Exploring the Duties of a Legal Manager: Insights and Career Guidance

What is a legal manager?

A Legal Manager is a professional responsible for overseeing legal and compliance matters within an organization. They typically work in-house, managing a team of legal professionals who provide support on a range of legal issues. Their primary focus is to ensure that the organization complies with all applicable laws and regulations, while also managing legal risks and protecting the company’s interests.
The scope of a Legal Manager’s work can vary significantly depending on the size and industry of the organization they work for. In larger companies , Legal Managers may specialize in a specific area of law, such as intellectual property or corporate law. In smaller organizations, they may have a more generalist role, providing legal support on a wide range of issues. Regardless of their area of focus, Legal Managers are responsible for coordinating and leading legal projects, managing outside counsel, and ensuring that all legal matters are handled in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Roles and responsibilities of a legal manager

The responsibilities of a Legal Manager can vary based on the size of the company and industry context. However, there are several typical expectations: One of the fundamental roles of a Legal Manager is to ensure that their organisation complies with both national and industry regulations. This involves not only understanding the laws that apply to the business but also monitoring changes and advising existing practices within the organisation. In addition to overseeing compliance, Legal Managers frequently negotiate and draft a variety of legal agreements. This can include contracts with suppliers, business partners, and third parties, as well as employment contracts for new hires. A critical part of this process is being able to identify potential risks and liabilities in the agreements before they are signed. Legal Managers are often responsible for maintaining the corporate records for the business, including agreements, meeting minutes, and statutory documentation. This also extends to upholding the organisation’s intellectual property rights, assisting with any patent applications if necessary, and advising on trademarks and copyright issues. Legal Managers often act as a bridge between the legal department and other business teams. They are regularly called on to interpret legal jargon and provide plain-English explanations of legal matters. This may involve training other staff on legal matters related to their department and how their work can be adjusted to remain within legal bounds. Due to the broad range of tasks involved in the role of a Legal Manager, the role requires excellent organisational skills and the ability to prioritize a continuously shifting workload. Legal Managers must remain on top of their game and be diligent about deadlines in order to ensure that their organisation is compliant with all relevant laws and regulations.

Skills of an effective legal manager

The role of a legal manager necessitates a diverse range of skills and attributes to ensure that both the organisation and its clients’ needs are met. Basic legal knowledge, attention to detail, professional ethics, analytical thinking, and practical judgment are all considered essential for a candidate applying for a career as a legal manager. Additionally, evidence of the ability to meet deadlines, respond to tight schedules and work under pressure is required. Ideally, candidates should also have sound knowledge of computer applications relevant to the legal context.
Effective communication is crucial in this role, not only with clients but also with support staff, case managers and professionals in other companies in the legal industry. The legal manager must be able to train new staff, convey and implement policies to support staff, motivate teams, coordinate and allocate workloads and define standards of performance. Organisation skills are essential for managing workflow and supervising the daily operations of the organisation. This includes delegating tasks according to staff strengths and weaknesses, taking into consideration any unique demands of the individual such as a disability, medical condition or learning difficulty. As the management representative of the legal department the candidate must be able to implement and monitor compliance with policies concerning staffing, legal and ethical practice.
A legal manager should possess the ability to work independently and as part of a team, including composing, analysing and editing written documents. Computer skills are therefore crucial, especially in the use of spreadsheets and databases. The candidate could be called upon to research specific legislation and provide advice on its application to client situations. A basic understanding of business principles and techniques is advantageous in order to understand the commercial activities in which the legal department is involved. Familiarity with the types of duties performed by each specialist field may be beneficial to enable the manager to effectively allocate work.

Steps to becoming a legal manager

To become a legal manager, you typically need to earn a bachelor’s degree in business administration, management, or human resources, and at least 5-10 years of progressive managerial experience.
Common areas of concentration for education in this field include business law, contracts, torts, criminal law, and civil rights. Employers prefer candidates who have strong research and analytical skills, are detail-oriented, and have a thorough understanding of federal and state laws. Certification from the Association for Legal Administrators (ALA) is not universally required, but is strongly preferred by employers in the legal arena. In fact, some employers only recruit certified legal managers. Continued education about the latest legal technology, accounting, and personnel management can be beneficial in staying relevant in this dynamic field.
Due to the increasing complexity of firm operations, and due to the fact that law firms are now operating in conjunction with businesses, an advanced degree such as an MBA with a legal administration concentration may be preferred or required.
Aspiring legal managers should try to get internships in law firms or government offices during college. Involvement with student government and business club activity can help aspiring legal managers gain experience in human resources and marketing, which is valuable background for the management track. Working as a paralegal or legal secretary can provide valuable experience in human resources, accounting and billing, and case management. Networking with other law firm professionals can also be important, as many legal managers find their next opportunity through contacts.

Legal manager challenges and obstacles

Aside from the difficulties involved in having to manage people, legal managers often have to deal with recent shifts and changes in the law, which is a time-consuming affair on its own. Legal managers must also be prepared to face complex legal issues on cases. Sometimes they must even resolve the most difficult and breakthrough cases that their staff cannot handle or can no longer handle after a certain point. Because of their skills and expertise, legal managers are often called upon to mediate tough civil cases . Having to manage multiple tasks at a time is another challenge faced by legal managers; in such cases where they have to prepare for trials or court appearances, a legal manager may have to juggle multiple priorities that range from scheduling appointments, overseeing employee assignments and editing and writing legal documents. Because of all their work and high level of skill, legal managers are highly sought after by many law firms and organizations, especially those who bill out employees at the rate of a paralegal or entry-level associate.

Career opportunities for legal managers

The career prospects for Legal Managers are promising, with opportunities for advancement and specialization in a variety of areas. As the legal industry continues to evolve and adapt to new challenges, the demand for skilled Legal Managers is expected to grow. According to recent studies and surveys, the legal management profession faces an uncertain but evolving future, with some areas of legal management predicted to see growth, while others face decline. Areas predicted for growth include business development, pricing, data analytics, project management, and process improvement. Areas facing potential decline include traditional functions such as library services, bookkeeping, and secretarial support. However, the overall demand for Legal Managers is expected to remain steady, as law firms and legal departments continue to seek ways to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance client services.
Legal Managers can work in a variety of settings, including law firms, corporate legal departments, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Many Legal Managers choose to specialize in a particular area, such as human resources, marketing, technology, or project management.
As the legal industry continues to embrace new technology and embrace changing client demands, the skills and expertise of Legal Managers will be critical to the success of law firms and legal departments. Legal Managers who can effectively leverage technology, data analytics, and process improvement to drive efficiencies and enhance the client experience will be in high demand.
In addition to working for law firms and legal departments, Legal Managers may also find opportunities in legal consulting firms, legal technology companies, and legal education and training organizations. Legal Managers may also choose to advance their careers by pursuing advanced degrees or certifications in areas such as project management, data analytics, or legal operations.

Tips for legal managers

Aspiring Legal Managers can take several actionable steps to position themselves favorably for a legal management career. Networking is a vital part of this process, as connecting with existing Legal Managers provides insight into the responsibilities of the role. Beyond simply knowing "who" someone in this position is, it’s also critical to understand "how" and "why" they made their career choices. Additionally, developing sought-after skills such as project management and business acumen can help aspiring Legal Managers stand out. Gaining expertise in other disciplines helps, as does acquiring advanced certifications.
Internships are great for gaining firsthand experience in the field, but advertisements for them all too often emphasize the importance of being "a law school graduate." Having a Juris Doctor degree is indeed a valuable asset for Legal Managers, but it isn’t strictly required. Not only do many Legal Managers not have this qualification, but there’s even room for non-lawyers at some American Bar Association (ABA) committees .
As with so many things in life, another major factor in marketability is having a great resume. Resume writing is an art, and Legal Managers will benefit from putting forth their best effort. When crafting your resume, limit the first page to one third to account for the resume header, as most recruiters only spend about six seconds looking at each resume. Also, put the most important information on the first page. Finally, make sure that contact information is updated.
Legal Management is a dynamic field, and with changing laws and regulations, a committed Legal Manager should be willing to self-educate and stay up to date on new industry developments. This is especially helpful when deciding whether or not to pursue further education or certification. To keep up to date on the latest trends in the field, the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) posts articles and white papers regularly. Additionally, ALA’s Communities offer a forum for discussion. There are also multiple Legal Management publications and websites, such as Law.com and the ABA Legal Management magazine, that provide regular updates about the state of the field.