Trial Operations Manager

The Manager Trial Operations is a senior operations role within the Trial Operations team reporting directly to the Director of Trial Operations. The Manager owns three interconnected workstreams across the firms regional office network: (1) Trial Partner coordination and case assignment (2) accelerating the resolution of cases that are not trial-worthy and (3) ensuring trial work-up compliance against firm pre-trial milestones.

This is a workstream leadership role rather than a people-management role. The Manager does not have direct reports but operates cross-functionally with Managing Partners Trial Partners handling attorneys paralegal teams and case operations staff to drive accountability throughput and outcomes on the firms litigation pipeline.

Key Responsibilities

Trial Partner Coordination & Case Assignment

• Maintain the firms Trial Partner roster and tiering data (win rates trial volume recovery amounts) in coordination with the Director.
• Recommend Trial Partner assignments for cases entering trial posture balancing partner availability case profile venue and tier-fit.
• Track Trial Partner workload and trial calendars across regional offices; flag conflicts capacity gaps and reassignment needs early.
• Serve as the central point of contact between Managing Partners Trial Partners and handling attorneys for assignment questions and escalations.
• Document assignment decisions rationales and outcomes in Litify to build a defensible audit trail and improve future assignment quality.

Resolution of Non-Trial-Worthy Cases

• Partner with handling attorneys and Managing Partners to identify cases in litigation that should be resolved short of trial based on liability damages venue or case-specific risk factors.
• Build and maintain a settlement pipeline view by office and attorney; report progress aging and stalled files to the Director on a recurring cadence.
• Identify systemic patterns (case types venues vendors) where the firm is over-investing trial resources on non-trial-worthy files; recommend process changes.

Trial Work-Up Compliance

• Own and enforce the firms pre-trial milestone framework across regional offices ensuring required work product is complete and timely.
• Configure refine and monitor Litify milestone tasks dashboards and exception reports to surface non-compliance proactively.
• Escalate compliance gaps to the Director and Managing Partners with clear root-cause analysis and remediation recommendations.
• Lead post-trial debriefs on work-up quality; translate findings into updated checklists templates and process documentation.

Cross-Functional & Operational

• Represent Trial Operations in cross-functional meetings with Managing Partners Trial Partners and Operation Leads.
• Draft standardized communications (Managing Partner memos attorney guidance vendor outreach) on behalf of the department.
• Contribute to the design and rollout of new Trial Operations processes tools and policies firm-wide.

Required Qualifications

• Strong proficiency with case management systems (Salesforce-based platform) and Microsoft 365 (Excel Word Outlook Teams).
• Excellent written communication skills including the ability to draft executive-level memos and structured operational reports.
• Comfort with data: able to build read and act on dashboards pivot tables and operational metrics.

Core Competencies

• Operational discipline converts ambiguous goals into milestones dashboards and recurring cadences.
• Judgment under pressure distinguishes trial-worthy from non-trial-worthy cases and acts decisively.
• Influence without authority moves senior attorneys and Managing Partners to action through credibility data and clear escalation paths.
• Process orientation sees firm-wide patterns and converts them into repeatable systems.
• Discretion handles confidential case strategy settlement posture and personnel matters appropriately.
• Bias for action pushes files forward closes loops and refuses to let work sit.