Private Equity / M&A Lawyer Looking for Something Different?

A leading international law firm is looking to hire a Practice Manager to support its Private Equity M&A practice. This is a senior, practice-facing role for a qualified lawyer who understands how a high-performing transactional team operates and who is interested in moving into a broader practice management position.

Working closely with practice group leaders, partners, associates and the wider Practice Management team, you will play a central role in the day to day running, development and effectiveness of the group.

The position combines resource management, talent development, performance, training, onboarding, mentoring and wider practice strategy. A significant part of the role will focus on staffing and productivity. You will work with partners to understand matter requirements, assess associate capacity and allocate lawyers to work in a way that balances client needs, productivity, career development and individual preferences.

You will monitor workflow and utilisation across the group, help ensure work is distributed fairly, and provide partners with clear information and analysis around staffing and capacity. The role also has a strong development and performance element. You will manage associate and paralegal evaluation processes, support interim and ad hoc reviews and work closely with supervising partners to ensure lawyers receive clear, actionable feedback and appropriate development opportunities.

You will build strong relationships with associates and paralegals, developing a detailed understanding of their experience, ambitions, strengths and development needs. You will also act as a trusted point of contact for career development, mentoring and wider team support. Further responsibilities include helping to develop training programmes and practice group meetings, supporting onboarding and integration of new hires, assisting with lateral recruitment and workforce planning, contributing to business development activity and supporting innovation and wider firm initiatives.

The successful candidate will be a qualified lawyer with at least three years’ experience gained within a top law firm or equivalent in-house environment. Corporate experience is required, ideally with exposure to M&A and/or Private Equity, although the firm is open minded on exact transactional background where the candidate has a strong understanding of how corporate practices operate.

You will need excellent communication and relationship-building skills, strong judgement and the confidence to work closely with senior partners and lawyers across the practice.

The firm is particularly interested in someone who is proactive, commercially minded, organised and genuinely motivated by the people and operational side of legal practice.