Chief Operating Officer

KLR Executive Search Group is proud to partner with a premier New England full-service law firm to identify an experienced Chief Operating Officer (COO) to lead daily business operations and administrative functions. Based in New Hampshire, with additional offices across New Hampshire and Massachusetts, the firm has built a strong regional reputation and continues to expand its presence across key markets. The COO will work closely with firm leadership to strengthen operational infrastructure, improve systems and processes, enhance financial reporting and business analytics, support technology implementation, and drive cross-office alignment. This is a key leadership opportunity created by the planned retirement of the firm’s current CEO/Executive Director. Ideal candidates will bring strong operational leadership experience within a law firm, professional services firm, or similarly complex organization, along with the ability to manage change, build consensus, and support continued financial success and growth.

Core Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Oversee firm-wide daily operations across all offices, ensuring coordination, communication, consistency, and alignment across the firm’s New England footprint.
• Serve as a strategic partner to firm leadership, practice group leaders, department heads, and administrative teams on operational priorities, staffing, resources, and growth initiatives.
• Lead administrative infrastructure across Finance, HR, IT, Facilities, Operations, and related business functions while supporting succession planning, recruiting, retention, compensation, and a collaborative team-first culture.

Technology & Process Innovation

• Lead business process optimization initiatives across departments and offices, improving workflows, documentation, internal coordination, service delivery, and overall efficiency.
• Support the implementation and optimization of accounting systems, HRIS tools, AI solutions, and other technologies while partnering with IT, Finance, HR, and administrative leaders to strengthen systems integration, data quality, reporting, and best practices.

Financial Management and Resource Allocation

• Partner with Finance and firm leadership to strengthen financial reporting, business analytics, budgeting, forecasting, and performance tracking.
• Use financial and operational data to support informed decision-making across staffing, systems, infrastructure, real estate, and office planning.
• Align resources with short-, mid-, and long-term operational goals while identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, manage costs, and support thoughtful investment.

Risk and Compliance

• Support firm leadership in maintaining clear policies, consistent procedures, sound administrative practices, and strong internal controls across offices and departments.
• Partner with Finance, HR, IT, and other leaders to identify operational risks and implement practical solutions, ensuring new systems and processes are rolled out with appropriate attention to compliance, training, change management, transparency, and accountability.

Qualifications

• 20+ years of executive operational leadership experience within a complex organization, ideally a law firm or professional services firm.
• Experience overseeing or partnering with Finance, HR, IT, Facilities, Operations, and other administrative functions.
• Proven ability to lead operational improvements, systems implementations, process optimization, change management, financial analysis, and business reporting initiatives.
• Strong communication, relationship-building, and leadership skills, with the ability to earn credibility in a consensus-driven, team-first environment.
• This role is based in New Hampshire , with oversight across multiple offices in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Local or relocation candidates are preferred.