Vice President, Legal Vendor Strategy & Management

Job Description

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is looking to hire a VP, Legal Vendor Strategy & Management to join its existing Legal team of 50+ attorneys and other legal professionals. Based in New York or Los Angeles, the position will be responsible for (1) developing and implementing the department’s legal spend and performance management strategy, (2) building out and managing its end-to-end legal vendor selection, onboarding, budget and performance tracking, e-billing and reporting and analytics processes and (3) assembling and managing a high-performing legal vendor management team. The ideal candidate will continually seek opportunities to improve Ares’ systems and processes and leverage new sources of data to inform strategy and operations.

The Ares Legal team is responsible for advising on a wide range of legal matters and helps guide Ares’ business through an evolving and complex financial, legal and regulatory environment across the multiple jurisdictions in which Ares operates.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS
Reports to: Head of Legal Strategy + Innovation

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES

Spend and Performance Management

• Develop and execute all aspects of the legal department’s vendor selection and management strategy to optimize costs and performance.
• Oversee legal spend budgeting, forecasting and management.
• Leverage data analytics to identify opportunities for savings and performance improvements, including seeking to enrich Ares’ sources of data (e.g., matter attributes/tags, benchmarking, etc.).
• Partner with senior Legal leadership, investment professionals and portfolio companies to drive value creation within the Ares’ legal purchasing ecosystem.
• Manage all aspects of Ares’ preferred provider/panel program.
• Manage and enhance Ares’ master engagement letters and outside counsel guidelines.
• Lead negotiations with legal vendors on panel refreshes, rate increase proposals and AFAs/RFPs.
• Implement matter and vendor level performance tracking and analysis.
• Implement and manage periodic relationship meetings with legal vendors as well as any periodic reporting expected of them.

e-Billing Management

• Lead the end-to-end e-billing lifecycle, including ensuring efficiency and accuracy and compliance with outside counsel guidelines.
• Partner with Ares’ e-billing provider to enhance system functionality, generate advanced analytics and reporting and customized dashboards for stakeholders, including senior Legal leadership.
• Act as the primary point of contact for complex billing issues, resolving high-impact discrepancies and implementing process improvements.
• Collaborate with finance & accounting, IT, Legal and other stakeholders to ensure process alignment.
• Provide high-level analysis of legal billing data to inform decision-making and process improvements.
• Oversee the approval and onboarding process for new legal vendors (including new timekeepers) while ensuring vendors meet data security/privacy, confidentiality, regulatory and other requirements.
• Monitor systemic billing issues and proactively address data anomalies.
• Provide leadership and guidance to e-billing support staff to ensure efficient operations.

Vendor Administration

• Oversee the administration of engagement letters, conflict waivers, etc.
• Implement and manage a legal vendor management software tool, such as PERSUIT or Priori, ensuring complete and accurate vendor profiles.

QUALIFICATIONS
 

Education 

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, accounting, information systems or another quantitatively driven field.

Experience

• 10+ years of experience in legal vendor/outside counsel management, law firm pricing or a related field with a global remit or oversight across multiple jurisdictions.
• Proven playbook for optimizing legal vendor spend and performance and building and managing high-performing legal vendor management teams.
• Strong quantitative and data analysis skills to drive cost savings and performance improvements.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to oversee multiple initiatives.
• Experience implementing and managing new matter creation, e-billing/matter management and AFA/RFP software tools.
• Proven ability to manage rate negotiations, AFAs and RFPs, including using software tools such as PERSUIT or Priori.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and one or more data visualization software tools.
• Highly organized with attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills with experience managing legal vendor relationships.

Reporting Relationships

Compensation

$170,000 - $210,000 / annum

There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.