Practice Specialist

A leading Chicago-based law firm is seeking a Practice Specialist to join its Banking and Financial Services team. We are looking for a sharp, motivated professional with strong project-management capabilities, excellent communication skills, and exceptional attention to detail. While candidates with prior project management or transaction-advisory experience will be prioritized, we are open to training highly capable individuals who demonstrate initiative and a strong interest in learning and growing with the practice. This role is also ideal for those considering business school or law school within the next 2–4 years and looking to gain hands-on experience in a law firm environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate closely with partners and deal teams to support client management, deal execution, and workflow coordination.
• Oversee all phases of project lifecycles—from initial scoping and planning through kickoff, execution, and completion.
• Provide clear and timely project updates to internal and external stakeholders, including clients.
• Support business development efforts and contribute to client-relationship initiatives.
• Manage deal workflows, maintain communication with client and internal teams, and ensure transactions proceed efficiently and on schedule.
• Assist with UCC filings, collateral documentation, and related monitoring tasks.
• Coordinate post-closing processes and align the work of team members involved in those efforts.
• Contribute to knowledge-management and technology-driven process improvements in partnership with the firm’s innovation team.
• Support project financial management, including billing coordination, collections, and preparation of fee proposals.
• Organize client-team and deal-team meetings and assist with business-development activities.
• Evaluate current procedures and recommend improvements to enhance operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
• Develop standard operating procedures for recurring project-management functions and implement process enhancements.
• Create and maintain tools to support practice-operations management.

Minimum Qualifications

• Strong project-management and organizational abilities, paired with excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Professional presence, adaptability, and the ability to take on varied assignments.
• Working knowledge of project-management and process-improvement methodologies.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• High attention to detail and strong time-management skills, with the ability to handle multiple deadlines and prioritize effectively.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to interact effectively with clients, attorneys, and staff.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within a team environment.
• Ability to leverage technology for research, workflow creation, form-document management, and general project-management support.
• Advanced proficiency in Smartsheet and Microsoft Excel.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with frequent deadlines; willingness to work more than 35 hours per week as needed, including occasional irregular hours.
• A commitment to exceptional client service, professionalism, and discretion.
• Strict adherence to firm security protocols and information-security requirements.