Legal Project Management Analyst

Fisher Phillips is a premier international labor and employment law firm seeking an experienced Legal Project Management Analyst to assist with legal project management initiatives. The role focuses on enhancing client service delivery by implementing effective project management stages and maintaining financial performance reporting.

Responsibilities:

• Gaining a strong understanding of fee and billing arrangements for assigned clients, and ensuring an accurate and complete accounting of associated billing, including hourly rate-setting, fixed fees, carve-outs for work outside of the agreed scope, etc
• Maintain matter status reporting for assigned clients for the internal team, as well as for the client and insurer where applicable
• Designing and producing reporting that accurately summarizes financial performance, matter status, action items, and other needed KPIs, and communicate those results to partners
• Monitoring write-downs and write-offs on client work, investigating root causes, and working with timekeepers to avoid associated revenue loss
• Working with the Legal Project Manager and Director of Legal Project Management to promote better revenue capture initiatives, including improved time narratives, task codes, and better and more efficient identification of flat-fee, carve-out, or other alternative-fee billing events
• Communicating strengths and weaknesses of pricing arrangements to the Strategic Pricing Team to improve current and future arrangements
• Supporting and maintaining internal firm tools for assigned clients, including document collection, document automation, client portfolios, budgeting and tracking against a budget, and other tools as assigned
• Assisting with the scoping and assignment of legal work and tracking the completion of scheduled tasks on time and within budget
• Identifying scope variance and working with partners and managers to mitigate impacts on hours and financial performance through matter management and change orders
• Liaising with partners and clients as assigned to discover client needs and expectations, and performing quality control to ensure those needs are being met
• Monitoring leverage, staffing, and financial KPIs for assigned clients, developing progress reports, and working with the partners and Legal Project Manager on ways to effectuate needed improvements
• Interpreting financial information and data for non-financial personnel effectively, and implementing action plans leading to the improvement of efficiency, revenue generation, and profitability
• Identifying opportunities for improved efficiencies in the delivery of work via technology, processes, and staffing, and working with the Legal Project Manager, partners, and other key stakeholders to implement those changes
• Spearheading matter setup to ensure day one success, including rates, billing setup and client billing guidelines, EPLI and eBilling platforms, etc
• Partnering with various other departments and business units within the Firm as needed to provide project management support

Requirements:

• An undergraduate degree or paralegal certification required
• Experience in the implementation of the well-established project management stages for legal work (e.g., scoping/initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling, and closing)
• Ability to create and understand financial reporting
• Experience coordinating portfolios of work at the client and matter level
• Understanding and ability to communicate the levers that affect the profitability of legal work
• Ability to develop strong working relationships and credibility with Firm management, leaders, attorneys, and committees across the Firm
• Excellent interpersonal skills, and an ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external personnel
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Ability to delegate, manage resources, and effectively get work done through others
• Ability to think creatively and to innovate in a fast-paced environment subject to change, new technologies, and market disruptions
• Ability to glean key points and takeaways from guidelines, agreements, market and industry research, work product, and historical lessons learned in order to create succinct job aids that assist timekeepers in meeting client expectations
• Highly organized with the ability to effectively manage various projects and prioritize multiple assignments to meet deadlines
• Must possess superior judgment and discretion and be able to protect and maintain sensitive and highly confidential information
• Ability and flexibility to travel to Firm offices and events, as needed
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel in order to independently produce quality communications and presentations
• Minimum of three years of experience in a law firm, including two years in legal project management, is preferred
• Previous experience in a large law firm strongly preferred
• Previous experience working directly with attorneys supporting service delivery
• Previous experience with law firm billing systems and financial reporting
• Demonstrated success supporting legal clients in a national, multi-office environment