Senior Legal Project Analyst (APAC)

Job Description

The role

As a Senior Legal Project Analyst, you will have an impact on how we provide the best-in-class service delivery through our legal project management capabilities to our lawyers and support the Legal Project Managers (LPMs) on large and complex projects/matters.

Who you will work with

Legal Project Management sits within our "Best Delivery" hubs which are aligned to global business units of Corporate, Global Financial Markets and Litigation & Dispute Resolution. The purpose of Best Delivery is to ensure that we can deliver an outstanding client experience on every matter, every time. Our application of continuous improvement principles, smart technology and the most efficient and effective resources are all geared to improving outcomes for our clients' business. It is an established and critical strand to our Innovation change programme with far-reaching global coverage.

What you will be responsible for

You will collaborate closely with LPMs, Lawyers and work in coordination with Legal Support Secretaries, as well as various other teams including the billing team, GPMS IT, Legal technology advisors, and continuous improvement teams to offer financial and project/matter management support for various matters. Building strong relationships with LPMs, partners, and lawyers will be essential in this role.

What you will do

This will include some or all of the following aspects (depending on the nature of the matter):

Commercial Support

• Preparing fee reports for internal and external clients and automating where ever possible to streamline process.
• Tracking project workstreams, preparing budget and forecasting using fee reports to make recommendations to the legal team or LPMs
• Understanding the profitability drivers and how to control the levers and provide recommendations to partners/lawyers
• Conduct analysis on data, such as leverage and profitability calculations, and carry out burn rate and run rate analysis on projects.
• Proactively engage with LPMs to discuss project plans, billing protocols, and financial strategies while cultivating a proactive and self-motivated approach.

Technical Support

• Understand the requirements from LPM's and lawyers and build SOP's and tools to produce reports useful for the matter team.
• Create and maintain project documentation, including scope and deliverables, in line with LPM methodology.
• Using existing reports and systems available in Clifford Chance to provide best-in-class project management support and improve the overall service delivery.
• Understanding matter processes end to end and look for opportunities to streamline, automate and optimise current process, tools etc.
• Working on Clifford Chance Best Delivery tools such as CC Connect and KIRA etc in updating fee reports, extending accesses to the site to the matter team, third parties and client, uploading and downloading of documents, creating workflows to manage various legal process such Q&A etc
• Coordinating with LTA's to provide solutions to LPM's and lawyers to assist with client service delivery

Financial Support

• Drafting and circulating time recording guidelines to matter teams, considering appropriate time recording practices and client-specific requirements.
• Tracking CC and third-party fees against budgets/fee estimates for the File Partner, Managing Associate and client.
• Regularly provide comprehensive financial reports to LPMs, Lawyers and clients, ensuring transparency and alignment with project objectives
• Coordinate with finance and billing teams to reflect matter changes accurately and maintain efficient workflow.

Matter Support and Coordination

• Reviewing draft invoices, and identifying and checking amendments.
• Attending CC matter team meetings and client calls, preparing meeting agendas, and drafting and circulating actions following meetings.
• Assist in tracking Out of Scope work by reviewing Action Log and by analysing timesheets submitted by lawyers on a matter and engagement letter or billing protocol.
• Assist in keeping a track of breach of assumptions mentioned in the engagement letter/contract.
• Preparing Resource planner, Working Parties List, billing protocol
• Providing useful analysis using profitability dashboards for crucial decision making for partners.
• Assisting LPM's with organizing and controlling project activities.
• Organising communications among the CC and client teams such contacts lists, distribution lists, absence planning and access to key documents.
• Lead the coordination for Lite service projects, scaling activities to meet project demands.
• Leading and managing Lite service matters projects independently and assisting to LPMs on full service matters simultaneously and  independently managing the service delivery in a timely manner.
• Identify potential risks proactively, develop mitigation strategies, and escalate issues in a timely manner.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams- billing, GPMS IT, finance, compliance etc to develop and implement solutions to address project challenge.

Leadership and Development:

• Train and mentor junior and new LPA team members in the use of legal technology and best practices.
• Lead knowledge-sharing sessions and actively contribute to team building and knowledge management.
• Conduct quality control on tasks performed by LPAs, providing constructive feedback to ensure high standards
• Take charge in escalating risks and issues relating to the team to LPA senior management
• Combined collaborative teamwork with thought leadership with the ability to also work independently
• Stay updated  on latest  industry best practices and emerging trends in project management to continually improve processes and methodologies.

Client and Internal Relationship Management:

• Build and maintain strong relationships with LPMs, fostering collaboration and a unified team approach.
• Focus on regional or specific practice areas to develop specialised expertise and client relationships.
• Actively seek new business opportunities and engage in business development activities.

Qualifications

Your experience

• Proficiency in MS Excel, VBA, Access Knowledge is essential
• Dashboard & Management Reporting is preferred.
• Understanding of Clarity PPM is preferred.
• Demonstrates strong commitment to quality, detail orientation, customer service & drive for results to ensure maximum system utilisation & data integrity.
• Knowledge on Power Pivots is desired but not mandatory .
• Must have strong commitment to quality, detail orientation, customer service & drive for results to ensure maximum system utilization & data integrity.
• Excellent communication, problem solving & developing, organizational & analytical skills required.
• Understanding of financial terms (like net fees, profitability, recovery, Debt details etc. are required).
• Able to work under pressure, handle multiple tasks simultaneously, prioritise appropriately and delegate to others where appropriate.
• Able to constructively raise concerns about priorities and capacity building.
•  Strong stakeholder relationship building and networking skills, able to work collaboratively with other teams, such as the Legal Secretaries or Billing community.
• Flair for technology.
• Experience of working on project management software.
• Able to put together scope, timelines, action logs, project plan/WBS using client RFP(request for proposal).
• Assign tasks to internal teams such as legal secretaries and billing and track progress made.
• Help LPMs and lawyers prepare fee estimates.
• Monitor project progress and flag project risks and dependencies, help LPMs handle any issues (non-legal aspect of the project/matter) proactively.
• Able to manage the projects/ matters assigned independently.
• Demonstrate a high level of initiative, leadership, and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team

Professional Expertise & Qualification

• Master's degree or equivalent (Finance domain will be an added advantage).
• 8+ years of work experience in a corporate/MNC.
• Prior experience in project management or project coordination coupled with financial reporting/management and strong relationship building.
• Interest in data storytelling would be a great fit.

How we will support you

From your first day with us, you will have varied opportunities to continuously grow and development your skills and knowledge. From formal training, informal coaching and mentoring through to skills-based and technical training and on the job learning.

You can also get involved in a variety of employee affinity groups. There is also opportunity to be part of charitable events and volunteering.

Additional Information

Equal opportunities

 At Clifford Chance, we forge an inclusive culture, where diverse perspectives are recognised and valued. It’s a culture where everyone has equal access to opportunities to thrive and succeed. We are guided by our values-based Code, which sets high standards of conduct and has a principle focused on being inclusive.

We comply with the law and regulations in every location where we operate and we are committed to delivering fair and equal access to all applicants and employees irrespective of background. This applies across all aspects of employment from recruitment and selection to development, progression, and day-to-day working life.  

Our global network of affinity, faith and support groups are open to all. These communities help to create an environment where everyone at the firm can feel they belong and can reach their full potential.

Find out more about our inclusive culture here