Senior Legal Project Manager

Our Legal Project Management (LPM) teams sit within our global business units; Corporate Global Financial Markets or Litigation & Dispute Resolution. The purpose of the LPM team is to ensure that we can deliver an outstanding client experience on every matter every time.  It is an established and critical strand to our Innovation change programme with far reaching global coverage.

The Role

As a Senior Legal Project Manager supporting Litigation & Dispute Resolution (L&DR) you will have impact on how we deliver high end complex legal advice to our biggest clients.

Youll be accountable for the project management function and service delivery within L&DR and youll be responsible for strategically planning and building demand in L&DR to deploy legal project management resources and best practices on the firms largest and most complex mandates.

Youll be responsible for the operational management of a team of legal project managers your duties will include coaching and developing team members prioritising new work requests planning resourcing levels and acting as an escalation point when needed

You will dedicate approximately 50 of your time to work on client matters and deals as a core part of the client team recording time against those matters. You will help enhance the client experience and add value through efficient project management.

You will track workstreams work with clients monitor resourcing manage budgets and integrate solutions into our largest and most complex projects. You will bring new ideas and expertise to an evolving role within a rapidly changing legal market.

Who you will work with

Youll need establish strong relationships with Practice Area Leaders Practice Area Managers Transformation Champions Business Development and Transformation Directors. Youll able develop sustainable relationships understanding stakeholder needs identifying ways to address needs and demonstrate influencing skills to deliver the business objectives.

Youll spend 50 of your time working typically on one to two projects at any one time. These multidisciplinary teams will be made up of trainees lawyers partners legal tech advisors secretaries business development billing and anyone else in the firm who forms part of a client matter or deal team.  The focus of each of the teams you work with is to serve the client and to deliver excellent legal advice and guidance and to conclude the matter successfully.

You will collaborate other Legal Project Management colleagues around our global network. You will also work closely with other members of the Transformation community.

What you will be responsible for

Youll support our partners working on some of the most complex matters with a chance to drive deliver and implement outstanding project management on our largest and legal matters.

Youll be responsible for the overall service delivery of a small team of legal project managers.

Youll be responsible for developing and coaching project management best practice.

What you will do

We are the front runners of change delivery in the legal sector and everyone who joins our team becomes an integral part of shaping a rapidly developing area of law that is critical to the Firms strategy.

Team responsibilities

• Develop a strong pipeline of business development activities to generate sufficient demand levels based on your team size.

• Develop team members through coaching training and promoting professional development opportunities and tools.

• Carefully plan team resourcing monitoring utilisation levels portfolio of projects and prioritising new work requests to ensure workloads remain manageable.

• Working with members of the global Legal Project Management function define best practice and service delivery models by work type.

Project responsibilities

• You will assist and attend client pitches providing a compelling explanation of how the firm will effectively manage the project to time cost and quality

• You will assist with the preparation of all project initiation documentation such as prepare scope resourcing and budget proposals for relevant matters or workstreams and then track progress against those proposals

• You will dissect problems and processes and apply logical and analytical approaches to solving them

• You will positively influence the individuals you work with (across a range of roles and seniority) to change and adapt their ways of working.  

• You will clearly explain theoretical concepts to senior stakeholders including clients and be comfortable amending your delivery approach and style. 

• You will manage effective planning:  over the short medium and long term then execute against those plans such as documenting minutes actions and tracking workstreams. Throughout each project you will:
  • Continually assess and understand where issues are and how they can be addressed and then provide and implement pragmatic solutions to ensure the programme moves forward
  • Identify risks; such as conflicting deadlines or a lack of skills and then provide alternative solutions to mitigate the risk
  • Monitor accruals and manage the project against agreed budgets including scope change
  • Responsible for influencing and integrating new ways of working to improve service delivery

• You will be responsible for allocating project management work and tasks for specific matters to the appropriate resources within the Legal Project Management function

• You will advise and engage with legal technology tools available to provide support to efficiently manage your projects

• You will take regular feedback and direction from your colleagues and adjust and adapt your style and plans

• You will deliver presentations and facilitate workshops and form part of the client pitch and relationship teams as needed

• You will work directly with Clients positively representing Clifford Chance and as required working from Client site locations independently.

• You will build strong and deep Client relationships through your activities on Client projects and/or Client relationship teams. Contributing towards delivering the firms strategic priorities for the Client.

Qualifications :

Your Experience

You will have either have a background in project management ideally gained within a professional services or complex matrix environment or you will have been a lawyer with extensive experience of matter management.

Experience or knowledge of supporting a Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice is preferable but not essential

A qualification or industry recognised certification in project or programme management would be desirable but is not essential as we are happy to support team members with these qualifications.

Collaboration influencing and internal networking are all key skills to make an impact as a Senior Legal Project Manager within the Firm. 

How we will support you

As a Firm we make a significant investment in training and supporting members of the team through their careers at the Firm. We continuously develop careers structures to aid the skill development and progression of team members.

We offer assistance and funding for externally recognised training qualifications including Lean Six Sigma Prince2 and training in change management and technology. In addition to this the nature of the work and interaction with the team will drive continuous onthejob learning and youll all have access to our global training and development centre the Academy.

The team is enriched by a wide range of knowledge and made up of people with vastly differing career backgrounds and experiences coming from the other professional services firms within the legal industry and from corporates.

Additional Information :

Hybrid Working

This role follows our balanced hybrid working approach and as long as business needs allow you will be supported to work in a hybrid way with the expectation of working from the office for a minimum of 50 of your time.

Equal Opportunities

At Clifford Chance we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team and their families our firm and society. 

We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally regardless of their gender gender identity and expression marital or civil partnership status race colour national or ethnic origin social or economic background disability religious belief sexual orientation or age.  This applies to recruitment and selection terms and conditions of employment including pay promotion training transfer and every other aspect of employment.

We have a variety of flourishing employee networks. These networks are a place for colleagues to share experiences and advocate for change wherever they see an opportunity for improvement.

Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our firm.

Find out more about our inclusive culture here

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