Practice Manager, Investment Funds

Gibson Dunn is a leading global law firm, advising clients on significant transactions and disputes. Our exceptional teams craft and deploy creative legal strategies that are meticulously tailored to every matter, however complex or high-stakes. The firm’s work is distinguished by a unique combination of precision and vision. The Investment Funds practice is hiring a Practice Manager (“PM”) in any US office to support the day-to-day operations of the practice and the execution of its priorities and initiatives, in collaboration with practice group and firm leadership. Acting effectively as a chief operating officer for the practice, the PM drives the group to operate efficiently and cohesively across offices and borders, and turns the direction of practice leadership into coordinated action and follow-through. The Practice Manager is a key element of the firm’s business services function and will join a growing practice management team collectively responsible for supporting practice leaders in the management of their groups, including through: (1) serving as information conduits to support cross-department and cross-office initiatives and projects; (2) strategic planning, reporting, and meeting management; (3) talent management; (4) supporting the firm’s free market system, pipeline development, and productivity goals; (5) developing practice-specific education and trainings; and (6) supporting initiatives and projects in collaboration with a number of firm departments, including Professional Development, Marketing & Client Development, Knowledge Management, Communications, Recruiting, Diversity, Career and Alumni Services, Technology, Human Resources, and Office Administration. Communication, leadership, and emotional intelligence are important skills needed in this role, along with an understanding of the life cycle of a matter and how attorneys practice in a law firm setting. This role reports to the Firm’s Deputy Chief Legal Operations Officer under the Chief Legal Operations Officer, will take daily direction from the Practice Leads, and will work closely with the Firm’s other Practice Managers. Responsibilities include: I. Support for the Funds Practice Strategic Execution • Strategic Priorities: Execute on the strategic priorities set by practice group leadership, translating their direction into coordinated action and driving it forward to completion. • Initiative Delivery: Drive the practice’s priority initiatives from planning through execution, coordinating the people and resources needed to keep them moving. • Cross-Office Projects: Coordinate cross-office and cross-practice projects from planning through execution, keeping work moving and stakeholders aligned. • Service Delivery: Identify and execute initiatives that optimize legal service delivery, staffing, and operational processes. Talent and Group Stewardship • Integration: Drive integration across the Investment Funds practice, connecting attorneys and teams across offices and borders so the group operates as a cohesive whole. • Partner and Lateral Onboarding: Partner on onboarding and integration for new partners and lateral attorneys, helping them connect quickly into the practice and across the firm. • Talent Planning: Support talent planning by acting as a liaison with Human Resources, Professional Development, and Recruiting, including regular assessment of recruiting and senior talent pipelines and identification of gaps to guide hiring needs. • Utilization and Free Market: Drive healthy utilization, free market balance, and attorney engagement, monitoring capacity to identify and address over- and underutilization, and helping lawyers identify appropriate staffing and opportunities for new work. • Performance Management: Support the attor