Legal Staff Information Technology in Dallas, TX

Law Firm

Dallas, TX

Legal Staff Information Technology in Dallas, TX

Legal Staff

Min 2 yrs required

No

Job Title: Legal Project Management Specialist

Job Responsibilities:
The Legal Project Management Specialist plays a critical role in the Innovation and Value Department at the law firm. The specialist is tasked with creating, tracking, and reporting on alternative fee arrangements and monitoring matter budget progress. Key responsibilities include:

- Collaborating with the Client Value and Client Solutions teams, client relationship attorneys, and other attorneys to develop and align matter budgets with firm expectations.
- Providing timely status updates and tracking analyses, offering recommendations if arrangements exceed the agreed-upon scope.
- Supporting the firm's matter management tools and serving as the lead for the firm’s budget management tool.
- Developing best practices and evaluating new solutions to enhance matter and budget management capabilities in collaboration with Legal Project Manager(s) and the Senior Practice Innovation and Client Solutions Manager.
- Leading the implementation of approved budgets into the firm’s budget management application and managing new features and updates as the subject matter expert.
- Establishing budget alerts for matters using the firm’s financial alerting system and consulting with the Legal Project Manager to escalate budget issues when necessary.
- Tracking legal budgets by collaborating with attorneys, including monitoring actions, staffing, timelines, deliverables, and assumptions, and escalating activities when there are material changes in scope or status.
- Learning and applying knowledge of legal project management tools and systems such as Clocktimizer, Iridium, and BigHand.
- Working with the Legal Project Manager, attorneys, and clients to define requirements and develop custom budget reporting for external client portals.
- Preparing and managing financial and client status reports as required.
- Automating the firm’s legal project management workflow and task/phase code groupings, and creating dashboards to update matter budgets, view matter status reports, and search historical data for future matter planning.
- Assisting in the development and proliferation of best practices, tools, budget templates, and reference materials across the firm’s client portfolio.
- Supporting effective communication strategies on projects/matters that foster collaboration between project workstreams, including between lawyers and clients.
- Supporting post-project review and post-mortem assessments and recommending process improvements.
- Building relationships and fostering a collaborative approach when working with clients and across all departments.
- Performing other responsibilities as assigned and working additional hours as needed to fulfill job requirements.

Education and Experience Information:
Candidates should have at least 2 years of experience in roles requiring strong project and budget management skills. Experience in a law firm or professional service organization is required, and client-facing experience is a plus. A bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, management, or another related business function is necessary. Candidates should possess strong technical skills, including advanced Excel skills (such as vertical and horizontal lookups, macros, pivot tables, and modeling), and a high proficiency in Word and PowerPoint. Experience with data visualization tools like Tableau or Power BI is strongly desired. Candidates must also be proficient with pivot tables and data cubes and have an understanding of relational databases. Strong communication skills (verbal and written), meticulous attention to detail, excellent interpersonal skills, and the ability to manage multiple tasks effectively are essential.

Salary Information:
The salary range for the Legal Project Management Specialist role is $80,000 - $90,000. Actual salaries depend on a candidate's geographic location, relevant experience, and skillset. This salary range is one component of the law firm’s total compensation package, which includes annual discretionary bonuses based on performance and profit-sharing contributions. Additionally, the firm offers a comprehensive suite of benefits, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, life, accident, and disability insurance plans, 401(k) retirement benefits, commuter benefits, and well-being programs.

General Expectations:
- Promote positive work habits, including effective communication, teamwork, and demonstrating respect for colleagues.
- Contribute to providing the highest quality of service to internal and external clients.
- Take initiative and ownership of job responsibilities, ensuring assignments are performed successfully and on time.
- Understand and abide by firm policies and embrace firm values.
- Maintain regular attendance and work regularly scheduled hours.
- Ability to sit for long periods, type, and handle light lifting in a professional office environment.
- Comply with safe work practices, including compliance with the firm’s COVID-19 policies and safety measures.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:
The law firm is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information, or any other status protected by law. The firm values respect for the individual, community, and law, which is demonstrated in its recruitment and development of a diverse group of talented attorneys and professional staff to best serve clients and communities.