Chief Operating Officer

Company Description

USA Employment Lawyers is a nationwide plaintiff-side class action wage and hour law firm on a mission to help 100,000 workers recover unpaid wages by 2030. Our CEO, Jordan Richards, Esquire, is a former prosecutor with extensive legal experience; he wins big, multi-state cases at a consistently high level. What we need now is the experienced operator who builds and refines everything around him - the systems, the team, the standards, and the accountability infrastructure - so that the firm grows with or without him in the room.

Why Now

Most firms at this stage face a choice: stay small and manageable, or build the infrastructure to scale. We have made our choice. The firm is backed by institutional litigation financing, has a clear growth trajectory, and is making the operational investments required to become a multi -seven-figure firm in the next 24 months. The decision has been made. The resources are in place. What has been missing is the operator to execute.

This is the moment where the right COO can build something special - without entrenched bureaucracy, without fighting for authority that hasn't been granted. The mandate is real, the backing is real, and the upside is directly tied to what you produce.

The Role

You will report directly to the CEO and work strategically alongside him. Every other member of the firm - attorneys, paralegals, intake, client services, operations, and marketing - reports to you. You are not here to observe or report on what you see. You are here to build it, run it, and make it better every quarter.

If you have read Fireproof or understand the integrator model from Rocket Fuel, you already know what this looks like. If you have not read these books, you need to before applying to understand our expectations. The CEO is the visionary. You are the operator who makes the vision executable - translating strategy into systems, systems into standards, and standards into results. Consistently. Measurably. Without being asked twice.

This position is 100% in-office in Fort Lauderdale. No remote or hybrid arrangements. No exceptions.

What You'll Own

You own the operational health of the firm - SOP development and enforcement, KPI tracking, team accountability, and the direct management conversations that most firms avoid. You identify performance problems, address them, and resolve them without the CEO in the room.

Litigation Team Performance: your job is to build a litigation team that performs at a high level, takes the load off of the CEO, and replicates his results - held to a measurable, consistent standard of output. Attorneys and paralegals who do not produce are your responsibility to assess, develop, or replace.

Intake Pipeline and Lead Conversion: you will own the systems, the team, and the metrics that drive lead conversion. You will identify where the pipeline leaks and build the processes that stop it.

Personnel - Hiring, Development, and Separation: every hire in this firm goes through you. You will recruit, onboard, develop, and when necessary separate staff with the documentation and professionalism that protects the firm and upholds its standards.

Financial Discipline and Growth Infrastructure: you will work closely with the CEO on financial performance, budgeting, and the investments required to scale responsibly. You are not the CFO, but you think like one.

Who You Are

• You have already run a contingency law firm at this level . You inherited an operation, assessed what was broken, built what was missing, and produced measurable results. You ran it - and you have the numbers to prove it.
• You are direct and not rattled by hard conversations . Underperformance does not get a pass. You hold the team to a standard, give honest feedback, and follow through - every time.
• You build systems before problems repeat . You are not a firefighter. You are an architect. You fix what goes wrong - and then build the process that prevents it from happening again.
• You are comfortable being the person everyone reports to . You treat every role with respect and hold every role to a standard. Titles do not change your expectations.
• You are mission-aligned . You do not have to be a lawyer to care deeply about what this firm does and why it exists.

Who You'll Be Working With

Jordan Richards is unreasonably committed - not in a way that burns people out, but in a way that raises the standard of everyone around him just by proximity. He shows up completely: to the mission, to the cases, to the people he believes in. He expects the same in return - not because he is demanding for the sake of it, but because the people this firm fights for deserve nothing less than everything the firm has.

The people who thrive alongside Jordan take ownership of their work, operate with complete integrity, and bring the same level of commitment he does. They do not wait to be told what to do, do not make excuses, and never stop looking for ways to be better. If that describes you, you will find a partner who backs you fully, advocates for you loudly, and rewards you generously when you deliver.

Our Culture & Values

These are not aspirational. They are operational.

• Completion . We meet our deadlines. Every one of them.
• KPI-Focused . We measure what matters and strive to surpass our targets. Results are recognized and rewarded.
• Growth . We embrace learning and stay ahead - better processes, sharper skills, smarter tools.
• Loyalty . We go the extra mile for our team and our clients. You matter here.
• Accountability . We own our results - wins and failures alike. Excuses are not accepted.
• Integrity . We do what we say. Respect is earned through consistent action.

What We Require

• Minimum 15 years in operations, with at least 5 years as COO or equivalent at a contingency law firm.
• Proven documented track record of scaling a contingency litigation firm through multi-seven figures - built from the inside, not observed from the outside.
• Direct experience building and enforcing SOP and KPI frameworks in a law firm environment.
• Demonstrated ability to manage, develop, and make personnel decisions on legal staff.
• Experience owning intake pipeline performance and lead-to-client conversion.
• Fluency with legal operations platforms (CLIO, Litify, or comparable)
• Non-attorney background - this role leads the business of the firm, not the practice of law
• Based in or prepared to relocate to South Florida prior to start date.

This is NOT the Right Role If...

• You are stepping into a COO title at a contingency law firm for the first time.
• You need a fully built system handed to you before you can perform.
• You are not prepared to make hard personnel calls from the start.
• You prefer to present options and observations upward rather than make decisions and own the outcomes.
• You are looking for a remote or hybrid arrangement.

Compensation

The base salary for this role is $150,000 to $200,000, commensurate with experience. In addition, we offer significant performance-based incentive bonuses tied to hard metrics: firm revenue growth, litigation team output, and intake conversion performance. An operator who delivers will earn materially more than base in year one - and the upside grows as the firm grows.

Additional benefits include employer-contributed health coverage, fully employer-paid long-term disability insurance, Simple IRA with up to 3% employer match, and three weeks of paid time off annually. There is no equity in this role. The upside is in the incentive structure - and it is real.

A Final Word

We are looking for the person who builds what needs to exists - and then runs it with the discipline and accountability that turns a good firm into a GREAT one.

Tell us which firm you scaled, what you inherited, what you built, and what the numbers looked like when you were done.