Senior Business Development Manager

About Ropes & Gray

Ropes & Gray is a preeminent global law firm. The firm has been ranked in the top three on The American Lawyer's prestigious A-List for eight consecutive years and #1 on Law.com's UK A-List twice in the past three years - rankings that honor the "best of the best" law firms. The firm has approximately 2,500 lawyers and professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology, and government in Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.The firm has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, including asset management, private equity, M&A, finance, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring. Ropes & Gray is an equal opportunity employer.

Overview

The Senior Business Development Manager (SBDM) will serve as a trusted advisor to Practice Group Leaders (PGLs), Specialty Group Leaders (SGLs) and practice and firm partners to provide strategic, commercial and practical business development and client development support on the implementation of the practice group’s strategic and commercial priorities.

In particular, the SBDM will work closely with lead partners, other lawyers and business support colleagues to:

• Develop and execute business development and marketing efforts designed to generate new business and improve market visibility for the Tax and Employment, Executive Compensation, and Employee Benefits Practice Groups.
• Identify and target new clients.
• Develop relationships with existing and new clients.
• Deliver practice group products and knowledge marketing to the appropriate client and market audience.

Responsibilities

• Working with lead partners and practice development colleagues, develop and execute the business and client development strategy for the practice groups with a focus on growing revenue and relationships.
• Through in-depth understanding of the practice groups’ ambition, identifying, assessing and pursuing new clients.
• Managing and driving the development of existing client relationships in collaboration with other relevant business support colleagues including:
  • Organizing, participating in and maintaining business development meetings and being responsible for all aspects of client and target development efforts including proactively driving follow-up.
  • Develop expertise in the Tax and Employment, Executive Compensation, and Employee Benefits practices including by commissioning and conducting business research to keep abreast of industry/market intelligence and to support the BD strategy.
• Driving pitching and new business generation by:
• Managing and executing large pitches, proposals and RFPs, including leading a team to develop a winning strategy, identifying ways to differentiate from the competition and helping to write aspects of the pitch.
• Working with finance to develop compelling fee arrangements.
• Maintaining up-to-date pitch content, materials and client information.
• Acting as trusted advisor to attorney teams to scope, prepare for in-person meetings and pitches, and provide post pitch client and target feedback.
• Working with the marketing team and other business support colleagues to:
  • Identify opportunities to create and implement integrated branding and profile-raising campaigns.
  • Assess market conference opportunities, advise the lawyers on selection, participation in and execution.
  • Identify the appropriate client and market targets for the delivery of knowledge marketing.
• Proactively building networks with adjacent practice and industry groups and clearly communicate Tax and ECB practices’ value proposition to relevant group's strategy, priorities and clients.
• Managing and developing junior members of the business development team.
• Supporting the development of attorney-facing BD training.
• Communicating best practice business development activities and successes across the group.

Essential Capabilities:

This position requires a professional, highly motivated individual capable of functioning in an international, fast-paced legal environment:

• Superior client service orientation.
• Quickly able to establish credibility with lead partners and key stakeholders by balancing a confident, measured and persistent approach.
• Work effectively and efficiently as a team player with an enthusiasm for developing relationships. Able to engage with and support colleagues and st