range of geographies and practice disciplines than virtually any other law firm in the world. Our lawyers have wide experience in arbitration, banking, competition and trade, as well as corporate crime and corporate finance. We have strong practices in employment, energy, hospitality and leisure, insurance, intellectual property, litigation, mergers and acquisitions and have developed key teams in pensions, private equity, real estate, tax, and technology

As a firm we are committed to diversity and to building an inclusive culture for all of our people, where differences are genuinely valued. For us, diversity isn't just about visible differences, it's the unique blend of talents, skills, experiences and perspectives that makes each of us an individual and we know it's crucial to have a culture and environment where those differences are genuinely valued.

Company info
Website
Telephone
+44 (0)20 7349 0296
Location
160 Aldersgate Street
London
EC1A 4HT
GB

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