Legal Practice Support & Operations Specialist (Tampa)

Johnson Pope Bokor Ruppel & Burns, LLP is seeking an experienced full-time Legal Practice Support & Operations Specialist to join its team. The candidate must have a minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience as a legal assistant, senior legal assistant, paralegal, or similar legal support position.

Why Join Johnson Pope?

At Johnson Pope, we pride ourselves on fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and professional environment where your skills are valued, and your contributions make a difference. As one of Florida’s leading regional law firms, we offer our team members the opportunity to work alongside some of the most respected attorneys in the state, in a firm that supports a strong team environment and actively builds community within the organization.

Position Overview

The Legal Practice Support & Operations Specialist will play a firmwide role in strengthening how legal support staff are trained, onboarded, and equipped to perform at the highest level. Working across the firm's practice groups — including Litigation, Real Estate, Corporate, Trusts & Estates, Healthcare, Employment, and Bankruptcy — this individual will develop structured training programs, maintain up-to-date knowledge resources, and drive process improvements that support consistent, high-quality legal support services. The role requires broad familiarity with law firm operations, strong project management skills, and the ability to work independently while collaborating across departments.

Key Responsibilities:

• Coordinate onboarding and training for all legal assistants and paralegals across the firm's practice groups, including structured onboarding plans tailored to each practice area.
• Conduct 30-, 60-, and 90-day follow-up meetings with new legal support employees, identifying training gaps and recommending improvements.
• Coordinate continuing education and refresher training for legal support staff.
• Develop and maintain written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), workflow guides, checklists, and instructional videos or practice guides.
• Partner with attorneys and experienced legal support professionals to document best practices and maintain a centralized knowledge library.
• Ensure training materials remain current as procedures, technology, and court requirements evolve.
• Coordinate conflict check workflows and assist with matter intake and matter opening procedures.
• Monitor engagement letter workflow and follow up on outstanding documentation.
• Serve as a resource on legal support workflows and administrative procedures.
• Evaluate legal support workflows, recommend process improvements, and standardize procedures across offices and practice groups where appropriate.
• Identify opportunities to leverage technology, automation, and artificial intelligence to improve efficiency, and participate in the implementation and testing of new legal technologies.
• Develop cross-training initiatives to improve operational flexibility and business continuity.
• Coordinate subject matter experts to help build practice-specific training and promote consistency in legal support practices firmwide.
• Serve as a liaison between Human Resources, Accounting, Information Technology, Marketing, attorneys, and legal support staff.
• Participate in firmwide administrative initiatives and special projects designed to improve legal support services and client experience.

Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Broad understanding of law firm operations across multiple practice areas.
• Demonstrated experience training, mentoring, or onboarding legal support staff.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• High level of discretion and professionalism.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently under deadline pressure.
• Familiarity with legal technology, document management systems, billing systems, and workflow automation is a plus.
• Interest in process improvement and knowledge management.

Educational/Job Experience Requirements:

• High school diploma from an accredited institution; Bachelor's degree preferred.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience as a legal assistant, senior legal assistant, paralegal, or similar legal support position.
• Experience supporting multiple practice areas preferred.
• Experience developing training programs, instructional materials, or knowledge management resources preferred.
• Experience with conflict checking and matter intake procedures preferred.

Office Location:  Tampa | St. Petersburg | Clearwater, FL 

Note: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employees may perform other related duties as required to meet the ongoing needs of the Firm.

Equal Opportunity Employment:

Johnson Pope Bokor Ruppel & Burns, LLP is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment and do not discriminate on the basis of an applicant’s or employee’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, citizenship, ancestry, pregnancy, familial status, actual or perceived status as a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking, or any other legally protected status entitled to protection under federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws, including applicable laws in Florida. We also provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) .