Legal Director (US OR Canada Based)

OUR FIRM

Avantia Law is leading the way in legal services innovation. Our team of talented lawyers, backed by AI, work with clients to deliver routine legal and compliance work fast and cost-efficiently.

We have experienced exceptional growth and success since our inception in 2019.

Our clients are sophisticated, high-calibre investment funds and asset managers. They expect a premium service – and we deliver. We have a proven track record in this, often winning new clients through referrals.

We are powered by AI, but committed to our people.

We offer a culture of trust and flexibility to employees. We have an office in London for those wishing to spend some portion of their working time with colleagues, but employees are equally welcome to work remotely. We have a truly diverse workforce, with members of staff coming from all corners of the world.

THE ROLE

Avantia is looking for a talented and ambitious Lawyer to take the lead on client service delivery and team management.

We have an innovative team structure, where each of our Legal Directors heads a "Club" comprised of lawyers and legal professionals serving multiple clients. As a leader, you'll have freedom in running your Club - at the same time you have a group of peers to collaborate with and will work with your Managing Director to coordinate across Clubs, ensure consistent standards of delivery and, of course, to celebrate successes as a group. 

You will be accountable for overall performance of the services to your clients as well as for team management of your Club members.  You will also have the opportunity to lead cross-Club projects and to develop and launch new services/products. 

You will also have your own client case-load, making this an exceptionally exciting role for experienced lawyers keen on evolving into leadership and business management within our dynamic and supportive organisation.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Club performance 
• With support from your MD and central functions, actively manage the Club’s financial and service delivery performance 
•  Client Service Delivery Management 
• Lead new client onboarding:  advising on and developing templates and playbooks, agreeing negotiating positions, escalations and handoffs and launching clients into day to day service delivery. 
• Oversee the intake of new client requests, triage/assessment and allocation to team members  
• Balance team member workloads for efficiency 
• Monitor SLAs and intervene where necessary 
• Ensure overall client satisfaction 
• Maintain an active client caseload, likely to be at around 40% of the volume of other lawyers in the team, and anticipating that may increase at times to cover short term peaks or team absence
• Team Management and Leadership 
• Day-to-day line management of Club lawyers and legal professionals, although you may choose to delegate to / share with more senior team members when appropriate 
• Absence planning and workload management for team members 
• Performance management, including active management of under-performers 
• Actively manage Consultant team members  
• Forward planning, recruiting, onboarding and training of new team members 
• Coaching and developing team members and keeping an eye to their welfare 
• Club social, culture, wellbeing and sense of belonging
• Account Management 
• Working with the CCO, your MD and Lawyer team, execute Avantia’s account management programme with your Club’s clients, including looking for cross- and up-selling opportunities 
• Lead continuous improvement programmes for your clients 
• Manage all escalations and take ownership for overall client satisfaction 
• Service Line Leadership 
• Act as a member of the Service Line Leadership Team, led by the MD 
• As part of the Leadership Team coordinate ensure smooth and consistent service delivery and team management across Clubs 
• Contribute to Service Line strategy and planning, help to develop and launch new products, improve service delivery capabilities 
• Support new Clubs and their Legal Directors 
• Support Service Line go-to-market planning and pre-sales 

COMPETENCIES

• Comfortable with a dynamic, growth environment supporting demanding clients 
• Legally rigorous, but commercially savvy and comfortable with competing tasks, priorities and deadlines 
• Business-minded, with a commitment to getting the balance right between efficiency, responsiveness and respect for team members’ work-life balance 
• Enthusiastic about leading a team of high-quality team members, appreciating that your own success is in turn dependent on their success 
• A self-starter who takes ownership. We look for people who are constantly thinking of ways to innovate our technology and our business

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

Avantia Law is offering a permanent, full-time position with the flexibility of remote working, anywhere within the United States or Canada.

At Avantia, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace, and we firmly believe in equal opportunities for all. We value and celebrate the unique perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences that each individual brings to our team. We embrace diversity in all its forms. We strive to create an environment where everyone feels respected, valued, and empowered to contribute their best work. Our hiring process is merit-based, and we welcome applications from all qualified individuals. We encourage you to communicate any reasonable accommodations you may need during the recruitment process and future employment. Please let your Talent team contact know ahead of any interview, we will be happy to suggest or confidentially discuss reasonable adjustments.

Requirements

• Licensed to practice Law in the USA or Canada with additional jurisdictions a bonus.
• Have at least 6 years’ legal experience post qualification, either inhouse or private practice 
• Have some experience managing, training and motivating team members 
• Have familiarity with asset managers, investment banks or other financial services firms 
• Have experience with independently providing legal advisory services.
• Tech savvy and able to adapt to Avantia’s technology suite (e.g. HighQ). Any specific interest in artificial intelligence and legal tech is very welcome!