Practice Strategy Manager – Global Restructuring & Insolvency

Who we are

We are one of the largest international law firms in the world. With over 30 offices across the globe, we strive to exceed the expectations of our clients, providing them with the highest-quality advice and legal insight, which combines the firm’s global standards with in-depth local expertise.

Our firm, work and people span jurisdictions, cultures, and languages. We offer our clients a truly international perspective. We believe every career should be rewarding and stimulating - full of opportunities to learn, thrive, and grow. That’s why we’re so proud of our inclusive, friendly, and team-based approach to work.

You’ll find our clients in commercial and industrial sectors, the financial investor community, governments, regulators, trade bodies, and not-for-profit organisations. But no matter who they are or why they’ve reached out to us, we provide a world-class service every step of the way. And that’s possible thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and conscientious approach to work that you’ll find across all of our teams.

Whichever area of the business you join, you’ll become an integral part an innovative, diverse and ambitious team of people. Clifford Chance is a place where the brightest minds and the best of colleagues meet.

The Role

Job Overview

Clifford Chance has a global strategy which puts clients at the very heart of everything the Firm does. We have a clear mandate around developing our existing strengths and relationships whilst increasing our market share in new markets.

Clifford Chance's London Global Financial Markets practices ("GFM") are recognised as market leaders and work with many of the world's pre-eminent financial institutions and investors. The role is for talented individual, ideally with legal experience, to sit within the Restructuring & Insolvency practice in London to assist the partners drive, manage and further develop the R&I team's client strategy, including relationships with clients (the role is not fee-earning). 

The R&I team is part of the GFM practice and operates as a global team acting for a wide range of stakeholders – from "real money" lenders and bondholders, through specialist distressed debt funds, financial investors, private equity houses, directors, and insolvency officeholders – as well as governments and industry bodies.  Given the London R&I team's key role in the global R&I practice, the role will have a global perspective and will support development and success of the global R&I practice. 

The successful candidate will also have a "dotted line" of report into the GFM Client & Market Development function ("CMD").  The CMD team is pivotal in making the Firm's client vision a reality. CMD works strategically with our Global Business Units – all with the same vision "to be the global law firm of choice for the world's leading businesses of today and tomorrow".

Who you will work with and what will you be responsible for

This role will require you to work primarily with the partners (and fee earners) in R&I in London as well as other R&I team members across the global firm, in executing and further developing a client-centric business development strategy for R&I in London (and globally).  Engagement with the R&I team's current and new clients will form a key part of the role, including with a view to winning new business and seeking out new opportunities.

As part of this and to facilitate the strategy, you will also work in collaboration with the wider CMD and Knowledge, Education and Thought Leadership ("KETL") teams in London and across the global network, as well as a wider network of business professionals.

The R&I practice is recognised as a market-leading team of lawyers. This role is integral to the team and its continued success. It is an opportunity for a high-energy individual with a strong focus on clients and client development and appetite to learn about restructuring and the restructuring market to make a huge impact within GFM and to influence the R&I value proposition.

What you will do

This role requires the individual to work with London R&I partners (and globally) to:

• Assist with the development and co-ordinate delivery of agreed and focussed business development strategy. Shape the practice's business planning process
• Assist in identifying and winning new business opportunities
• Develop the value proposition and unique selling points with the team and elevate R&I market profile in the context of our strategy
• Develop and deliver high quality, user friendly, first to market/real time marketing, which is client focussed and with a technical/ commercial R&I slant
• Enhance and promote CC brand and offering working closely with the firm's Brand, Communications and Marketing ("BCM") function on profile raising initiatives to leverage all marketing channels to facilitate and to improve marketing and communications in pursuit of strategy

Opportunities pipeline / Revenue generation – leveraging the team's restructuring experience and restructuring market knowledge and knowledge learnt and developed "on the job":

• Assist in proactively spotting and winning new opportunities
• Manage/assist with/ support preparation and delivery to clients of "pre-pitch pitches"
• Manage the cross-practice production of strategically significant RfP responses, pitches and credential statements
• Manage/assist with the creation, maintenance  and curation of  high quality/professional and accessible team and deal credentials (for London, Europe, Global practice) and generic (i.e. non transaction specific) CC R&I team proposal/pitch that can be deployed quickly

Clients - working with the R&I team, wider CMD team and others e.g. Practice Assistants to ensure effective:

• Tracking and co-ordinating of key client and market participant (e.g., Financial Advisor) contacts and relationships in order to:
  • identify gaps in coverage against strategy and as a result of market changes/personnel moves
  • increase client engagement
  • ensure co-ordinated and efficient approach
  • allow long term relationships to be built across team which can be passed on
• Creation, maintenance and curation of user friendly/accessible client data base, e.g. sub categories etc for targeted and quick marketing and communication
• R&I Client mapping, i.e., across offices, departments to assist making connections (and develop opportunities) across offices

Marketing materials – drawing on restructuring experience:

• Develop and deliver targeted, client focussed, user friendly (e.g. bite sized/quick to read) and first to market/real time R&I content for use in marketing and communications
• Develop and deliver R&I campaigns and (networking) events that promote strategy, enhance CC R&I brand and offering/USP and raise profile
• Working with BCM / CMD dedicated Events professionals on bigger/Firm-wide/cross-practice events of relevance to R&I

Reputation management and marketing communications

• Take an external view with the aim to build profile and pipeline opportunities (e.g. sponsorships with market participants/organisations, PR and other business development campaigns)
• Develop and promote CC R&I brand and offering/USP within context of strategy
• Working with internal teams to help enhance digital profile of team – e.g., through CC website content, LinkedIn and other social media, targeted/client/business focused contributions to leading on-line platforms
• Develop and deliver profile raising activities to enhance personal profiles/standing of partners and team 
• Oversee multiple marcomms projects, including the delivery of directory/awards submissions, client briefings and product positioning statements.
• Manage directories submission process and focussed campaign of directories' engagement/outreach to maximise and enhance profile of team members (and maintain overall rankings)
• Support firm change management projects to upgrade our client-related systems to better identify opportunities, or develop, track and exploit client relationships e.g. Foundation, CRM system, external data sources/subscriptions
• Support global, local and cross-practice flow of information across GFM and business professional teams

Your experience 

In order to perform this role successfully, the candidate will ideally have legal experience, be able to demonstrate some knowledge of the restructuring and insolvency market and show an aptitude and appetite to learn about it in detail so that they have or will have in time

• An understanding of the R&I market (London, Europe and, at high level, US) including:

1. Key investors by product type, e.g. TLB, RCF, senior secured, high yield, CLOs, private credit, unitranche
2. Key distressed investing firms and FIs
3. Key law firms in London and Europe (competitors) - strengths, weaknesses and specialties
4. Key non-legal market participants, who's who etc.

• A client centric view and the ability to translate opportunities into actionable plans
• A global perspective, with sensitivity to multiple and diverse cultures (international working experience would be an advantage)
• Excellent prioritising skills with the ability to make judgement calls on where to add value
• Research skills and is conversant with relevant tools including 9fin, Reorg and Debtwire
• The ability to work effectively and co-operatively with senior business development teams and fee earning teams (from senior to junior team members)
• Strong interpersonal skills and exceptionally strong communication skills, both verbal and written (including strong editing and attention to detail)
• Well-developed influencing and presentation skills as well as being confident, resilient and focused
• The ability to demonstrate a track record of being proactive and delivering high quality work both personally and through a team
• Proven project management skills
• High level of proficiency with LinkedIn
• Knowledge of Chambers and L500 ranking/ratings process

How we will support you

From your first day with us, you will have varied opportunities to continuously grow and development your skills and knowledge. From formal training, informal coaching and mentoring through to skills-based and technical training and on the job learning.

Hybrid Working

This role follows our 'balanced' hybrid working approach and as long as business needs allow, you will be supported to work in a hybrid way with the expectation of working from the office for a minimum of 50% of your time.

Equal opportunities statement

At Clifford Chance, we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team and their families, our firm and society.

We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age.  This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment including pay, promotion, training, transfer and every other aspect of employment.

We have a variety of flourishing employee networks. These networks are a place for colleagues to share experiences and advocate for change wherever they see an opportunity for improvement.

Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our firm.

Find out more about our inclusive culture here.