Client Experience Manager

Description

This is an exciting opportunity to work for one of the top law firms in the U.S.! Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is looking for a Client Experience Manager to join our team in our Seattle office.

As a key member of the firms Practice Economics department, this position will work directly with the relationship partners for one or more of the firms largest clients to manage the firms client teams and help the firm provide differentiated service and capitalize on opportunities to strengthen and expand the relationships. The Client Experience Manager shall also generally act as the liaison between staff departments and client leadership.

At Davis Wright Tremaine, you will find challenging assignments, opportunities for professional growth and community involvement, and a culture of inclusion. DWT fosters inclusiveness and authenticity. Regardless of position, everyone here has a voice and the support is unparalleled.

On a typical day you will be responsible for:

Service Delivery: The Client Experience Team works to augment the traditional legal services provided to clients through proactive communication, actionable reporting, and strategic client satisfaction initiatives. The Client Experience Manager drives these initiatives together with client leadership. The Client Experience Manager is expected to:

• Work with lawyers and staff serving one or more clients to meet service expectations and address specific problems or opportunities to enable the firm to provide excellent, differentiated service
• Drive service innovation for the client in partnership with legal teams and staff departments to deliver service more efficiently, effectively, and profitably, including evaluating and developing new service and business process opportunities using technology, process improvement, legal project management, and alternative staffing
• Serve as primary liaison between client leadership and staff departments to execute on client operating needs while reducing the amount of administrative time spent by relationship partners
• Partner with other Client Experience Managers, Practice Managers, and others around the firm to share best practices, cross-marketing opportunities, and business development opportunities
• Develop deep substantive knowledge of multiple legal practice groups both at the firm and client, and collaborate with the practice management teams for those groups
• Identify, vet, and integrate resources for additional support to meet client needs, including attorneys, contract lawyers, and support staff
• Manage and supervise Client Experience Specialists, Client Program Specialists, and Client Program Coordinators

Client Portfolio Growth: Maintaining and growing the clients portfolio is a key component of the Client Experience Teams mission. To do so successfully requires an understanding of financial metrics and the ability to analyze those metrics to create positive portfolio growth. The Client Experience Manager is expected to:

• Work closely and collaboratively with senior lawyers and staff responsible for managing and growing key client relationship(s)
• Stay up to date with client business strategies and market landscape to support operations, marketing, and business development initiatives
• Provide input to strategic business development planning, consultation and execution for the client
• Evaluate financial and other performance indicators and work with the team(s) to respond as needed
• Support lawyers in identifying and responding to opportunities for new work, particularly those that are complex and time-sensitive

Client Communication: Understanding how and when to communicate with our clients can help build trust and strengthen the relationship. The Client Experience Manager will develop formal and informal lines of communication to ensure the firm has a deep connection with our clients. The Client Experience Manager is expected to:

• Build deep direct relationships with the client legal operations team
• Solicit client feedback, share feedback with client team, act on feedback received, and track progress towards client satisfaction
• Work with lawyers and staff to ensure service level agreements, ad hoc project milestones, reporting requirements, and other client expectations are met
• Ensure compliance with outside counsel guidelines related to time keeping, rate-setting, billing, conflicts, etc.

Financial Management: The Client Experience Teams focus on providing quality, cost-effective legal services will have an effect on the firms financial performance. The Client Experience Manager must understand the effect that non-traditional service delivery has on the firms bottom line. The Client Experience Manager, in coordination with the Pricing and Data Analytics teams, will:

• Manage internal processes related to alternative fee arrangement negotiation, including gathering and analyzing matter and project data
• Work with client leadership and firm financial operations team to maximize efficiency and profitability on alternative fee arrangements
• Review and analyze financial data relating to the client and its work streams in partnership with Practice Managers. Work with client leadership to customize the data presented to the client team and to provide context, explanation, and action items to meet strategic goals for client service levels and financial targets

Client Team Leadership: The Client Experience Team helps both individual attorneys and the firm as a whole ensure a uniformly positive experience for clients. The Client Experience Manager should have an eye for advancing strategic opportunities, building support and adoption of those opportunities internally, and continually assessing client needs (both stated and unstated). The Client Experience Manager will:

• Assist relationship partners and client leadership with other strategic opportunities and ad hoc projects that strengthen the client relationship
• Assist relationship partners and client leadership to drive content and agendas for client team meetings, including monthly, quarterly, and annual meetings as appropriate

Join us if you have:

• 7+ years experience in a law firm environment or similar professional services industry; client management, operations management, and business development experience preferred
• Bachelors degree required, emphasis in Business Administration and other technical discipline; MBA, JD, or other relevant advanced degree, preferred
• Lean, Lean Six Sigma, PMP or similar certification preferred or the ability to demonstrate comparable experience and training in project management or process improvement
• Demonstrated understanding of alternative fee arrangements in the service industry (understanding of law firm pricing models and economics a plus)
• Deep knowledge of relevant legal practice areas and/or industries a plus
• Experience presenting to small groups and decision-makers
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with and guide decision-makers on strategic decisions
• Demonstrated ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously with high attention to detail
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, including ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients and firm leadership
• Proficiency with legal technology tools such as matter management, document automation, and/or document review software, or skills with similar tools from other industries that demonstrates an ability to learn and use new technology preferred
• High proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Excel, Word, Project, Visio and OneNote.
• Ability to read and write in English

Who We Are

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is an AmLaw 100 law firm with eight offices nationwide. We are relentlessly committed to client service and look for candidates who share that commitment. At DWT, client service means having empathy for each clients and each lawyers work and personal pressures, business objectives, and legal needs; anticipating their needs; and having the capabilities and commitment to deliver what matters most to them.

Whats in it For You?

DWT offers competitive compensation in addition to ample benefits including but not limited to:

• Choice of health and vision insurance plans
• 2 paid volunteer days for qualifying community service work
• Dental plan
• Fertility and adoption benefit
• Paid sabbatical after 13 years of service
• Tuition reimbursement
• Commuter benefits
• Retirement contribution

Physical Requirements

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to feel and reach with hands and arms and frequently required to sit, stand, walk and occasionally stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

This job description intends to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this position. It is not intended to include all duties and responsibilities.

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP believes that embracing diversity and inclusion brings out the best of what each individual has to offer and inspires us to build strong and lasting connections with each other, our clients, and our communities. We are committed to promoting a diverse workforce and inclusive environment where every employee has the right to work in surroundings that are free from all forms of unlawful discrimination. It is our policy to hire, promote, transfer, terminate, and make all employment-related decisions without regard to an employees sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical condition), race, color, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, religious creed, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, genetic information, medical condition, military condition, military or veteran status or any other basis prohibited by applicable local, state, or federal laws.

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