Business Development and Proposals Manager

Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP (RSHC) is a national, client-centered law firm recognized for its commitment to excellence, diversity, innovation, and integrity. With 100 attorneys across offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles/Irvine, Ann Arbor, and New York, the firm handles high stakes litigation and sophisticated transactional matters across a range of industries. RSHC continues to grow by putting client needs, service delivery, and practical results at the forefront.

Job Summary:

The Business Development and Proposals Manager plays a strategic and hands‑on role in advancing the firm’s business development goals through the identification, evaluation, and management of Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Requests for Information (RFIs), and panel submissions.

Working as part of the firm’s Marketing and Business Development team, the RFP Manager partners closely with attorneys and firm leadership to identify new business opportunities, develop effective go/no‑go strategies, and craft compelling, client‑focused proposals that highlight the firm’s strengths across its litigation and transactional practices.

This role requires both strategic insight and executional excellence — blending business acumen, writing and project management skills, and a deep understanding of legal services procurement.

The scope of responsibilities includes prioritizing, managing and following through on multiple projects, communicating effectively, courteously, and professionally with clients, attorneys, staff, and peers; collaborating with firm practice team leads involved in each opportunity and coordinating with other firm personnel contributing to the proposal processes; facilitating best practices and knowledge‑sharing across the Marketing team; serving as a “subject matter expert” for the firm’s RFP and pitch processes;

and providing guidance, mentorship and development opportunities for Marketing & Business Development team members.

This is more than a production role – it is an opportunity to grow strategic thinking, writing, and project management skills while contributing to high‑impact client proposals and marketing content. This role helps shape how we present the firm’s capabilities to clients around the world. In‑office attendance required.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Support interns and lead other department team members based on projects/initiatives.

• Proactively monitor public and private RFP platforms, client procurement sites, and industry sources to identify upcoming RFP opportunities.
• Collaborate with practice leaders and business development colleagues to evaluate potential opportunities and lead the “go/no‑go” decision process, ensuring alignment with firm strategy, profitability, and resource capacity.
• Maintain a centralized pipeline of pending and forecasted RFP opportunities, tracking deadlines, status, and outcomes.
• Provide market intelligence and competitive insights to inform pursuit decisions.

• Manage the complete RFP lifecycle — from opportunity qualification and strategy development through submission and post‑mortem analysis.
• Coordinate internal kickoffs to define client needs, win themes, and differentiators.
• Draft, edit, and format responses to ensure accuracy, compliance, and brand consistency.
• Gather and integrate content from attorneys and administrative teams (pricing, finance, IT/security, HR, DEI, risk).
• Oversee proposal production, including final review, approvals, and timely submission.

• Create, organize, and maintain the firm’s comprehensive RFP content library, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and ease of access for all business development materials.
• Identify and collaborate with subject matter experts within the firm to develop and validate technical, practice‑specific, and firm‑wide content.
• Maintain and continuously enhance the firm’s RFP content library, including standard narratives for firm overview, DEI, cybersecurity, insurance, and other firm‑wide information.
• Develop and curate representative matters, case studies, and attorney experience summaries for litigation and…