Reporting into the Director, Practice Strategy & Growth – Disputes, the Specialist, Business Development – Disputes provides strategic advice and practical support to execute the objectives of the national Disputes: Commercial and Construction and Specialized Disputes practice plans, and the day-to-day marketing and business development needs of associated legal professionals.

This is a 12 month contract replacing a maternity leave.

An experienced and highly visible member of the national Clients & Markets team, the Specialist, Business Development – Disputes works closely with legal professionals, and coordinates with Business Services members Clients & Markets colleagues, to:

• Support practice revenue growth by identifying opportunities for new business and client relationship development, as well as contributing insights to proposals and pitches with respect to legal professional expertise and identifying representative experience.
• Activate and deepen client touchpoints in through the development of client seminars and events, as well as updating and maintaining key contacts in CRM.
• Increase brand profile and create eminence for Disputes internally and externally through the coordination of thought leadership, impactful brand positioning, recognition in leading legal directories and awards publications, and developing relationships with industry associations

Success in this role is measured through the Specialist’s contribution to: lead generation (converting opportunities into new work); client relationship development (new and institutional); and brand awareness (BLG as trusted business partner within market).

Key Responsibilities

The key responsibilities of this role are:

Practice Group Support and Program Delivery (50%)

• Support the execution of activities identified in the national Disputes practice plans
• Attend, participate and report on developments at national and regional practice group meetings.
• Build profile with practice group members by learning about their practice expertise, individual business plan objectives and providing practical coaching and support.
• Capture and draft experience narratives for inclusion in proposals and directory submissions using the experience database (Foundation).
• Plan, lead and manage practice group programs and client events.
• Organize regular focus group meetings and manage action items.
• Monitor and analyze market and competitor activity.
• Work closely with the Pursuits Team in support of new business opportunities.

Reporting and Analysis (25%)

• Promote and use the firm’s CRM to ensure client contacts and marketing lists are up-to-date.
• Use the web analytics to inform decisions and detail what is working and not working in the market to pivot accordingly.
• Track and report on BD activities and related expenses.
• Track and report on the business pipeline, results, wins, losses, ROI, best practices and lessons learned, including matters and expertise used for internal knowledge and external PR purposes and online content.
• Support research requests to provide client industry insights, business and competitive intelligence in support of new business generation.

Marketing & Brand Awareness (25%)

• Raise awareness of BLG’s profile in the market through impactful social media campaigns, e-bulletins and submissions to legal rankings and awards publications.
• Coach legal professionals in personal profile building (e.g., website bio optimization, social media presence).
• Maintain content on Disputes webpages/sub-pages to ensure recent representative experience is promoted.
• Support participation in industry sponsorships, speaking engagements, conferences and memberships in relevant associations.
• Develop and share deep knowledge of the existing client base and clients’ past, present, and potential business and legal challenges.

General Responsibilities

• Collaborate with C&M and Business Services colleagues to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, service delivery and continuous improvement.
• Support and manage systems and processes to track, measure and report on ROI results of C&M initiatives and key client events to Firm Management.
• Follow up with the key practice group leaders and members to ensure measurable progress occurs, action plans are followed and are implemented and reporting and accountability are enhanced.

Key Competencies

This role provides privileged access to the inner workings of BLG and to highly sensitive information. The successful candidate will be discrete, high-energy, agile-minded, strategic, proactive, a direct communicator, highly organized and committed to the vision and values of BLG. In addition, the following standards will generally define the successful incumbent:

• Degree in Business/Marketing/Communications
• At least 3 years experience in a legal or professional services environment
• In-depth understanding of legal and business environments, especially the business model of the National Practice Group(s) and Client Service Team Leaders that the role will be supporting
• Strong professional presence and conduct, able to work with Senior Management of the Firm
• Strategic leader and thinker, with a proven ability to innovate
• Strong time and project management skills, and ability to manage a variety of concurrent projects
• Established knowledge of Microsoft Office suite software (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and CRM
• Team-oriented and a good communicator
• Bilingual (English/French) capability is an asset