Secretarial Manager – Central

Job Summary

Gibson Dunn is a leading global law firm, advising clients on significant transactions and disputes. Our exceptional teams craft and deploy creative legal strategies that are meticulously tailored to every matter, however complex or high-stakes. The firm’s work is distinguished by a unique combination of precision and vision.

Based in Dallas or Houston office, the Secretarial Manager will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the secretarial support team.  This is an exciting and dynamic role, managing a 20+ person team of Legal Administrative Assistants, Legal Executive Assistants, and Secretarial Coordinators.

The successful candidate will ideally have prior experience managing staff in a rapidly changing environment and will be able to actualize their vision for the future of secretarial support within the legal industry by recognizing new developments within the field – including keeping abreast of the latest technologies and methodologies that supplement this vision.  This position will be responsible for strategy, training and development and innovation within the department.

This role requires a strong communicator at all levels who relishes building trust and exceptional working relationships with the secretarial team and key stakeholders while maintaining a high degree of comfort with change and change management.  This role functions as an ambassador for the secretarial team and will work closely with the team and office leaders to positively implement change, navigate new ways of working and develop efficiencies as the business requires.

This role reports to the Central Region’s Directors of Administration and will assist the DOAs as needed. The Secretarial Manager will work closely with other US Secretarial Managers and local office leaders.  This position will be responsible for monitoring, developing, and managing consistently exceptional levels of support by working directly with office leaders, attorneys and practice group leaders.

Responsibilities include:

General Management:

• This position will maintain an in-office work schedule and may occasionally require overtime beyond the standard schedule.
• This position will be responsible for managing the work schedule for the Secretarial Team and ensure appropriate coverage Monday-Friday, and weekends on occasion.
• Engages daily with the secretarial staff to develop a strong and trusting relationships with each team member.
• Manages all aspects of attorney/secretary assignments for all secretaries.  This includes reassignments and assignments for new hires.
• Coordinates and maintains back-up assignments for absences; Schedule one-off support as needed.
• Reviews and approves timecards each pay period including confirmation of time off and overtime.
• Manages requests for vacation and personal leave; assign desk coverage as appropriate.
• Other duties as assigned by the Directors of Administration.

People:

• Recruitment:  Strives to bring the best talent into the team.  Manages all aspects of the hiring and on-boarding process for the department including recruiting, reviewing resumes, testing, interviewing, scheduling attorney interviews, checking references, and making hiring recommendations.
• Performance Management/Evaluations:  Manages performance evaluation process including conducting 90-day and annual performance evaluations, obtaining and reviewing attorney evaluations of secretaries and receptionists, submitting salary/bonus recommendations, and scheduling and conducting individual evaluation meetings.
• Employee Relations:  Main point of contact for all performance-related concerns; coach, mediate and document all problems and issues; bring discipline issues to the attention of the Directors of Administration.
• On-Boarding:  Coordinate preparation of secretary orientation schedules and orientation process. Assign peer mentors to new hires and track progress of new hires.
• Training & Development:  Identify and create appropriate training for the department and individuals.  Develop baseline skill sets required for Secretarial Team members to provide exceptional service to our attorneys.  Monitor development of baseline skill sets to ensure we are meeting the needs of our attorneys.
• Engagement:  Schedules, coordinates and leads quarterly Secretarial Team meetings.  Coordinates social events for the team; encourages team participation in office events and functions.

Finance:

• Prepares annual budget for department in coordination with Directors of Administration, reports on variances.
• Approves expenses for the Secretarial Team.
• Effectively manages Secretarial Team overtime that is not client related.
• Actively seeks and suggests value engineering opportunities.

Qualifications

• Proven people management skills.
• Previous experience managing and developing secretarial teams of a similar size preferred.
• Effective impartial management style with strong verbal and written communication skills.
• High levels of self-motivation and autonomy.
• Ability to problem solve with little to no direction.
• Leads by example with the ability to build trust and develop strong positive relationships.
• Strong analytical, organizational and presentation skills.
• Commitment to delivering consistently excellent secretarial support to all attorneys.
• Calm and effective under pressure.
• Proactive and solutions driven.
• A resilient and collaborative approach to problem solving.
• Strategic thinking with strong future planning skills and a focus on the big picture.
• Drive and enthusiasm to motivate and engage a growing team.
• Ability to build and maintain team morale; creates a sense of community.
• Hands-on flexible managerial approach.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to maintain the highest level of confidentiality.

Experience

• A bachelor’s degree is strongly preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in a law firm or professional services environment where the applicant was responsible for complex administrative duties and projects is required.
• Previous leadership, supervisory or managerial experience in a law firm or professional services environment is strongly preferred.

 

 

Gibson Dunn will consider for employment qualified Applicants with Criminal Histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of local law.

Compensation & Benefits:

The annual compensation range for this position is $120-140k. The salary offered within this range will depend upon qualifications and other operational considerations.

Benefits offered for this position include health care; retirement benefits; paid days off, including sick time, and vacation time; parental leave; basic life insurance; Flexible Spending Accounts; as well as discretionary, performance-based bonuses.

Locations:

Dallas, Houston

EEO Statement

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity for all partners, employees and applicants and, in accordance with the applicable federal and state laws, does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, color, religion, matriculation or political affiliation, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, ancestry, age, marital status or partnership status, family responsibilities, disability, medical condition, personal appearance, genetic information, predisposing genetic characteristics, sexual orientation, military status, status as a victim of domestic violence, stalking and sex offenses, arrest or conviction record, or on any other basis prohibited by law.