Director of Business Development

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, Milan, 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 Business Development department's commercial objective is to grow firm revenue and take market share, grow existing client relationships, and develop new client relationships in alignment with firm and practice goals and our industry and client teams. Business development works in collaboration with partners, other attorneys and business support colleagues to achieve these objectives and is part of a broader business support organization in a collaborative work environment. The business development team is a specialist business support function with a range of offerings focused on business development in the firm's practice groups.

The Director of Business Development (DBD) is a senior trusted advisor to the Strategic Transactions Practice Group Leaders, Specialty Group Leaders, and Partners. The DBD provides strategic and commercial leadership on the implementation of business and client development priorities and is responsible for developing and executing integrated marketing and business development strategies that enhance the firm's brand visibility, attract new clients, and drive client satisfaction and loyalty.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute integrated marketing, business, and client development strategies for practice, and related groups and initiatives, to grow revenue and client relationships, increase visibility, and align to firm strategy and messaging.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to partners and recommend appropriate marketing and business development tactics that build the firm's reputation and revenue.
• Lead the development and implementation of AI-enabled business development practices for their team-particularly around RFP response workflows, prospecting, industry research, and events-establishing workflows and processes that can be scaled across the firm. Drive practice-specific AI successes and champion innovation across BD.
• Customize marketing tactics to business goals and oversee execution of all related marketing and business development initiatives (e.g., proposals, RFPs, sponsorships, hosted events, speaking opportunities, publications, emails, web pages, videos, social posts, awards, PR, etc.).
  • Develop processes around tracking and targeting strategies and systems focused on priority clients.
  • Maintain detailed marketing and business development budgets and drive efficiency.
  • Monitor competitors in the market, share insights about their commercial efforts and apply learnings in real time in line with best practices.
• Drive pitching, targeting and new business generation efforts:
  • Advise on new business opportunities and on the development and implementation of product-targeting initiatives.
  • Oversee and provide quality control on pitches, RFPs, and other materials.
  • Work with finance to develop compelling fee arrangements.
  • Work with attorney teams to prepare for pitches and in-person meetings.
  • Identify opportunities to conduct post-pitch debriefs, post-matter reviews, firm leadership visits and annual meetings with targets and clients.
  • Prepare partners for feedback calls or visits. Where appropriate, conduct debriefs directly with clients and prospects, and report back to partners as relevant.
  • Lead consultative business development coaching and training ranging from individual coaching sessions to practice group trainings to workshops that produce measurable results; lead, motivate and inspire a client-focused philosophy within the firm.
• Manage and develop a team of business development managers and specialists who support both the practice group and related specialty groups, initiatives, and adjacent practices.
  • Ensure the development and maintenance of a high-performing team through effective leadership, training, and performance management.
  • Ensure a structured approach for maintaining up-to-date and accessible client information, knowledge, and experience information for use in pitches and other business development material.
  • Oversee and ensure real-time tracking and reporting of all relevant business development activity.
  • Encourage full and effective use of the firm's CRM database.
  • Oversee the efficient planning and execution of industry-targeted events, conferences, sponsorships, webinars, training programs, roundtables, and other activities.
• Fully utilize systems and collaborate with marketing and other firm departments to engage, grow, and track interactions with target audience. Measure impact.
  • Work with the client operations services/legal project management group on client service delivery.
  • Develop metrics to measure ROI and constantly identify opportunities for enhancements.
  • Maximize the ROI on industry targeted events, sponsorships, webinars, training programs and roundtables.
  • Create and implement integrated campaigns to help raise profile and awareness amongst our key target and client audience.
  • Optimize submissions to directories and awards panels.
  • Improve sophistication and consistency of branded materials.
  • Develop processes to promote and leverage important qualifications.
  • Oversee and maintain content of the practices web pages and ensure timely and relevant information is easily accessible and shared.
  • Develop and implement efficient processes for regularly updating all external materials.
  • Build a strong working knowledge of adjacent practices' services and a clear understanding of each group's strategy, priorities and clients, hot issues, and client value proposition in order to connect themes and target audiences via coordinated campaigns within aligned industries and practices and across the firm.
• Create and disseminate regular updates for partners:
  • Collaborate with the firm's financial analysis team on metrics reporting to track business generation year over year.
  • Maintain and share details of successful new business.
  • Provide data analytics on client engagement and engagement initiative.
  • Lead on internal business development knowledge sharing. Share hot topics, client success stories, business drivers and associated solutions with partners, and client teams and other firm departments where relevant.
  • Ensure that there is an efficient framework for internal reporting and communication of business and client development activities and successes, including the provision of information for wider management reporting and practice group specific business development focused newsletters.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree.
• MBA or JD preferred.
• Director-level experience including team leadership:
  • Minimum of 12 years of progressive business development experience in a large professional services firm or corporate environment, ideally with a focus on M&A transactions, and Life Sciences and Capital Markets industries.
• Experience in business development within the legal industry preferred.
• Quickly able to establish credibility and trusted advisor relationships with partners and colleagues by demonstrating the appropriate mix of confidence, tact, and persistence.
• Executive-level presence: secure buy-in, support and engagement of senior management.
• Effect change without direct authority.
• Delegate effectively: set and communicate goals; measure accomplishments, hold people accountable; give practical, impartial feedback.
• Strong team player with strong team management experience and skills.
• High levels of leadership skill and strategic thinking.
• High level of organizational skill including excellent project management skills and ability to manage conflicting priorities.
• Commercially minded with the ability to identify and solve problems.
• Strong communication skills, both written and oral, with an ability to communicate at all levels of the firm.
• Self starter with a strong and flexible work ethic.
• Ability to lead discussions with partners related to strategy, developing creative approaches to winning new business and a proven ability to help expand client relationships.
• Extensive experience working on large pitches and proposals including working with a team to develop a winning strategy, identifying ways to differentiate from the competition, helping to write aspects of the pitch and coaching lawyers on pitch delivery.
• Experience developing and leading business and client development coaching, workshops, and training sessions for lawyers.
• Work effectively in a multi-office environment.

Compensation and Total Rewards Package

Ropes & Gray is proud to offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package to our business support team members. The firm also offers comprehensive health and well-being benefits, personal and professional development, career growth opportunities and a collegial and supportive culture. The anticipated pay range for this role is listed below and represents our good faith and reasonable estimate of the starting salary range at the time of posting. In addition, this role is eligible for a discretionary bonus based on performance. The actual offered rate for this position will be determined based on job-related, non-discriminatory factors, including qualifications and experience, geographic location, education, external market data and consideration of internal equity.

Boston: $211,400 - $338,300

New York - $211-400 - $338,300

Working Conditions

This position requires hybrid on-site presence as an essential function of the role. Consistent and predictable on-site presence is required for ongoing business continuity, professional development and effective collaboration with colleagues and management.