A managing attorney, also known as a managing partner, is the law firm, company, or legal organization’s business manager. Their main responsibility is to supervise the department, firm, or organization. Creating a budget, training attorneys or volunteers, and preparing reports for directors or general partners are all common duties and responsibilities. The managing attorney is often solely responsible for the operation of the legal division they supervise, which is why many jobs require candidates to have prior leadership experience. Having a business background can also be beneficial. To avoid sanctions or disbarment, they must also ensure that their policies and procedures comply with local and national laws and regulations.
Individuals seeking managing attorney jobs may consider working for a non-profit organization that provides low-cost or pro-bono legal services. These lawyers frequently report to program directors, but they are also in charge of overseeing the delivery of legal services in the communities they serve. Coordinating and training volunteers to assist in providing information and legal representation to clients may be part of the duties and responsibilities. Many non-profit legal organizations offer legal clinics, and the managing attorney is often in charge of defining the scope of those clinics and ensuring that participants receive accurate legal advice. As a supervisor, this attorney is frequently on-site to assist attorneys and volunteers by answering legal questions or providing information about the organization’s legal policies.
Individuals interested in pursuing a career in law still have a lot of options. They may have their own caseload to work on, even if it isn’t the majority of what they do on a daily basis. As managing attorney, you can choose which cases you want to represent and which cases you want to delegate to other attorneys in the department or organization. Many jobs require a certain number of years of experience in order to ensure that these lawyers are capable of handling their own cases as well as supervising inexperienced and experienced lawyers while managing their own caseloads. Some lawyers only work on litigation cases, while others prefer transactional work and only have to go to court once in a while.
Managing attorneys can work for commercial entities if they want to work in a business setting. Working for an insurance company, for example, entails managing liability cases as well as trying some of them. Many other types of small businesses and corporations that have legal departments hire attorneys to run the department as well as to handle the legal work.