Private Equity Practice Manager

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP•New York, NY

14h•$190,000 - $210,000•Onsite

About The Position

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is looking for a Private Equity Practice Manager based in the New York City Office. Willkie is an elite international law firm of approximately 1,300 lawyers located in 16 offices in six countries. The Private Equity Practice Manager will be embedded within the client team, operating at a senior level to drive practice operations, business development, and strategic initiatives across throughout the client relationship. The Private Equity Practice Manager is going to be a trusted resource for the lead partners, a connector across firm functions, and responsible for improving how the team operates and grows. In this role, the Private Equity Practice Manager will track business development and client program opportunities, lead partners and coordinate with their time for successful client relationships and billing. The successful candidate will have 3+ years of experience as an attorney and the ability develop a strong working relationship with their Partners, their clients, and administrative staff; and be able to combine legal acumen with sharp operational instincts. At Willkie, we believe great people are the key to our success. As such, we are offering a highly competitive compensation package with exceptional benefits. If you are looking to work in a friendly, collaborative environment that affords unique opportunities to expand your professional development, this role is for you.

Requirements

J.D. required
3+ years of experience in a law firm, legal operations, or related professional services environment.
Demonstrated track record of managing complex projects and driving operational improvements in a fast-paced environment.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to synthesize complex information and present it clearly to senior audiences.
High emotional intelligence, professional maturity, and the ability to build trusted relationships with partners, clients, and colleagues at all levels.
Proficiency with practice management, billing, and CRM systems; strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite.
Self-starter who takes initiative, anticipates needs, and follows through without being asked twice.

Responsibilities

Practice Operations & Partner Support Serve as the operational hub for the client team, managing priorities, tracking deliverables, and keeping initiatives moving across a complex, high-volume relationship.
Working with the partners, create and maintain relationships with key stakeholders at the client.
Develop and maintain practice management tools — dashboards, status trackers, and reporting — to give partners real-time visibility into the health of the relationship
Track and manage teams on specific matters – matching the client’s needs with the experience and expertise of the attorneys.
Billing & Financial Management Partner with the accounting and billing teams to ensure accurate and timely invoices consistent with engagement terms.
Monitor budgets, accruals, and billing status across matters; flag issues and coordinate resolution with partners and accounting.
Support the development of alternative fee arrangements, budgets, and fee proposals, drawing on data from the firm's financial systems.
Business Development & Client Growth Work closely with the marketing team to coordinate business development efforts for the client team, including tracking opportunities, preparing pitch materials, and supporting proposal development.
Maintain and organize client intelligence — key contacts, relationship history, strategic priorities — to enable more targeted and effective engagement.
Understand client’s industry and engage in competitive intelligence and benchmarking research.
Assist in planning and executing client events, roundtables, and relationship-building touchpoints.
Support the team's visibility efforts, including contributions to directories, award submissions, and firm publications relevant to the client relationship.
CLEs & Knowledge Programs Work closely with the professional development team to develop and manage a calendar of client-facing CLE programs and educational sessions aligned with the client's areas of interest and evolving legal needs.
Coordinate speakers, logistics, and accreditation for CLE events, working with both internal teams and external vendors as needed.
Collaborate with practice group attorneys to identify relevant topics and package legal insights into client-accessible formats.
Knowledge Management Work with the firm's KM team to build and maintain client-specific resources, ensuring that matter experience, legal insights, and institutional knowledge are captured, organized, and accessible.
Identify opportunities to leverage firm-wide KM tools and resources on behalf of the client team, and drive adoption of knowledge-sharing practices across the group.
Coordinate post-matter debriefs and lessons-learned exercises to build a continuously improving body of knowledge around the client's legal needs and preferences.
Firm Operations Liaison Act as the client team's connector to internal firm functions including accounting, IT, conflicts, knowledge management, and marketing — ensuring the team gets what it needs to operate effectively.
Champion and drive firm-wide initiatives as they relate to the client team, including technology adoption, compliance requirements, and process rollouts.
Identify where firm resources and expertise can be leveraged on behalf of the client and facilitate the necessary introductions and coordination.