The PDL will play a key role in supporting the knowledge management needs of the practice by maintenance of the practice group’s resources, ranging from precedents and research materials to forms, and assisting the practice’s junior lawyers in their proper use; and be involved in broadening the skill set and enhancing the efficiency of junior lawyers through  the creation of additional development materials on an as needed basis.

This role has overall responsibility for the administration and governance of various information channels including several Wiki pages, databases, practice sites, and email distributions and will work alongside and/or be assisted by Capital Markets Specialists and paralegals to keep important information current and easily accessible throughout the group. 

The PDL role is expected to keep apprised of all activities and matters within the group and leverage that information to serve as a key liaison to support the business development initiatives of the group from a substantive perspective, including serving as a resource for the BD team in preparing pitches and presentations and maintaining an accurate record of the group’s experience.

Building and Communicating Knowledge

• Keep current on various topics and initiatives relating to disclosure and transactional work including at the SEC, FASB and PCAOB; act as the go-to resource for all updates on SEC rules including disclosure updates and transactional matters; [assist with the writing and publication of external client alerts on such developments as needed]
• Oversee the maintenance of key precedents and other knowledge management materials, in a smart and readily accessible fashion for the group; ensure dedicated sources of information and practice specific databases are well-curated and up-to-date
• Create, develop, organize and maintain substantive content for the practice group including forms, precedents, checklists, and charts
• Assist with capturing matter descriptions and matter profiling to help augment and maintain the practice group’s experience database

Training & Development

• Act as a source of legal, market and practical expertise for members of the practice group; assist attorneys with locating practice-related knowledge resources and documents
• Work with the Learning & Development and Associate Development teams to address practice specific training needs;  coach and train, both one-on-one and in group settings to support the development of attorneys in the group
• Coordinate, and sometimes deliver, group trainings including CLEs, ensuring the group’s attorneys are continually expanding their knowledge and skill sets

Collaboration

• Collaborate with other PDLs throughout the firm to disseminate best practices and facility knowledge sharing, attend Practice Development meetings
• Coordinate with other groups and departments of the firm, (i.e. Business Development, Library and Information Services, and others), to satisfy practice group needs

Other

• Assist Knowledge Solutions team in the evaluation and piloting of legal technology, including artificial intelligence applications and client-facing applications
• Conduct complex and substantive legal research in connection with client projects as needed; when appropriate, track and enter billable time for client work

Required Skills

This role is to be a key supporting member of the practice group.  Being a strong team player, with discerning judgement who is able to lead and delegate comfortably is critical. Additionally, the ideal candidate will have: 

• Extensive knowledge of capital markets and documents
• Excellent written and verbal communication; strong presentation skills
• Strong service orientation and prompt response time to incoming requests
• Attention to detail and organizational skills
• Ability to solve problems, both technical issues and situations involving collaboration with attorneys and non-legal staff/departments