Legal Project Manager

Practice Group / Department:

Legal Project Management

Job Description

We're Norton Rose Fulbright - a global law firm with over 50 offices and 7,000 employees worldwide. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. At Norton Rose Fulbright, our strategy and our culture are closely entwined. We know that our expansion will mean little unless it is underpinned by truly global collaboration and we understand that pioneering work only takes place when our people have room to move and think beyond boundaries. As well as the relevant skills and experience, we're looking for people who are innovative, commercial and value the work that they do. 

Location: London, UK

Department: Legal Project Management

Reports to: Head of Legal Project Management

We are seeking a highly motivated and commercially minded Corporate Legal Project Manager with demonstrable experience at a leading law firm to join our growing LPM team. This role sits at the intersection of legal service delivery, client management and operational excellence, supporting complex corporate transactions and strategic client matters.

The successful candidate will work closely with partners, associates and business services teams to enhance matter planning, financial management, process efficiency and client reporting across high-value, often cross-border corporate mandates. This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in driving innovation, working alongside our legal, process and technology experts to deliver an exceptional client experience within a leading global law firm.

The Role

The key responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Matter Planning & Delivery

• Collaborate with partners and matter teams at the outset of engagements to define scope, timelines, budgets and resourcing models.
• Develop detailed project plans, including task lists, milestones, critical paths and dependencies.
• Implement appropriate legal project management methodologies tailored to corporate transactions (e.g., M&A, joint ventures, capital markets transactions).
• Monitor progress against plan and proactively identify and mitigate risks.

Financial Management & Commercial Oversight

• Support the preparation of matter budgets, pricing proposals and fee arrangements (including alternative fee arrangements).
• Track financial performance throughout the lifecycle of a matter, including WIP, billing, forecasts and profitability.
• Provide clear and regular financial reporting to partners and matter leads.
• Identify opportunities to improve margin and cost predictability.

Stakeholder & Client Engagement

• Act as a key liaison between legal teams, clients and business services functions (Finance, IT, Knowledge, Risk, etc.).
• Facilitate effective communication across multi-jurisdictional teams.
• Support client reporting requirements, including dashboards, status updates and post-matter reviews.
• Contribute to client-facing discussions regarding project approach and delivery models.

Process Improvement & Innovation

• Identify opportunities to improve matter workflows, standardise processes and embed best practices.
• Leverage legal technology and collaboration tools to improve efficiency and transparency.
• Capture lessons learned and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives within the Corporate practice.
• Support change management initiatives relating to legal operations and service delivery transformation.

Governance & Risk

• Ensure compliance with firm policies, client guidelines and regulatory requirements.
• Assist in managing scope changes and documenting variations to engagement terms.
• Support matter closing processes, including financial reconciliation and post-completion analysis.

Skills and Experience Required

Qualifications & Experience

• Degree-level education preferred.
• Formal project management qualification (e.g., PRINCE2, PMP) desirable.
• Demonstrable experience in project management within a law firm, professional services environment, or corporate legal department.
• Experience supporting complex corporate transactions preferred.
• Strong understanding of legal financial metrics (budgeting, WIP, billing, profitability).

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent organisational and planning skills with strong attention to detail.
• Commercially astute with the ability to interpret and communicate financial data.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to work alongside senior partners and clients.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proactive, solution-oriented mindset with the ability to anticipate risks and issues.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, deadline-driven transactional environment.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (essential); experience with project scheduling tools such as MS Project or Smartsheet, reporting platforms such as Power BI, collaboration tools such as HighQ, and GenAI solutions (e.g. Copilot, Harvey) desirable.

Personal Attributes

• Collaborative and team-oriented approach.
• Resilient and adaptable in managing competing priorities.
• Discreet and professional, with sound judgment.
• Commitment to delivering high-quality client service.
• Enthusiastic about innovation and continuous improvement in legal service delivery.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

To attract the best people, we strive to create a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to work, have a sense of belonging, and realize their full career potential. 
Our new enabled work model allows our people to have more flexibility in the way they choose to work from both the office and a remote location, while continuing to deliver the highest standards of service. We offer a range of family friendly and inclusive employment policies and provide access to programmes and services aimed at nurturing our people’s health and overall wellbeing. Find more about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion here.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams. We strive to create an inclusive and accessible recruitment process for all candidates. If you require any tailored adjustments or accommodations, please let us know here.