Legal Operations Manager

JM Eagle•Los Angeles, CA

36d•$130,000 - $145,000

About The Position

The Legal Operations Manager will design, build, and lead the organization’s Legal Operations function. The role will establish the strategy, systems, and processes needed to support the Legal Department, manage outside counsel spending, and deliver measurable business value. Working closely with the General Counsel, Finance, and business leadership, the manager will create structure, visibility, and financial discipline for the Legal function. An immediate priority is selecting and implementing a legal billing and matter management system. The role encompasses legal billing and matter management, outside counsel and vendor management, legal budgeting and spend reporting, contract lifecycle management, compliance, records and legal hold administration, process design, technology, and knowledge management. The manager will build operational infrastructure, including systems, guidelines, contract workflows, budget and reporting frameworks, and knowledge resources, and establish ways to measure cost savings, efficiency gains, and risk reduction. The position also serves as a primary liaison between Legal and Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources, Procurement, and Risk Management. It coordinates department reporting and cross-functional projects and leads training on company policies and Legal Department processes.

Requirements

6–10 years of experience in legal operations, legal project management, contract management, or law firm administration.
Demonstrated experience implementing or administering an e-billing and matter management system is required.
Experience implementing and enforcing outside counsel billing guidelines and managing invoice review, approval, and dispute workflows.
Experience managing legal department budgets, accruals, forecasting, and spend reporting in partnership with Finance.
Experience implementing or administering a contract lifecycle management platform and designing contract intake and approval workflows.
Demonstrated experience building and scaling operational processes and systems in a growing organization and optimizing processes.
Strong project management skills and proven ability to lead cross-functional system implementations from requirements through adoption.
Advanced analytical skills and ability to turn legal spend and matter data into actionable leadership recommendations.
Ability to handle confidential and privileged information with discretion and sound judgment.
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Legal Studies, or a related field required; equivalent work experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Demonstrated experience in technology management.
Intermediate to advanced knowledge of MS Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook; advanced Excel skills required for spend analysis, budget modeling, and reporting.
Ability to read and interpret legal and business documents, write reports and detailed correspondence, and communicate effectively with internal and external audiences, including executive leadership and outside counsel.
Ability to solve problems and handle varied situations with limited standardization; ability to interpret written, verbal, diagram, or schedule-based instructions.
Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
Ability to perform the essential duties, with reasonable accommodations where applicable.

Nice To Haves

Paralegal certificate, J.D., or M.B.A.
CLOC participation, legal operations certification, PMP, or Six Sigma certification.
Experience with platforms such as Legal Tracker, SimpleLegal, Onit, Brightflag, TyMetrix, or CounselLink.
Experience with contract lifecycle management systems, document management systems, and business intelligence or reporting tools.
Familiarity with ERP and accounts payable systems.
Internet/Intranet experience.

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end selection, implementation, and ongoing administration of an e-billing and matter management system, including requirements gathering, vendor evaluation, demonstrations, contract negotiation, rollout, and stabilization.
Develop the system business case, implementation budget, and project roadmap; manage vendor relationships and internal project plans.
Configure matter taxonomy, timekeeper rates, budget controls, approval hierarchies, and automated invoice review rules.
Implement, publish, and enforce outside counsel billing guidelines covering rates, staffing, billing practices, and expenses.
Establish invoice intake, review, approval, and dispute resolution workflows with defined service levels.
Integrate billing systems with Accounts Payable, the general ledger, and related financial systems; migrate historical matter, vendor, and spend data and validate its integrity.
Train legal staff, business partners, and outside counsel on systems; prepare documentation, training materials, and support resources; monitor adoption, compliance, and data quality.
Manage the outside counsel panel, including firm selection, engagement letters, conflicts intake, rate negotiations, and annual rate reviews.
Develop law firm performance scorecards and negotiate alternative fee arrangements, volume discounts, and fixed-fee structures.
Manage legal service providers, conduct vendor audits, and run competitive bidding processes.
Build and manage the Legal Department’s annual operating and outside counsel budget with the General Counsel and Finance.
Develop matter-level budgets, track spending against forecasts, escalate variances, and prepare accruals, forecasts, and variance analyses with Finance and Accounting.
Deliver spend analytics, dashboards, and executive reporting; identify and quantify cost-saving opportunities.
Evaluate, implement, and administer a contract lifecycle management platform.
Design contract intake, review, approval, and signature workflows; maintain templates, negotiation playbooks, clause libraries, and a searchable contract repository with metadata, renewals, and obligation tracking.
Report on contract volume, cycle time, and bottlenecks and implement process improvements.
Administer legal holds, track acknowledgments and releases, and coordinate data preservation and collection with Information Technology.
Maintain the record retention schedule and support compliant retention and disposition practices.
Support corporate entity management, including state registrations, annual filings, and corporate records.
Coordinate Legal’s responses to audits, subpoenas, insurance reporting, and regulatory inquiries; maintain department policies and support adherence to internal controls and documentation requirements.
Design and document Legal Department workflows, intake processes, escalation paths, and service expectations.
Evaluate, recommend, and implement legal technology; build knowledge management resources such as precedent libraries, FAQs, and guidance materials.
Establish department metrics and reporting and prepare recurring reports for the General Counsel and executive leadership.
Lead change management, communications, and training for legal processes, policies, and systems.
Serve as the primary liaison between Legal and Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources, Procurement, and Risk Management.
Manage department reporting cadences, leadership meeting materials, and cross-functional project coordination.
Coordinate training for Legal Department personnel on company policies and Legal Department processes.