Paralegal Manager (Business Law)
About the position Foley & Lardner LLP is a great place to work because of what we do and how we do it. Here, your unique perspectives, experiences, and abilities will be embraced and developed, so you can excel. Being a part of Foley means having the opportunities and resources necessary to gain experience, advance professional goals, and forge meaningful connections. It’s a place where you can build your career and enjoy professionally satisfying work. We have over 2,300 people who are #HappyatFoley, and we think you will be too. The Manager of Corporate Paralegals is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Corporate Paralegal team across the firm. This role plays a critical part in driving operational efficiency, ensuring consistent execution of best practices, delivery of service, and supporting the professional growth and performance of the Business Law paralegal team. This position reports to the Director of Paralegals and will work closely with Practice Group Leadership.
Responsibilities
- Lead and manage paralegals to ensure delivery of excellent services to stakeholders and clients.
- Serve as a liaison between attorneys and paralegals as well as paralegal staff and department leadership and other administrative departments.
- Collaborate with Department, Practice Group leadership to maximize paralegal utilization and profitability, including structuring workflows and best practices and procedures.
- Monitor adherence of Firm policies, legal standards, time entry compliance, overtime, and ethical guidelines while promoting consistency and fairness.
- Assist with the recruitment and retention of paralegals as well as performance management process.
- Identify staffing needs and collaborate with Department, Practice Group Leadership and attorneys to ensure that paralegal resources are utilized most efficiently to support client workflow.
- Identify inefficiencies and contribute to the implementation of improvements that enhance operational efficiency.
- Participate in the onboarding of new hires, introducing them to Foley & Lardner’s culture, systems, and workflows.
- Establish and maintain strong relationships across leadership, stakeholders and paraprofessional staff.
- Foster a culture of accountability, efficiency, and client-centered service excellence within the team.
- Provide consistent feedback to paralegals as part of their ongoing development.
- Design, develop and implement paralegal training programs and educate attorneys on effective utilization of paralegals.
- Assess opportunities to integrate automation and AI tools to optimize paralegal workflows.
Requirements
- Bachelor's Degree required.
- Minimum of three (3) years of experience as a Corporate Paralegal required; experience from an AMLAW 100 firm strongly preferred.
- Minimum of five (5) years of people management or supervisory experience at a law firm required; national law firm experience preferred.
- Significant working knowledge of procedures and required documents and technology tools and platforms relating to paraprofessional support function for corporate-related practices which may include real estate, finance and estates and trusts practices.
- Ability to work independently, with strong personal initiative to accomplish objectives in a timely manner with minimum supervision.
- Exhibit high emotional intelligence, discretion, and sound judgment.
- Demonstrated ability to effectively mentor and guide others.
- Collaborative approach and adaptability to evolving business demands.
- Demonstrates strong organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and prioritization skills, with excellent verbal and written communication abilities and the capacity to understand and navigate complex, detailed issues.
- Excellent computer skills with proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, document management systems and practice and project related software.
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