Sr. Manager, Outside Counsel & Legal Operations

The Opportunity

This position works onsite out of our headquarters at Abbott Park, Illinois or Chicago, Illinois at Abbott’s Willis Tower location.

Abbott is seeking an attorney with a passion for creative and critical thinking to fill this position. The Senior Manager, Outside Counsel & Legal Operations is responsible for developing, implementing, and managing an array of programs to assist the in-house legal team maximize the value of legal services to the company.

The ideal candidate is familiar with a broad range of legal issues and current trends, and who can interact with Legal leadership (including the General Counsel).

This is a unique opportunity to play a critical role in Abbott’s Outside Counsel Management Program.

What You’ll Work On

• Partner with Abbott’s Legal team to select and evaluate appropriate outside counsel and legal vendors to ensure quality of service and maximize value, support active law firm management.
• Participate in developing and implementing strategic outside counsel initiatives supporting DEI, spend management, training, and pro bono.
• Negotiate preferential rates and fee arrangements, manage RFP process, and oversee annual outside counsel rate increase request process.
• Analyze potential conflicts of interest and draft waivers, as appropriate; manage Abbott’s standard terms of engagement, draft and negotiate engagement letters.
• Drive strategy for using analytics and business intelligence to assess outside counsel work and spend; identify opportunities for improving efficiencies and driving value.
• Collaborate internally and externally to analyze and improve processes and develop innovative solutions; develop communication strategy regarding outside counsel processes and initiatives.
• Leverage existing technology, identify new technologies and implement tools to increase business intelligence and efficiency.
• Participate in industry organizations to build a robust benchmarking and performance assessment program, benchmark approaches and identify new strategies and models for the delivery of legal services.
• Organize outside counsel educational meetings and training programs.
• Supervise direct report(s).

Required Qualifications

• Juris Doctor
• Ideally 2+ years strategic operations experience, preferably with legal
• Excellent analytical skills (problem structuring and problem solving); able to handle complex analysis.
• Excellent communication and conceptual synthesis skills (written and oral)
• Excellent project management skills
• Tech-savvy; comfortable exploring and using new technologies.
• Outstanding flexibility, adaptability, and sense of accountability
• Strong attention to detail, good judgement, and strong time management skills

Preferred Qualifications

• 5 to 10 years of legal experience
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively across a global, matrixed company.
• Passionate, positive attitude with ability to motivate others to perform their best.

Location

• Located at Abbott’s headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois or at our Chicago office, Willis Tower.
30+ days ago