Friedman Williams
Professional Development Manager Washington DC
Job ID: 17057
Our client’s Professional Development Manager spearheads the firm’s efforts to maintain cutting-edge expertise and to support its attorneys at all levels in steadily broadening and deepening their skills so as to better serve clients and develop their careers. The Professional Development Manager is expected to be an ally and advocate for Associates and will manage a workflow process for Associates to receive the necessary assignments for professional development and growth while confirming the firm’s needs are met. The firm is committed to diversity and the Professional Development Manager is expected to participate in the firm’s success in recruiting and supporting diverse attorney talent. All of our employees work on either a remote or a hybrid basis. We prefer a candidate with professional development, recruiting and coaching.
Essential Job Functions
• Attorney Competency/Development Framework:
• In collaboration with internal and external subject-area experts, implement and maintain the firm’s attorney competency and development framework that will shape the firm’s expectations of attorneys at the different stages of their careers
• Draft Independent Development Plan to work in conjunction with Associate Development Framework
• Performance Evaluation/Review Process: coordinate non-partner attorney performance review and evaluation process, including collecting feedback, convening review meetings and preparing performance summaries.
• Resource Allocation:
• Assist partners in developing and implementing a workload allocation tool to be used for attorney assignments
• Help efficiently and equitably distribute assignments to attorneys to support firm needs while helping attorneys obtain appropriate learning, specialization, and professional growth
• Recruiting:
• Oversee and assist with Summer Associate recruiting process, including OCI, lateral recruiting etc.
• Participate in Hiring Committee meetings as needed
• Draft job descriptions and compile requisite materials needed for potential candidates
• Identify campuses for candidate selection and coordinate efforts to identify candidates
• Coordinate OCI or remote/in-office interviews and see through to candidate selection and hire
• Assist in identifying skill gaps for firm attorney recruitment function; assist in evaluating skill levels and training needs of potential hires.
• Onboarding: assist with development and implementation of an onboarding program for new attorneys and practice groups.
• Mentoring: assist with design and implementation of mentoring activities; obtain feedback from both mentors and mentees; assist mentors and mentees in identifying and adopting effective practices.
• Supporting Firm Initiatives: participate on DEI Committee to further the firm’s goals in identifying and promoting diverse candidates and providing integration, training, and other support as needed.
• Training/Development/Learning:
• Help establish and nurture a culture in which attorneys are encouraged to recognize skill gaps and pursue excellence
• Participate in reviewing/updating the attorney training agenda/curriculum in alignment with the Development Framework and the needs of specific practice areas.
• Manage the planning and implementation of substantive, technical and skills-based training (such as project management, presentation skills and business development). This includes:
• Identifying and recruiting internal and external resources to serve as faculty for professional development programs
• Managing external vendors
• Organizing logistics and timely communications to all constituencies
• Measuring training comprehension and impact; assuring quality control and feedback
• Developing standard training material templates such as participant workbooks and PowerPoint presentations to unify training material format
• Identifying and coordinating participation in learning opportunities outside of firm-generated trainings
• Filing and maintaining materials and training logs
• Professional Development Intelligence: keep abreast of trends and solutions to enhance quality and efficient delivery of content, including innovative delivery tools, learning solutions and platforms (e.g., e-learning, self-study) and accessible resources.
• Reporting/Analytics: manage Professional Development budget, maintain Professional Development records (including CLE compliance) and report on identified issues and trends.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Outstanding organization and project management skills and a track record of following through and delivering results.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills.
• Sensitivity to different learning and work styles.
• Working proficiency in MS Office and analytical tools.
Education and Experience:
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Familiarity with substance of transactional real estate practice a plus
• Familiarity with viGlobal software for recruiting and performance evaluations is helpful.
• Minimum 3+ years of professional development experience in a law firm or law school clinic and/or 3+ years of relevant legal practice.
• DC-based candidate preferred, but Boston-based is also possible (with a hybrid work schedule and occasional travel required regardless of location).
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