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Legal Project Manager - 12 Month Fixed Term Contract

Employer
Allen & Overy LLP
Location
London (Central), London (Greater)
Salary
Competitive
Closing date
21 Jun 2021

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

Job Details

Job description

The Project Management Office (PMO) is dedicated to providing legal project management tools, training and support to our lawyers to enhance the delivery of our legal work, setting us apart from our competitors.   Additionally to support our most complex matters, the PMO provides legal project manager resource.

Role Purpose

  • The purpose of this role is to help increase efficiency, provide exceptional client service and increase profitability on our most complex matters through effective legal project management. 
  • This position will accelerate our ability to deliver tangible financial and non-financial benefits on selected key matters (in conjunction with the legal team), and to develop, co-ordinate, and implement consistent best practice across our firm. 
  • Working closely with Senior Legal Project Managers and lead partners, the Legal Project Manager (LPM) will assist the efficient management of sophisticated client engagements, and will relieve busy lawyers of certain non-legal activities delegating to more junior members of the PMO as appropriate.
  • The LPM will directly support those matters where management to the agreed commercial terms is critical, and where there are a large number of practice areas, fee earners or jurisdictions involved. Support will primarily be given by supporting client teams to better manage project scope and delivery, resulting in capturing out of scope revenue, minimising write-offs, and improving overall matter efficiency
  • The LPM will help foster the integration of legal project management techniques into the culture of the firm and in specific client engagements through the utilisation of the firm’s technology, the deployment of firm resources, and by helping to engineer engagement plans that result in high value to the client, exceptional client service and high profitability for the firm.
  • The LPM will be assisting with defining and implementing legal project management best practices throughout the firm through training and tool development. 

The successful candidate will be a qualified junior lawyer or experience as a Legal Project Manager who is hard working, enthusiastic, a team player, has a high level of initiative and a willingness to learn.  Advanced organisational skills, attention to detail and exemplary writing skills are key.  The role is a 12 Month fixed term contract and will involve direct client contact therefore excellent communication, professionalism and interpersonal skills are essential. 

Role and responsibilities
Supporting the lead matter partner and matter manager through the lifecycle of our complex matters, specifically:

Planning Phase

  • Assisting the Senior Legal Project Manager with:
  • Scoping; budgeting; setting up project phases
  • Preparation of project plans / timelines for internal and external use 
  • Coordinating matter opening process
  • Identifying stakeholders and establish a communication plan

Execution Phase
Assisting the Senior Legal Project Manager with:

  • Co-ordinate work effort; status reporting; liaising with client and communicating progress; tracking scope changes
  • Financial management: on-going monitoring of fees, run rates and other key financial metrics; regular updates to the client on fees and disbursement; review of fee-earner narratives to ensure they are to the client agreed format
  • Updates to project plans / timelines
  • Co-ordinate cross-departmental / jurisdictional activity
  • Co-ordinate creation and execution of work plans
  • Ensure effective communication with specialist departments and counsel (internal and external); and that the communication plan is adhered to
  • Provide timely updates to matter partner and matter manager on potential issues identified  
  • Risk and change management 

Review & Close Phase
Assisting the Senior Legal Project Manager with:

  • Supporting the post-matter review process including: update project plans / timelines; review matter finances; facilitate learning for future similar matters
  • Ensure know-how is archived
  • Co-ordinate matter closing process

More generally
Assisting the Senior Legal Project Manager with:

  • Identify improvements to work product and processes and support implementation of their improvement
  • Maintain a close relationship with support departments to communicate potential improvements to software and systems 
  • Introduce new working efficiencies where appropriate and coach team 
  • The position will require the skills of an individual capable of facilitating process mapping planning sessions, data collection and analysis, implementing improvements and controls and leveraging technology and knowledge management solutions

Key requirements

  • The role is also appropriate for a junior to mid-level lawyer from a magic or silver circle firm, who excels at matter management
  • Experience as a project manager in a law firm or professional services firm on client facing, fee-earning legal projects,  management experience a plus
  • Experience as a project manager in a law firm or professional services firm on client facing, fee-earning legal projects,  management experience a plus
  • Demonstrated experience in leading and managing (to time and budget) workstreams within complex projects that are strategic and large in scope 
  • It is essential the incumbent is comfortable with financial management
  • Advanced organisational and influencing skills, flexibility of style, attention to detail, and ability to multi-task in a fast-paced, detail-oriented environment
  • Possess a high degree of initiative and independent judgment with excellent troubleshooting, decision-making, and follow-through skills
  • Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders
  • High-level interpersonal skills to facilitate communication in person, by email, and telephone with professionalism and diplomacy. Very strong facilitation and presentation skills
  • Degree level qualification; desirable to have project management certification (e.g. PRINCE2)
  • High level of proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and Extranets, with strong technical skills and the ability to learn new applications quickly

Allen & Overy LLP is committed to being an inclusive employer and we are happy to consider flexible working arrangements.

Additional information - External

It’s Time
Allen & Overy is a leading global law firm operating in over thirty countries. Embracing new trends and harnessing decades of experience, we’ve earned our place at the forefront of the legal industry. Our partners are recognised as leaders in their field and our deals and cases often make headline business news. As a result, we’ve developed a reputation for delivering excellence, in all that we do. Today, we’re continuing to break new ground. By embracing new ways of thinking and integrating technology into our everyday work, we’ve been named as the Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe by the Financial Times five times.

Join our team and you’ll be part of a flexible, inclusive culture underpinned by openness and acceptance. We’re driven by the belief that, to perform, people need support and space to collaborate. By combining those values with an ambitious outlook, we can give you the opportunity to thrive.

Company

With over 5,600 people in over 40 offices, Allen & Overy is a business doing work of global significance.

Our success is built on the work of talented and motivated people who thrive in a supportive and collaborative environment, dedicated to delivering an exceptional standard of work for our clients. We’re ambitious and forward-thinking, committed to growing our business and meeting the future head-on. We’re not afraid of change, and we believe in challenging the status quo.

What we do goes beyond delivering an outstanding service. We lead the market by creating new solutions for our clients’ most complex legal and business challenges, helping them grow, innovate and thrive. By thinking creatively and entrepreneurially, we challenge expectations, push boundaries and build for the future. We draw on a world-leading network of expertise and a unique platform – such as our Advanced Delivery services and our network of Peerpoint consultants, to set the highest standards for our industry.

Global coverage in today’s market does not simply mean having offices in important cities around the world. For us, it means combining our global resources and sector expertise to work on matters that cross international boundaries with our culturally and geographically diverse teams. For you, it means that wherever you work, you’ll find a culture of inclusion and support – feeling confident to bring your whole self to work every single day. We have developed a culture in which difference is positively valued, and our people are free to be themselves.  At A&O, you're not only valued for what you do, but for who you are. 

We are in every sense one global team; supportive and collaborative, but also ambitious and driven.  Our capacity to combine these qualities and provide a setting in which our people can thrive is what makes us different.

Company info
Website
Telephone
+44 (0) 20 3088 0000
Location
One Bishops Square
London
E1 6AD
GB

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