Introduction
At IBM, work is more than a job - it's a calling: To build. To design. To code. To consult. To think along with clients and sell. To make markets. To invent. To collaborate. Not just to do something better, but to attempt things you've never thought possible. Are you ready to lead in this new era of technology and solve some of the world's most challenging problems? If so, lets talk.
Your role and responsibilities
As the Outside Counsel Relationship Manager, you will be responsible for managing and optimizing relationships with our external law firms. This role involves strategic oversight of engagements, performance evaluation, and ensuring that our external legal partners provide the highest level of service and value. You will collaborate closely with internal stakeholders to ensure that our legal needs are met efficiently and effectively.
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Key Responsibilities:
Relationship Management
• Develop and maintain strong, strategic relationships with law firm billing departments to foster collaboration and trust.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for external law firm billing departments, facilitating clear communication and collaboration on legal matter accounting.
• Act as a liaison between internal legal teams and outside counsel to ensure seamless information flow.
Accountability & Performance Evaluation
• Monitor and assess the performance of outside counsel against established service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Conduct regular reviews of outside counsel engagements, including feedback sessions and performance evaluations, to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
• Implement strategies to enhance the quality and efficiency of outside counsel services.
Engagement Oversight
• Collaborate with internal legal teams to understand their needs, project scopes, and to identify suitable outside counsel for specific matters.
• Ensure alignment of outside counsel services with business objectives and legal requirements by conducting needs assessments and regular checkins.
• Manage the onboarding process for new outside counsel, ensuring they understand our expectations and procedures.
Cost Management
• Analyze billing practices, scrutinize invoices, and manage legal spend associated with outside counsel, identifying opportunities for cost savings and efficiency.
• Negotiate fee structures, billing terms, and other contractual arrangements with outside counsel to maximize value.
• Develop and implement budgetary controls and processes for outside counsel expenditures.
Compliance & Risk Management
• Ensure that outside counsel adheres to company policies, compliance requirements, and best practices in risk management.
• Monitor changes in laws and regulations that may impact the engagement of outside counsel and communicate relevant updates to internal teams.
• Conduct due diligence on outside counsel to assess their capabilities, areas of expertise, and risk profiles.
Training & Development
• Facilitate training sessions for internal teams on best practices for managing outside counsel relationships, including communication and performance feedback.
• Keep internal stakeholders informed about changes in outside counsel practices, capabilities, and offerings through regular updates and workshops.
Market Insights
• Stay updated on industry trends, legal market dynamics, and competitive practices related to outside counsel management.
• Conduct market research to identify potential new law firms for engagement based on evolving needs, emerging legal issues, and shifts in the legal landscape.
Reporting & Analytics
• Prepare and present regular reports on outside counsel performance, engagement metrics, and legal spend to senior management and stakeholders.
• Utilize data analytics to identify trends, performance gaps, and opportunities for improvement in outside counsel relationships.
Required education
Bachelor's Degree
Required technical and professional expertise
- Bachelor's degree in Law, Business Administration, or a related field.
- Proven experience in vendor or relationship management, preferably within a legal context.
- Strong understanding of legal services, law firm operations, and the legal industry landscape.
- Excellent negotiation, communication, and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to analyze financial data and legal billing practices effectively.
- Familiarity with legal technology systems for RFP, Matter Management, and e-Billing, etc.
Preferred technical and professional experience
- Advanced degree preferred.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple relationships and projects simultaneously.
- Proficient in using relationship management software and tools.
ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT
IBM Corporate Headquarters (CHQ) team represents a variety of functions such as marketing, finance, legal, operations, HR, and more, all working together to solve some of the world's most complex problems, help our clients achieve success and build collaborative work environments for IBMers.
YOUR LIFE @ IBM
In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.
Being an IBMer means you'll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you'll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.
Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.
Are you ready to be an IBMer?
ABOUT IBM
IBM's greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.
Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we're also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 50 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.
At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it's time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.
OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS
For additional information about location requirements, please discuss with the recruiter following submission of your application.