Senior Manager, Disputes, Digital Legal Delivery

JOB DESCRIPTION

About Herbert Smith Freehills

As one of the world’s leading law firms, we advise many of the largest and most ambitious organisations across all major regions of the globe. With over 5,000 people, including 3,100 lawyers and over 2,000 business services professionals, operating from our global network of offices across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and North America, Herbert Smith Freehills is at the heart of the new global business landscape providing premium quality, full-service legal advice.

We recognise that the success of our business and our clients relies on the skills, knowledge and ideas of all our people. Our environment is one in which high performance is expected, in return, we will provide you with rewards and opportunities tailored to your personal and professional goals.

The Opportunity

About Digital Legal Delivery

Digital adaption is presenting businesses with efficiencies and opportunities at pace – Herbert Smith Freehills is no different. Continuing to support our clients with this rapid change, we have created a team of the best analytical legal minds with investments in cutting-edge technology and technologists in our Digital Legal Delivery (Digital) practice.

Bringing together legal, project management, process design and technology expertise, our Digital group supports businesses who need invention from their legal advisors. Leveraging experience to map the intersections where people and tech deliver results, this team supports businesses undergoing their own digitisation projects and those who seek disentanglement from the manual and inefficient processes in the delivery of legal services. Experienced at delivering large and complex legal services, we are experts in the delivery of data-intensive mandates. 

Imagining possibilities, HSF’s Digital Legal Delivery practice is implementing the best technology solutions today, while horizon scanning and experimenting with emerging technologies to understand their practical applications.

Legal

In Legal we help shape how the firm delivers legal matters to clients. We have longstanding experience in thinking differently about law, and we are at the forefront of making legal services more efficient – particularly at scale.

We have a deep knowledge across a broad range of sectors, and a wealth of experience in delivering large and complex mandates. We are specialists in contract management, document review, volume claims and remediation, and due diligence.

Working collaboratively with colleagues from across the firm, we use our expertise in law, process design and technology to deliver solutions for our clients. Underpinned by our legal project management capability, we organise our collective effort as efficiently and seamlessly as possible. This ensures consistent delivery throughout and enables our clients to achieve efficiencies across their operations.

Legal Technology

In Legal Technology, we deploy the firm’s established technology efficiently and reliably across a range of client matters and projects.

We combine our expertise in document automation, custom development, eDiscovery and data analytics and client reporting – to work collaboratively across the firm on disputes, transactions and projects.

Digital Change

In Digital Change, we innovate, invest and push our firm’s boundaries when it comes to new uses of legal technology.

We experiment with technology and pilot tools to understand them deeply: their potential challenges and benefits, and how they can be used in our day-to-day work to provide better solutions for clients.

And we ensure we have the right internal governance when it comes to making decisions, so we can minimise risk, maximise our opportunities and provide consistency for our stakeholders.

Advisory

In Advisory, we bring deep expertise in legal operations and emerging technologies, working across any sector, alongside our teams or directly with clients.

We are trusted advisers to our clients on new ways of working as we scan the horizon, together.

About Digital Legal Delivery Disputes

We are experienced in complex large scale document reviews, sensitive and time critical investigations and regulatory matters, consumer claims assessments and volume claims management. Our teams work closely with and provide support to other Herbert Smith Freehills practice groups and we are continually expanding our service offerings. We are experts in complex review elements including legal professional privilege, commercial sensitivity and data protection working across all industry sectors including financial services, energy, retail, TMT and construction.

Role / Primary Responsibilities:

The Senior Manager will fulfil a senior and strategic role in supporting the Heads of Dispute.

The Senior Manager will work closely with the Heads of Disputes to deliver measurable cost-effective results that make the vision for the firm's Digital Legal Delivery business a reality. The key performance measure in this regard is to help grow the global revenue of the Alternative Legal Services business.

The Senior Manager will have responsibility for building relationships with the firm's global Disputes groups to build a strong reputation for Digital Legal Delivery, identify opportunities, develop business, grow product lines and to plan and oversee the delivery process of these services to those divisions globally.

The role will require a strategic and process-minded individual who has experience operating in a busy legal environment, with experience leading a team. An ability to help deliver a performance culture among a group of diverse, talented, technically excellent individuals and to win trust and to collaborate with partners and others across the organisation will be imperative.

This role will concentrate on clients and business development for the practice group, assisting the Heads of Dispute in the winning of new work, and expansion opportunities. The Senior Manager will have responsibility for the management of any issues arising, to ensure the needs of internal and external clients are met to a high standard and involving or reporting on those issues to the Head of Dispute

The Senior Manager will be responsible for the development and best practice project management for the delivery of work, including in respect of resourcing across global Digital Legal Delivery teams.

The team will work together collaboratively to ensure that the Digital Legal Delivery practice group continues to grow in accordance with our ambition and our targets (as revised).

The Senior Manager will assist the Heads of Disputes with business development for the practice group, assisting with the winning of new work, and expansion opportunities as required. While delivery of work across our offering in Disputes UK, US & EMEA will be a key focus, the Senior Managers will have responsibility for building relationships with the firm's global Disputes groups to build a strong reputation for Digital Legal Delivery, identify opportunities to assist the Associate Director, Disputes and Heads of Disputes develop the business, grow product lines and to ultimately plan and oversee the delivery process of these services to those divisions globally.

Key Responsibilities:

Working with the Heads of Dispute, lead the legal teams of Disputes Digital Legal Delivery to high professional standards, and process development. Closely collaborate with the Heads of Digital Legal Delivery to establish and maintain a global offering that differentiates HSF from its competitors whilst enhancing the firm's reputation as a world class professional services business Working with Head of Dispute to support and develop strong levels of engagement and communication channels with partners and staff as appropriate Collaborating with the Heads of Dispute and Directors of Digital Legal Delivery on the development of business strategy and implementation where applicable

Business Development and Growth

Develop the Disputes business in the region. Expand existing service offerings and identify opportunities to design and develop new service offerings. Maintain subject matter expertise in Disputes Digital Legal Delivery service delivery in specific areas depending on the strategic direction of the business. Develop strong relationships with internal and external clients. Build own profile within the firm as a disputes subject matter expert within Digital Legal Delivery.

Leadership

Provide inspired leadership to teams within the group for continuous improvement and innovation in the services and products delivered to clients and legal teams within the firm. Ensure the team enhance the firm’s brand in their interactions with legal teams and clients. Leadership and development of a culture to support the attraction, development, performance and retention of the highest calibre employees. Manage change as it impacts the legal groups in a way that minimises operational and client delivery disruption. Empower direct reports to fulfil their obligations across all offices of the firm.

Financial management

Assisting the Heads of Dispute in growing the revenue of the Digital Legal Delivery business in line with annual targets. Reporting on key financial metrics in respect of the Digital Legal Delivery Disputes Practice to the Heads of Dispute. Assist the Senior Solicitors and Managers, Legal Review in helping the partners to understand the financial drivers for the Digital Legal Delivery business. Ensure profitability of the Digital Legal Delivery business within region through rigorous management of costs. Ensure global alignment to agreed principles and compliance with financial disciplines. Participate in the development and management of annual budgets. Identify and manage key profit drivers to include utilisation, pricing, gearing and lock-up. Ensure the proper administration of financial controls and approvals of costs and pricing to include write offs.

Risk management

Ensure the business is aware of potential risks and that appropriate risk assessment is part of the process for taking on new work. Comply with Risk management obligations and responsibilities in accordance with the requirements for this role as set out on the intranet. Comply with WHS obligations and responsibilities in accordance with the requirements for this role.

Qualifications / Skills / Experience

Qualified lawyer with 6+ years of working in a legal environment, with a strong academic record Commercially astute with a demonstrable track record as a business leader Proven skills in business growth and planning, able to spot and develop business opportunities People management skills in a law firm or commercial legal environment managing team members at all levels and other staff in and out of region Experience resourcing, project managing and motivating teams to tight deadlines High level of attention to detail but can also step back from the detail and see problems, opportunities and trends Strong creative and analytical ability, coupled with sound judgment to balance multiple factors and solve complex problems Strong IT literacy, including an aptitude for learning (and becoming proficient in) the use of new and innovative software and IT applications

Please note that applications for this role will close at 12pm (BST) on Wednesday 31st July 2024

Team

Digital Legal Delivery

Working Pattern

Full time

Location

Belfast

Contract type

Permanent Contract

Diversity & Inclusion

At Herbert Smith Freehills you will be part of a diverse, innovative culture where high performance, client focus and highly engaged people are our differentiator. People at our firm come from a range of backgrounds and bring a wide variety of experiences and perspectives to their work with us. We strive to ensure that our inclusive environment means you feel valued and able to perform at your best by being your authentic self at work. We know that our future success not only depends on being innovative and progressive in the changing legal market but, most importantly, on our people feeling highly engaged in meaningful work.

We understand that you have commitments and personal interests outside of work and we strive to create a working environment based on mutual trust and respect, in which you can perform at your best whilst maintaining sustainable balance across your life.

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