Professional Development Specialist

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett • New York, NY

10d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Professional Development Specialist supports the professional staffing and development of associates and counsel within the Energy & Infrastructure practice. The role covers staffing coordination and assignments, talent engagement initiatives, mentoring, development initiatives, performance management processes, and efforts to provide a positive and consistent attorney experience across the practice. The specialist is a trusted point of contact for attorneys and escalates complex talent-related matters to Legal Talent management as appropriate. The role reports primarily to the Manager, Legal Talent, with a secondary reporting line to the Firm’s Director, Legal Training and Development.

The specialist works with staffing partners and Professional Development Managers to evaluate staffing requests, recommend resource allocation, monitor utilization and availability, and support equitable assignment distribution and resource planning. The role also coordinates onboarding, manages absence and vacation tracking, supports attorney engagement and mentoring programs, assists with performance reviews and talent discussions, maintains staffing and talent data, and contributes to practice group initiatives and ad hoc projects.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of relevant experience, including prior experience in a law firm and/or staffing experience.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Superior judgment and ability to handle confidential information discreetly.
• Ability to interact well and build professional relationships, with a collaborative approach across all levels and departments.
• Ability to self-direct, manage multiple priorities, analyze needs, and implement solutions.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail for long- and short-term projects and responsibilities.
• Experience with Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as other legal personnel and recruiting applications.
• Flexibility to adjust hours to meet departmental needs.
• Professionalism and ability to provide quality service to internal firm members and departments, as well as external clients and vendors.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree preferred; advanced experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Familiarity with legal AI preferred.

Responsibilities

• Partner with staffing partners and Professional Development Managers to monitor attorney utilization and help maintain equitable workloads across the group.
• Evaluate staffing requests and recommend resource allocation based on availability, experience, skills, utilization, and desired exposure to matters and teams.
• Build rapport with mid-senior associates through in-person, telephone, and Zoom meetings.
• Help provide associates with varied matter experiences while balancing development opportunities with client needs.
• Maintain consistency of experiences and equitable distribution of assignments across the practice area.
• Maintain and analyze staffing databases, utilization reports, charts, and related metrics.
• Monitor associate availability and utilization trends and prepare reports and recommendations for staffing decisions and resource planning.
• Coordinate with staffing partners and Legal Talent colleagues on cross-office staffing, secondments, and other staffing initiatives as appropriate.
• Coordinate and facilitate staffing introductions, welcome meetings, lunches, internal communications, integration, and onboarding activities for new associates, counsel, and lateral hires.
• Update group lists and onboarding resources.
• Monitor and track absence time, maintain vacation calendars, coordinate matter-team coverage during attorney absences, and track vacation carryover.
• Build trusted professional relationships with staff attorneys, associates, and counsel through regular check-ins, learning about their professional experiences, development objectives, availability, engagement, and well-being.
• Identify engagement, retention, staffing, and professional development opportunities or concerns; recommend appropriate actions and escalate matters to Legal Talent management when necessary.
• Work with the Legal Talent team to pair associates and counsel with mentors and partner advisors.
• Encourage associates and counsel to connect with mentors and advisors and discuss professional development goals; provide a feedback loop among attorneys, Legal Talent, and group partners.
• Collaborate with the Director of Practice Management to plan and facilitate team-building events.
• Assist in monitoring and maintaining associate compliance with firm and professional policies, including CLE and bar exam requirements.
• Ensure each associate and counsel receives thorough evaluations and developmental objectives.
• Assist with verbal intake of partner feedback and update the VI feedback tracking system.
• Participate in talent review discussions and help prepare materials, reports, and analyses related to attorney performance and development.
• Coordinate with professional service team members, including the Director of Practice Management, Knowledge Management Lawyer, and Training and Development Manager, to advance practice group initiatives.
• Analyze and maintain accurate data and reporting in staffing and talent management systems.
• Work on ad hoc projects as needed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level