Manager of Professional Development

Duties & Responsibilities

The Manager of Professional Development, will work alongside the Senior Director of Professional Development, the Director of Legal Recruiting and Professional Development, the Managing Partners for Legal Personnel (MPLPs), the Practice Group Assigning Partners (PGAPs), and the Multi-Practice Assigning Partners (MPAPs) on all aspects of attorney professional development. The Manager will develop, implement and lead attorney professional development strategies for the New York and Boston offices, as well as firm-wide.

• Identify associate career development needs through scheduled check-ins, and work with the broader Professional Development team to design and manage the implementation of programs relating to attorney career development.
• Provide support to the MPLPs, PGAPs and MPAPs regarding associate staffing and utilization by creating and disseminating utilization reports, tracking workloads, and monitoring skills and experiences to make recommendations on staffing needs.
• Manage the staffing of junior corporate associates in the New York office, ensuring equitable distribution of work and tracking skills and experiences to support career development.
• Create and maintain relationships within the firm at all levels, providing one-on-one career guidance to junior associates while building a reputation as a trusted advisor.
• Liaise with Professional Development teams in other offices on Professional Development training programs and firmwide initiatives.
• Meet with new and lateral associates to welcome them, provide resources, and create orientation schedules and onboarding programs.
• Provide confidential advice and guidance to attorneys at varying levels of seniority on all aspects of career growth and development, including career planning and management, time and project management, work/life balance, transitions to/from leaves and potential next steps in their professional careers.
• Oversee administration of performance evaluation processes for New York and Boston associates and counsel, including reviewing, editing, preparing evaluations, and coordinating evaluation meetings.
• Work with the Associate Advisory Committee to address career and general professional development feedback from associates and to update and enhance new associate and orientation and lateral attorney integration training programs.
• Manage the exit interview process.
• In collaboration with the global training team, oversee communication skills and writing coaching programs and other skills-based training in NY and Boston and firmwide. Plan and execute programs necessary for New York lawyers to maintain their CLE accreditation such as ethics and cybersecurity programs.
• Manage multi-year associate mentoring program; advise other offices on mentoring programs.
• Directly manage training, mentoring and the evaluation process for summer associates in NY and Boston, in collaboration with the Legal Recruiting team.
• Monitor current trends and best practices in legal talent and professional development – implement new innovations, as appropriate, to ensure the firm’s efforts are innovative and cutting edge.

Qualifications

• A minimum of five years of broad-based career development experience. Significant experience in legal, consulting, or other professional services organizations, preferred.
• Demonstrated success establishing, developing, and managing robust career development functions in a national or international, multi-office environment.
• Expert understanding of best practices in professional development and career development.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to work effectively in a consensus-driven organization and to create consensus-based support for strategies and processes.
• Dynamic energy level. Passion for driving change and delivering innovative solutions.
• Excellent written and verbal skills.
• A highly organized and self-directed approach to work with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously. Impeccable attention to detail.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Sound judgment.
• An undergraduate degree required; an advanced degree in organizational development, human resources, social sciences, a related field or J.D. preferred.