Professional Development Specialist

Job Summary & Objectives

The Professional Development Specialist supports the professional staffing and development of associates and counsel within the Energy & Infrastructure practice, including, but not limited to, staffing, talent engagement initiatives, and mentoring. The Professional Development Specialist serves as a key resource in advancing attorney staffing coordination and assignments, development initiatives, mentoring programs, talent engagement efforts, performance management processes and helping ensure a positive and consistent attorney experience across the practice.

The Professional Development Specialist will report primarily to the Manager, Legal Talent, and have a secondary reporting line to the Firm’s Director, Legal Training and Development. The role acts as a trusted point of contact for attorneys while escalating complex talent-related matters to Legal Talent management as appropriate.

Essential Job Duties & Responsibilities

Staffing

Partner closely with staffing partners and Professional Development Managers to monitor, assess and help maintain an equitable level of attorney utilization across the group.

Evaluate staffing requests and make recommendations regarding resource allocation, matching staffing needs with the appropriate attorney resources based on availability, experience, skills, utilization, and desired exposure to various matters/teams.

Build rapport with mid-senior associates by means of in-person meetings, telephone calls and Zoom meetings.

Provide associates with the opportunity to work on a variety of matters while balancing growth opportunities with client needs.

Strive to maintain consistency of experiences and equitable distribution of assignments across the practice area.

Maintain and analyze staffing databases, utilization reports, charts, and related metrics.

Monitor associate availability and utilization trends and prepare reports and recommendations to support staffing decisions and resource planning.

Coordinate with staffing partners and Legal Talent colleagues regarding cross-office staffing, secondments, and other staffing initiatives, as appropriate.

Onboarding

Coordinate and facilitate staffing introductions, welcome meetings, lunches, internal communications, integration and onboarding activities for new associates, counsel, and lateral hires.

Update applicable group lists and onboarding resources.

Managing Absence Time

Monitor and track absence time and maintain vacation calendars.

Coordinate necessary matter team coverage during attorney absences.

Track vacation carryover.

Facilitating Associate Life/Engagement

Develop trusted professional relationships with staff attorneys, associates, and counsel through regular check-in meetings; gain an understanding of professional experiences, development objectives, availability, engagement, and overall well-being.

Identify engagement, retention, staffing, or professional development opportunities or concerns and recommend appropriate actions, escalating matters to Legal Talent management when necessary.

Mentoring/Advisor Program

Work closely with the Legal Talent team to pair associates/counsel with mentors and partner advisors.

Ensure associates/counsel are connecting with their respective mentors and advisors and engaged in dialogue about ongoing professional development goals.

Provide an active feedback loop between associates/counsel, Legal Talent, and the partners in the group.

Collaborate with the Director of Practice Management to plan and facilitate a variety of team-building events to foster connectivity.

Assist in monitoring and maintaining associate compliance with firm and professional policies (e.g., CLE, bar exam, etc.)

Legal Talent Support

Performance Reviews

Ensure that each associate/counsel has thorough evaluations and developmental objectives.

Assist with verbal intake of feedback from partners.

Update VI feedback tracking system.

Participate in talent review discussions and assist in preparing materials, reports, and analyses related to attorney performance and development.

Coordinate regularly with other professional service team members (e.g., Director of Practice Management, Knowledge Management Lawyer, Training and Development Manager, etc.) to further practice group initiatives.

Analyze and maintain accurate data and reporting within staffing and talent management systems.

Work on ad hoc projects as needed.

Education

Required

Bachelor's degree preferred; will consider advanced experience in lieu of a degree.

Skills and Experience

5+ years of relevant experience, including prior experience in a law firm and/or staffing experience.

Strong oral and written communication skills.

Must have superior judgment and the ability to deal discreetly with confidential information.

Ability to interact well and build professional relationships with a collaborative approach to working with all levels and departments.

Ability to self-direct, manage multiple priorities, analyze needs and implement solutions.

Strong organizational skills and attention to detail for both long and short-term projects and responsibilities.

Experience with Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint and other legal personnel and recruiting applications (legal AI familiarity preferred).

Must be flexible to adjust hours to meet departmental needs.

Must display professionalism, quality service to internal members/departments of the firm as well as external clients and vendors.

Salary Information

NY Only: The estimated base salary range for this position is $110,000 to $130,000 at the time of posting.

The actual salary offered will depend on a variety of factors, including without limitation, the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and if applicable, the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job. This role is exempt meaning it is not overtime pay eligible.

Simpson Thacher will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.

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Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is committed to a collegial work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. The Firm prohibits discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, citizenship status, disability, marital or partnership status, sexual orientation, veteran’s status or any other legally protected status. This Policy pertains to every aspect of an individual’s relationship with the Firm, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, benefits, training and development, promotion, transfer, discipline, termination, and all other privileges, terms and conditions of employment.

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