Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is seeking a Manager of Strategic Pricing. This position will be a key member of the Firm's Pricing & Legal Project Management team and will focus on delivering value through innovative fee arrangements, matter budgeting and reporting, and partner education.
The Manager of Strategic Pricing will work closely with Firm attorneys to support day-to-day pricing needs for new and existing clients and matters. A strong candidate will be driven, analytical, detail-oriented, and have experience with legal pricing and financial modeling, and a solid understanding of law firm economics and accounting principles.
The Manager will provide guidance and support to the Firm's attorneys on creative approaches to alternative fee arrangements and budget development and assist in balancing client needs with the Firm’s business objectives. Further, they will advise Partners and senior staff on pricing strategies and provide insights into market trends. Essential responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Work closely with the Chief Value & Innovation Officer, and Director of Practice Innovation to drive pricing department process improvements, partner education, internal and external communication strategies, materials development, etc.
Supervise, educate, and mentor the firm’s Pricing Analysts.
Contribute to the preparation of various templates and financial and pricing models with analysis that provides partners with projected outcomes for alternative pricing arrangements.
Working with the firm’s Pricing Analysts, oversee pricing model development and ensure analysis complies with request and quality standards, interface with partners, and facilitate efficient workflow.
Develop, negotiate and implement appropriate fee arrangements that meet both the client's budget and pricing demands, and internal firm requirements. Support partners in client pricing conversations.
Develop and maintain pricing databases and tools using historic data mined from past matters which can be used to create more accurate fee estimates for Partners during client pitches.
Provide support to partners for pricing requests, including preparation of fee estimates, development of appropriate pricing approaches and the communication of fees and value pricing.
Establish pricing metrics that allow the Firm to continually improve both in terms of individual fee proposals and broader Pricing team engagements and initiatives.
Review of billing guidelines, fee arrangements, special provisions, and terms and conditions of client engagements to ensure compliance with firm-wide policies and procedures.
Identify and develop fee arrangements specific to key practice areas and industries.
Track competitive market data and pricing trends by region, practice area or other relevant differentiators. Stay abreast of current trends and recommend updates to existing pricing models.
Support the Firm’s annual rate-setting process and administer billing rates throughout all offices
Design and implement effective reporting and systems to assist Partners in monitoring and forecasting client engagements against budgets.
Requirements:
Undergraduate degree is required. ALPP or PMP qualifications valued.
Minimum of 5 years of strategic financial/pricing analysis and reporting in a law firm, corporate legal department, litigation financing environment, or a professional services firm.
Supervisory experience preferred.
Demonstrable and substantive knowledge of the practice and business of law.
Experience with alternative pricing structuring, portfolio management, and financial engineering/modelling.
Outstanding verbal and presentation skills, including the ability to address large groups, including partners and clients.
Experience in leading process improvement activities in a professional services environment and in implementing project management disciplines.
Knowledge of Aderant, and/or other law firm practice management tools.
Strong technical skills, including strong Excel skills (including use of lookups and pivot tables) and a high level of proficiency in Word and PowerPoint required.
Experience in using data visualization tools (e.g. Power BI) desired.
Advanced proficiency in developing and maintaining pricing tools and databases.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
