Senior Manager of Career Counseling

Overview

Senior Manager of Career Counseling to join the Professional Development team  role involves building and leading the Cooley Career Counseling Office to support attorneys exploring or preparing for career paths beyond Cooley. The ideal candidate is a thoughtful advisor with deep knowledge of legal and adjacent career paths, strong communication skills, and a passion for supporting lawyers through meaningful professional transitions.

Hybrid

Schedule:

The role supports a hybrid schedule with in-office and remote work. Some in-office presence is required for certain essential in-office duties.

• One-on-One Career Counseling:

  • Provide confidential advising to attorneys exploring roles outside of the firm, including in-house, public sector, nonprofit, and alternative legal or business paths.

  • Guide attorneys through career exploration, decision making, and transition planning.

  • Offer tailored feedback on resumes, Linked In profiles, personal narratives, and job-search strategy.

  • Provide mock interview practice, preparing attorneys for each stage of the hiring process, from screening interviews to senior-level negotiations.

• Job Board Management:

  • Manage and expand a curated job board featuring in-house roles, government positions, secondments, and alumni-submitted opportunities.

  • Develop relationships with legal recruiters, in-house counsel, and alumni to source new postings.

  • Facilitate introductions and connections when appropriate.

• Panels, Programs & Workshops:

  • Create career-focused programs such as:

    • Panels featuring alumni and clients in various industries.

    • Webinars on transition strategy (e.g., in-house expectations, business acumen).

• Secondment Program Support:

  • Maintain a secondment interest list.

  • Work with the Associate Director of Legal Talent who manages the secondment program to facilitate the identification, deployment, and reintegration of secondees.

• Alumni & Client Relationship Integration:

  • Partner with the Marketing team to connect departing attorneys to the firm's alumni support team.

  • Collaborate with the Business Development team to identify opportunities where the Career Counseling Office can enhance client engagement, for instance, by helping clients source talent from among attorneys already known to be exploring external opportunities.

  • Make career support services available to Cooley alumni.

• Market Intelligence & Reporting:

  • Track evolving hiring trends in in-house departments and legal markets.

  • Share insights with Legal Talent and firm leadership to shape strategic planning.

  • Maintain metrics on counseling volume, outcomes, and placements.

• Other:

  • Serve as supervisor and mentor to direct reports.

  • Provide day-to-day supervision of direct reports, ensure compliance with assigned work hours and monitor for compliance with all firm and department policies. Manage staffing coverage, review and process time logs/time off requests.

  • Support business professional development and continued educational opportunities.

  • In collaboration with the Director of Associate Development and HR, participate in hiring, performance appraisals, counseling, termination and other employee lifecycle events for those reporting to this role.

  • All other duties as assigned or required.

• Required:

  • After orientation at Cooley LLP, exhibit proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite, iManage and other firm applications.

  • Ability to work extended and/or weekend hours, as required.

  • Ability to travel, as required.

  • 7+ years of experience in one or more of the following with 2+ years exempt/management experience in applicable field:

• • Attorney professional development

  • Career counseling/coaching

  • Attorney recruiting

  • In-house or law firm practice

  • Alumni relations or legal career services

  • Demonstrated experience advising lawyers on career transitions, ideally including in-house moves

  • Familiarity with legal markets, legal operations, and corporate hiring needs

• Preferred:

  • Bachelor s and/or JD Degree

  • Supervisory experience

• Professional demeanor and the ability to use initiative, diplomacy and tact.

• Ability to make independent judgments/decisions based upon a set of principles rather than rules.

• Ability to act…