Director of Attorney Professional Development

With eleven offices across the United States, 450+ professionals and 350+ staff professionals, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP (www.manatt.com), is a multidisciplinary, integrated national professional services firm known for quality and an extraordinary commitment to clients. The firm’s groundbreaking approach—bringing together legal services, advocacy and business strategy—differentiates Manatt from its competitors and positions the firm to provide a unique and compelling value proposition.

Opportunity

We are seeking a highly motivated and strategic Director of Attorney Professional Development to manage firmwide attorney professional development initiatives, with the focus on learning, training and development.  We are looking for a seasoned leader in this area with a proven track record of success, strong organizational and interpersonal skills, and a demonstrated passion for fostering/delivering a culture of continuous learning and development.  This position will report to the Senior Director of Professional Development and can be located in any of our 12 offices (Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco, San Diego, Silicon Valley, Sacramento,  New York City,  Albany,  Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago, or Tampa).

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement all attorney professional development initiatives, including the designing, implementing, and delivering of training programs, mentorship and/or coaching opportunities, orientation and onboarding initiatives, individualized learning plans, and leadership development pathways tailored to the needs of attorneys at all levels (including but not limited to specialized programs for the summer associate program, new associate classes, as well as attorneys at all levels within the firm), fostering professional growth, career development, engagement, inclusivity, retention and a culture of continuous learning and professional development within the Firm.
• Oversee the management of all Firm CLE compliance, tracking and reporting firmwide as well as ensuring continuous CLE opportunities.
• Design and deliver training programs on substantive legal topics, professional skills, technology, and client service.
• Partner with and form strong trusted advisor relationships with firm management, practice group leaders and other attorneys to identify training and program needs, determine and implement appropriate means to deliver and assess the success of related programs, and ensure programs are aligned with firm strategy and goals.
• Source, maintain and nurture existing and potential relationships with external consultants, coaches and speakers, as well as maintain active involvement with appropriate professional organizations.
• Maintain networks and in-depth knowledge of trends and developments in the attorney development field.
• Develop metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of attorney training programs and use data-driven insights to improve learning outcomes.
• Continuously research and integrate innovative training opportunities and industry best practices in legal professional development; regularly evaluate and refine programs to ensure they meet the evolving needs of the Firm.
• Provide leadership, mentoring and operational oversight for the attorney professional development team.
• Develop the attorney professional development budget, including forecasting, resource allocation, and cost management to ensure alignment with the firm’s strategic goals.
• Collaborate with the application training & E-learning professional development team and leverage the learning management system and other advanced technologies to deliver and track attorney training programs, ensuring alignment with professional development goals, CLE compliance, and reporting requirements. 
• Collaborate with the performance management professional development team to ensure the firm’s learning and development efforts align to core competencies and promote professional growth.
• Collaborate with the consulting professional development team to align learning and development goals for the Firm.
• Partner and collaborate with other firm departments, including but not limited to Business Development, Marketing, Communications, Strategic Growth, Human Resources, Diversity and Inclusion, Information Technology, and Accounting to align Attorney Professional Development initiatives with broader talent management strategies, including inclusivity, employee engagement, retention, and satisfaction and support or design, as appropriate, training initiatives in these departments as well.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field is required, JD highly preferred.
• 10 + years of experience i