Senior Legal Project Manager

King & Spalding•New York City, NY

13d•Onsite

About The Position

King & Spalding is a leading global law firm committed to excellence, innovation, and the seamless delivery of legal services. We utilize innovative technology and exceptional talent to meet the complex needs of our clients in a fast-paced and dynamic legal landscape. The Senior Legal Project Manager will be responsible for project managing some of the Firm’s largest and most complex legal matters and portfolios. This role involves working alongside practice groups, matter teams, and partners to provide strategic and operational support across project management, staffing, budgeting & fee arrangements, and client communications, ensuring matters are delivered on time, within scope, and in line with client expectations. Additionally, the Senior Manager will have the opportunity to shape and scale the Firm’s Legal Project Management capabilities and best practices, driving meaningful improvements to legal service delivery and client service through streamlining workflows, championing process efficiencies, and maximizing matter performance. This role reports to the Director of Pricing and Legal Project Management and includes line management responsibility for other team members.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required
Formal project management qualification is preferred, for example APMQ or PMP
Minimum of 7+ years of legal project management, legal operations, or practice management experience within a law Firm environment
Prior experience managing or mentoring a team, including performance management and professional development responsibilities
Significant experience of managing project teams and supporting complex, multi-jurisdictional matters in a dedicated project management capacity including experience of working with global legal teams
Strong knowledge of legal project management methodologies, approaches and processes
Strong interpersonal and communication skills, able to interact at all levels including with senior business stakeholders to negotiate and influence in order to achieve desired outcomes and build trusted relationships across all levels of the Firm and client organizations
Strong commercial acumen and financial analysis skills, including the ability to prepare analyses, provide valuable insight and recommendations
Excellent leadership, organizational, and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities
Flexible and resilient with ability to change and adapt in a fast moving, detail-oriented environment
High level of proficiency across Microsoft suite of products (Excel Word, PowerPoint, SQL, Power BI, Project, etc.) and artificial intelligence tools such as Co-pilot and Harvey
Ability to protect and maintain confidential and sensitive information

Nice To Haves

JD or master’s degree in business, finance, accounting, or a related field preferred

Responsibilities

Lead the planning, execution, and delivery of complex legal matters and client portfolios by developing and maintaining matter plans (including timelines, milestones & deliverables), performance trackers, status reports, and communication plans.
Partner with attorneys, clients, business services personnel, and other stakeholders to define matter scope, objectives, staffing needs, roles, responsibilities, workstreams, and key success measures.
Develop, monitor, and manage matter and portfolio budgets, including spend tracking, forecasting, timelines, deliverables, scope changes, budget revisions/issues; identify risks/bottlenecks and escalate concerns appropriately; and recommend practical mitigation or corrective actions.
Serve as a senior point of contact for partners, matter teams, clients, and key internal stakeholders, providing consolidated updates, executive summaries, strategic insights, and recommendations across matters and portfolios.
Facilitate matter governance and collaboration, including kick-off meetings, project team meetings, steering meetings, agenda development, follow-up tracking, and coordination across practice groups, offices, external counsel, vendors, and clients.
Support fee arrangement and client outside counsel guideline management by helping prepare summaries, communicate and monitor the implementation thereof, across matters and client portfolios.
Advise partners and matter teams on staffing and resource allocation strategies, balancing capacity, expertise, leverage, workload, and client requirements to support efficient and effective matter delivery.
Develop, refine, and promote LPM methodologies, templates, playbooks, workflows, reporting tools, dashboards, and best practices to improve consistency, scalability, efficiency, and profitability across the Firm.
Contribute to business development and client relationship efforts by supporting pitches, RFP responses, client presentations, LPM collateral, and opportunities to demonstrate innovative and efficient legal service delivery.
Evaluate, implement, and optimize LPM technology, data analytics, benchmarking, matter management, collaboration, and reporting tools that enhance project delivery, budget visibility, decision-making, and client service.
Provide LPM training, coaching, and change management support to partners, associates, clients, and business services professionals to encourage adoption of project management tools, processes, and best practices.
Supervise, mentor, and develop legal project managers, analysts, or junior team members, including onboarding, workload management, performance feedback, professional development, recruiting support, and knowledge sharing.
Serve as a day-to-day coach and resource for team members, providing guidance on matter management, stakeholder engagement, budgeting, and client communication.
Help build and mature the LPM function by influencing adoption, expanding the pipeline of LPM work, championing knowledge sharing and continuous improvement, defining operating standards, supporting global consistency, and fostering a collaborative, high-performing team culture.