Director of Practice Management

Department: Finance

About Us:

Ballard Spahr is a renowned national law firm with more than 750 lawyers across 18 offices in the United States. A career at Ballard Spahr offers a diverse group of mentors, colleagues, and friends, and strong leadership that provides support and encouragement for career growth.

Are you ready to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our Finance Department and driving firm-wide practice management excellence? We are seeking an experienced, dynamic, and collaborative Director of Practice Management (DPM) who will leverage their strong business acumen to drive revenue growth and ensure sustained financial health for our Finance Department. This high-impact leadership position partners with the Chief Practice Management Officer and department leadership to advance operations, align strategic goals, and deliver exceptional support for all finance lawyers and legal teams.

This position is hybrid and offers a work schedule of 3 days a week (Tuesday through Thursday) on-site preferably in an east coast office.

Why Join Us?

• Innovative Work Environment: Become part of a forward-thinking firm that enjoys substantial support and visibility from the firm's executive leadership.
• Professional Development: Take advantage of continuous learning opportunities and avenues for career growth.
• Inclusion: Join a Business Resource Group and share cultural, experiential, or job-related interests, experiences, and/or backgrounds.
• Impactful Contributions: Play a pivotal role in developing industry-leading solutions that make a significant difference in legal practice and client service.

Your Role:

As the Director of Practice Management for our Finance Department your responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Overseeing daily business operations including financial health, internal organization, business development, practice expansion/recruitment, fee earner supervision & training.
• Driving monthly meetings with Practice Group Leaders by setting strategic agendas that emphasize productivity, staffing, financial performance, business development opportunities, and collaboration across offices.
• Supporting the creation/implementation of the practice groups' business & marketing plans.
• Overseeing the Department level review and approval process of all new matters in conjunction with the new matter intake process.
• Manage the onboarding and offboarding processes for lawyers and business professionals.
• Monitoring financial performance by reviewing financial reports/dashboards; managing non-billable expenses; and contributing to quarterly collection committees.
• Ensuring paraprofessionals and closing coordinators receive appropriate supervision, along with continuous meaningful training and engagement.
• Organizing agendas and programming for department meetings, including quarterly partner financial updates, all-fee earner sessions, monthly associate and attorney meetings, sessions for other lawyer classifications and planning and executing content for in-person events such as the Annual Meeting and Firm Seminar.
• Conducting annual visits to each Ballard office with department presence; meeting individually with local Matter Billing Lawyers regarding metrics/business development.
• Engaging Office Managing Partners and Directors on staffing, productivity and other local matters as needed.
• Collaborating with the Marketing & Business Development team and providing support for business plans and departmental goals, ensuring alignment with the budget, and reviewing and approving expenses.
• Developing strategies with the Pricing and Profitability team for client arrangements and the Practice Operations team for use of innovation and technology tools to improve matter management and provide client value.
• Collaborate with Attorney Career Advancement (ACA) for salary adjustments and bonuses, setting appropriate training curriculum for lawyers.
• Participating in integration programs for lateral, promoted partners and counsel and lateral and entry-level associates; and identifying hiring lateral strategies by working closely with Department Leadership and recruiting teams and realize strategic goals.

What We're Looking For:

• Leadership: Guide, influence, and inspire individuals to achieve shared objectives.
• Prudence: Creative problem-solving ability plus sound judgment/discretion/confidentiality maintenance.
• Growth Mindset: Self-motivated with a passion for continuous learning and problem-solving.
• Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication abilities.
• Detail-Oriented: Keen attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines independently.

Required Experience:

A Bachelor's degree and at least 10 years of law firm experience are required; an advanced degree in law or business is a plus. To succeed in this position, you should demonstrate strong leadership and organizational abilities, as well as a thorough understanding of the legal industry and law firm management. Excellent interpersonal skills-including negotiation expertise, confidence, and professionalism at all levels-are essential. Proficiency with technology and experience designing or implementing new processes are also required. You must be able and willing to travel for office visits, events, or professional programs as needed.

The salary range for this position is from $170,000 - $190,000, which reflects the Firm's good faith and reasonable estimate of possible compensation at the time of posting. Actual pay will depend on several factors such as the candidate's experience, qualifications, and location.

Ballard Spahr offers an excellent benefits package. A summary of available benefits can be found here in the Careers section of the Firm's website.

Ready to Grow with Us?

If you are ready to play a vital role in the Firm's success, we encourage you to apply and be a part of our commitment to excellence.

At Ballard Spahr, we believe that our skills, perspectives, and backgrounds drive innovation and excellence, while our unique culture fosters collaboration and success. Our culture of thriving together forms the cornerstone of how we deliver exceptional service and position our firm for a strong future. We welcome and encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply.

Ballard Spahr is an equal opportunity employer. We offer equal consideration to all qualified applicants, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, age, national origin, handicap or disability, citizenship, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, transgender status, sex stereotyping, genetic information, ancestry, veteran status or any other category protected by applicable law.

The firm is not accepting resumes from search firms for this position.