Strategic Legal Project Manager, Outside Counsel

Google Google · Big Tech · Austin, TX +3

This role manages legal spend and budgets by partnering with in-house counsel and external law firms. Responsibilities include defining matter scope, driving fair pricing through RFPs, managing outside counsel spend, and conducting invoice reviews. The role requires project management rigor, financial acumen, and navigating complex organizations.

What you'd actually do

  1. Partner with in-house attorneys to define matter scope and assess the reasonableness of proposed budgets from OC.
  2. Facilitate matter-level and portfolio-based RFPs to ensure we are selecting the best fit firms and fee arrangements.
  3. Act as a key liaison between Google and OC to ensure matters are progressing according to plan, intervening when deviations occur.
  4. Review budget adjustments and escalate material shifts to GA Finance as needed.
  5. Manage billing cycles to ensure material arrears do not accumulate.

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Law, or a related field.
  • 5 years of experience in outside counsel management, legal project management, legal operations, or a pricing, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), client value, or client relations role within a law firm or in-house legal department.
  • Experience with data analysis.

Nice to have

  • Familiarity with the Uniform Task-Based Management System (UTBMS) and LEDES billing standards.
  • Proficiency in Legal Electronic Billing (e-Billing) and Matter Management technology.
  • Proficiency in SQL and experience building dashboards or reports that translate legal spend into actionable insights for executive leadership.
  • Ability to analyze complex legal budgets and identify "scope creep" or billing inefficiencies.
  • Excellent negotiation and "soft power" skills with the ability to hold external partners accountable while maintaining productive relationships.
  • Interest in AI technologies, with a proactive approach to integrating generative AI tools into daily workflows to increase efficiency.

What the JD emphasized

  • 5 years of experience in outside counsel management, legal project management, legal operations, or a pricing, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), client value, or client relations role within a law firm or in-house legal department.