Associate Director of IP Legal Talent

Cooley•Palo Alto, DC

15d

About The Position

Cooley is seeking an Associate Director of IP Legal Talent to join its Legal Talent team. This role oversees legal recruiting and associate development for the Intellectual Property Litigation and Patent Prosecution & Counseling practice groups. It covers recruitment of patent agents, law students, and lateral attorneys, along with the integration, development, and retention of non-partner attorneys and patent professionals. The position manages recruiting and onboarding, including candidate searches, interviews, offers, summer associate programs, new-hire orientation, and integration. It also oversees associate and patent professional development and retention, including check-ins, work-allocation and performance concerns, reviews, compensation processes, transfers, and development programs. Additional responsibilities include applicant and firm data management, budget variance analysis, cross-department collaboration, recruiting support, supervision of direct reports, and participation in employee lifecycle activities. The role requires at least eight years of directly applicable legal talent and/or associate development experience, including at least four years of management experience, and a bachelor's degree. The expected annual pay range for a full-time schedule is $200,000–$240,000; the final offer depends on geographic location, applicable experience, and skillset. Cooley offers a competitive compensation package and a broad range of elective and firm-paid benefits.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree.
At least 8 years of directly applicable legal talent and/or associate development experience.
At least 4 years of management experience, including some experience at the senior manager level within a professional services firm, preferably a law firm.
After orientation at Cooley LLP, proficiency in Microsoft Office, iManage, and other firm applications.
Ability to work extended and/or weekend hours as required.
Ability to travel as required.
Excellent attention to detail.
Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to facilitate and solve problems.
Ability to organize, prioritize, and coordinate multiple activities, often under tight timelines.
Ability to drive projects to completion and achieve goals.
Strong judgment.
Collaborative, team-oriented approach.
Ability to handle and maintain confidentiality regarding firm information, projects, and client data, if applicable.
High level of professionalism.
Proactive, analytical mindset.
Effective presentation skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with a patent practice in a law firm.
Previous experience with HR or recruiting software.
Previous experience managing a budget.
Supervisory experience.
Entrepreneurial nature.
Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and develop talent.

Responsibilities

Manage full-lifecycle recruiting for law students, lateral associates, and patent professionals.
Develop and implement recruiting searches and strategies in coordination with the Director of Attorney Recruitment, practice group leaders, and other stakeholders.
Respond to applicant and search-firm inquiries promptly, professionally, and accurately.
Oversee candidate tracking, interview scheduling, travel and accommodation coordination, and collection and assessment of evaluations.
Manage attorney offers, including recommendation memos and approvals, offer terms, due diligence, bar-admission status, and risk-management compliance.
Track and arrange timely payment of recruitment expenses; prepare and maintain candidate pipeline reports.
Represent Cooley at on-campus recruiting, law school outreach, clerkship recruitment, and diversity events as needed; maintain productive relationships with law school career placement professionals and lateral search firms.
Oversee assignments and evaluations for IP Litigation and Patent summer associates, and participate in mid-summer and end-of-summer reviews.
Coordinate new attorney and patent agent arrivals, orientation, onboarding, local integration, and/or mentoring programs.
Maintain regular communication with new hires to support their integration and access to needed resources.
Conduct periodic check-ins to assess satisfaction, engagement, and productivity; support practice group leaders and associates on work allocation, productivity, performance, and morale concerns.
Conduct focus groups as needed and report findings to department leadership.
Oversee inter-office transfer requests, including relocation; oversee the patent law school tuition program and compliance with patent bar policy.
Support associate and patent professional compensation and review processes; work with practice group leaders and the broader talent team to ensure reviews are prepared and delivered on time.
Meet with partners and the broader talent team to identify high performers and individuals needing additional training or mentoring.
Collaborate with Legal Education, Professional Development, and Associate Development colleagues on skills training and professional development initiatives.
Maintain accurate applicant tracking database and Worksite data; prepare and audit data reports.
Prepare, administer, and audit monthly variance analyses of practice group talent budgets.
Maintain constructive relationships with firm departments including Professional Development, Attorney Licensing & Compliance, Legal Education, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, Human Resources, Marketing, and Information Services.
Participate in local attorney recruiting professional associations as appropriate, and attend training and development programs.
Provide office- or practice-group-specific lateral partner recruiting support to the Director of Lateral Recruitment and Strategic Growth as needed.
Develop and maintain practice-area information for recruiting materials and the website.
Supervise direct reports, ensure they are trained, and provide guidance and support; monitor compliance with assigned work hours and firm and department policies; manage staffing coverage and review and process time logs and time-off requests.
Support business professional development and continuing education opportunities.
Collaborate with the immediate supervisor and HR on hiring, performance appraisals, counseling, termination, and other employee lifecycle events.
Perform other duties as assigned or required.

Benefits

Medical coverage.
Health savings account with applicable medical plan.
Dental insurance.
Vision insurance.
Health and/or dependent care flexible spending accounts.
Pre-tax commuter benefits.
Life insurance.
Accidental death and dismemberment coverage.
Long-term care coverage.
Backup care for children and/or adults.
Other parental support benefits.
Firm-paid life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment coverage for benefited employees.
Firm-paid long-term disability and short-term medical benefits for benefited employees.
25 days of paid time off each year.
10 paid holidays each year.
Generous parental leave.
Fertility benefits.
New employees receive a detailed benefits orientation.