Working Capital Controller

A&O Shearman is a new global industry-leading law firm, with nearly 50 offices in 29 countries worldwide.

Our fluency in English law, US law, and the laws of the world's most dynamic markets, enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. We work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.

We offer exceptional opportunities for our people; opportunities to work for the world's leading businesses; to transform the status quo, and to deliver your best work, helping you and your career to thrive, while delivering unparalleled outcomes for our clients.

Whether you're helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the ways we manage our business, or ensuring the smooth-running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. We provide first-rate training and development, we are committed to an inclusive environment, and we provide support and ways of working that help you optimize your wellbeing.

What truly defines a career with us? We recruit the best and ask for the best of you. And together, we will redefine success.

Achieving the firm's vision requires a world-class Finance department, and our teams add value when the information we produce enables great decisions. That means producing information that is relevant, accurate and understandable and doing so as quickly as possible. It also means building relationships with the Partners and other decision-makers in the firm so that they trust us to advise them on what the information means and what the best course of action is.

The primary role of the US Working Capital Controller (WCC) is to add value to US partners in managing their practices by providing full lifecycle profitable cash conversion, as well as matter management and pricing support. This involves active engagement with partners and matter manager lawyers across the life of a matter. WCCs also play an active role in, achieving a deep understanding of the financial metrics and risk for the legal matter, setting and monitoring matter fees versus budgets, driving client collections, client reporting, general pricing and rate support.

The Working Capital Controller is also the primary liaison for US Partners and other fee earners to ensure that client invoices are being rendered and then collected in compliance with all agreed client terms, Solicitors Accounts Rules, tax regulations, and relevant A&O Shearman compliance policies.

As a Working Capital Controller, you will be expected to handle a portfolio of partners that may include those with more complex practice areas and therefore require more experienced support. While the role does not include any direct line-management responsibilities, you will have dotted line relationships with other Managers and Working Capital Controllers on the team. This will include ownership of tasks throughout the client financial process, including fostering strong relationships with the shared services center.

• US Head of Pricing and Commercial Management and US CFO
• Direct Working Capital Manager
• Partners, Matter Managers, and Legal Personal Assistants
• Legal Operational Practice Managers
• Shared Service Teams in Belfast

This is a collaborative, partner-facing role and involves serving as the primary financial point person for partners and other fee earners across assigned practice areas. The Working Capital Controller is crucial to the firm's revenue cycle - from matter inception and budgeting through billing, collections, and working capital management - and to ensure that partners have timely, accurate financial information to manage their practices effectively.

The WCC balances day-to-day operational support with broader financial oversight, requiring strong commercial awareness, a client-service focus, the confidence to advise and challenge partners when needed, and the ability to collaborate closely with shared service teams in Belfast and other support functions.

• Meet with partners at least monthly, to review current matter status and risk, obtain billing forecast information and follow up to ensure that all pledged billing is actioned in a timely manner each month.
• Oversee and follow up on the processing of action items, such as time transfer, time write off, dispatch of billing guides, disbursements, etc., handled mainly by our Revenue Assistants in…