A highly prestigious, globally recognized legal services firm with an exceptional reputation for high-stakes advocacy and an entrepreneurial culture is seeking a strategic Awards Lead. Operating within a high-performance, sophisticated international network, the firm represents market-leading corporations in their most complex and critical matters. This individual will serve as the primary advisor to firm leadership and elite practice groups, orchestrating sophisticated recognition strategies that elevate market presence, celebrate major professional successes, and reinforce the firm’s dominant global standing.
This role can be based across multiple US offices, including but not limited to New York, Chicago, Boston and Washington D.C.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the development and execution of the global firm-wide awards and recognitions strategy, aligning all submissions with overarching commercial and brand objectives.
- Evaluate and prioritize high-value award opportunities spanning legal, innovation, diversity, business, and industry-specific programs.
- Oversee the end-to-end creation of compelling, high-quality entries that translate intricate litigation successes and client impact into persuasive narratives.
- Partner directly with senior partners and practice heads, acting as a trusted advisor on positioning, submission strategy, and market differentiation.
- Establish scalable workflows, processes, and a centralized awards calendar to ensure seamless coordination across international jurisdictions and offices.
- Analyze results, market trends, and competitor positioning to provide actionable performance insights and reporting to executive leadership.
- Collaborate with wider communications and marketing teams to maximize the visibility of successes across digital, social, media, and internal channels.
About you
You’ll be an experienced communications or business development leader who combines exceptional storytelling and writing skills with the ability to influence senior stakeholders. You’re comfortable serving as a trusted advisor to firm executives and practice heads, balancing long-term strategic reputation mapping with hands-on submission execution in a fast-paced environment.
You bring:
- Significant experience managing legal awards, corporate communications, or business development initiatives within professional services, with a deep familiarity with litigation, disputes, or arbitration practices.
- A proven track record of translating complex corporate and legal matters into compelling, high-quality, and persuasive written narratives.
- Experience building operational processes, scalable workflows, submission tracking systems, and centralized calendar management practices across multiple jurisdictions.
- Strong experience establishing successful external relationships with award organizers, research panels, and key industry bodies.
- Excellent communication and project management capabilities, with the meticulous attention to detail required to manage multiple competing deadlines simultaneously.
- Expertise leveraging experience management systems and digital platforms to optimize content workflows for profiles, websites, and marketing collateral.
This is a standout opportunity for a commercially minded professional seeking strategic ownership, direct leadership exposure, and accelerated career progression within a high-caliber, growth-focused firm.
