Director of Practice Operations

The Director of Practice Operations is a senior administrative leader responsible for driving the operational, business, financial, and strategic performance of the practice groups within the firm. This role partners closely with practice group leaders, firm leadership, and administrative teams throughout the firm to improve profitability, enhance attorney and staff productivity, support talent development, and strengthen client service delivery. The Director of Practice Operations translates firm and practice priorities into effective processes, reporting, resource planning, and cross-functional execution. This is a fully remote position. Candidates located in or near Buffalo, NY, or within reasonable proximity to one of the firm’s office locations, are preferred.

Primary Job Duties:

• Partner with Practice Group Leaders and firm management to develop and execute operational plans aligned with strategic goals.
• Facilitate day-to-day practice operations, including workflow coordination, resource planning, and innovation and process improvement initiatives.
• In coordination with firm and practice group leadership facilitates the development of practice group strategic plans with a particular focus on collaboration, cross-selling/client relationship-expansion, and integration of new attorneys and staff.
• Monitor key financial metrics including revenue, realization, utilization, expenses, and profitability, productivity, and client trends, and provide regular reporting and analysis.
• Support budgeting, forecasting, pricing, and matter management activities in collaboration with practice group and firm leadership.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, standardize processes, and enhance service delivery across offices and teams.
• Work with attorney leadership to support staffing models, workload balance, and capacity planning for lawyers and professional staff.
• Plays a key role in lateral attorney onboarding and integration and assists with facilitating internal and external connections to ensure a successful incorporation into the firm.
• Act as a liaison between legal operations and other firm functions/administrative departments.
• Collaborate with Human Resources on recruiting, onboarding, training, performance management, and professional development initiatives.
• Coordinate with Marketing and Business Development and the Director of Client Relations on client-facing initiatives, pitches, and market-facing priorities.
• Lead or support implementation of operational tools, reporting dashboards, legal technology solutions, and knowledge-sharing practices.
• Facilitate communication and coordination among attorneys, administrative departments, and firm leadership to ensure timely execution of priorities.
• Track and report on practice performance indicators and recommend actions to address risks, improve outcomes, and support growth.
• Ensure compliance with firm policies, client requirements and guidelines, and applicable legal, regulatory, and ethical standards related to practice operations.
• Manage special projects and other initiatives related to practice performance, organizational change, and operational excellence as requested by firm leadership.

Key Competencies:

• Communicating – Service Managers provide the information required by others in a concise, direct, and unambiguous way. They strive to ensure that the receiver clearly understands the specifics of their message and they are able to listen to, receive, and understand messages conveyed by others.
• Team Building – Service Managers enable and encourage group members to work together to complete tasks and accomplish goals that individual members could not accomplish alone.
• Service Focus – Service Managers place great emphasis on creating customer loyalty by ensuring the highest value of service is always provided and by delivering on commitments to the customer.
• Process Management – Service Managers take a systematic approach in contributing to making the company’s workflow more effective, efficient, and capable of adapting to an ever-changing environment.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

 #LI-Remote 

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, legal studies, finance, management, or a related field required.
• Seven to ten years of progressive operations, practice management, legal administration, or professional services experience, preferably in a law firm environment.
• Demonstrated experience supporting senior leaders and managing cross-functional initiatives in a complex, fast-paced organization.
• Strong financial acumen, including experience with budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and performance analysis.
• Knowledge of law firm economics, billing structures, matter management, and attorney productivity metrics.
• Excellent leadership, project management, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
• High level of discretion, judgment, and professionalism in handling confidential and sensitive matters.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and experience working with reporting, finance, and practice management systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA, JD, or other relevant graduate degree.
• Experience in a multi-office law firm or other professional services organization.
• Background in pricing, legal project management, attorney staffing, or process improvement.
• Experience implementing operational technology or data-driven reporting tools.

Core Competencies

• Strategic thinking and execution.
• Financial and operational analysis.
• Leadership and team development.
• Relationship management and collaboration.
• Change management and process improvement.
• Communication and executive presence.
• Judgment, initiative, and accountability.

Working Relationships and Measures of Success

This position works closely with Practice Group Leaders, Chief Administrative Officer, Managing Partner/Adcom, Accounting, Human Resources, Marketing and Business Development, and Office Operations. Success in the role is measured by improved operational efficiency, stronger financial performance, effective resource utilization, timely execution of strategic initiatives, and high-quality support to attorneys and clients.