Attorney Development Manager, Junior Associates

# Attorney Development Manager, Junior Associates Santa Monica, CAFull-Time# Attorney Development Manager, Junior Associates Santa Monica, CAFull-Time Feb 02, 2026

Legal The Attorney Development Manager (ADM) drives development and engagement for associates and other timekeepers (the “Attorneys”) in their assigned cohort by soliciting input from partners, providing real-time, actionable feedback, and shepherding performance and talent decisions. Acting as a strategic advisor and talent enabler, the ADM proactively manages individual Attorney development, aligning each Attorney’s progress with the firm’s business goals and culture of elite performance.

In close partnership with firm and practice group leadership and with Practice Management, Talent, and other teams, the ADM facilitates the identification and achievement of firm strategies around hiring, integration, development, engagement, and advancement. This role combines market expertise and data-driven insights to build a high-performing, inclusive legal workforce of future leaders.
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* What You Will do:

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* ** Attorney Cohort Management:
** For assigned Attorneys, responsible for managing day-to-day development, performance, and engagement.
* ** Onboarding & Integration:
** Lead the Attorney onboarding experience to ensure seamless and efficient integration into the firm’s culture, expectations, and workflows. Foster strong, trusted relationships with Attorneys through regular check-ins, career coaching, and individualized support that encourages growth and engagement and achieves retention objectives.
* ** Resource Allocation:
** Work with matter teams to align Attorney skills and interests with client work and firm priorities, ensuring meaningful assignments that foster growth. Enable well-informed staffing decisions that optimize capacity and ensure broad access to learning and developmental opportunities. Foster Attorney accountability by tracking assignment requests and take action to ensure Attorneys uphold high service standards. Identify and align talent with secondment opportunities with key clients to further development and client immersion.
* ** Development and Performance Management**:
Proactively gather and synthesize feedback from partners and stakeholders to inform attorney development plans, performance evaluations, and career progression determinations. Promote awareness of firm programs and resources. Support the firm’s annual and mid-year review processes to ensure consistency and developmental impact. Facilitate bi-annual self-assessment and goal-setting processes, guiding Attorneys in aligning their professional development with the firm’s core competencies, frameworks, and long-term expectations.

Co-lead with advisors review meetings for Attorneys receiving significant developmental feedback to ensure alignment on expectations. Collaborate with advisors, attorney development committees, and Employee Relations to address performance issues, ensuring clear documentation of related communications. Together with Practice Management, Coaching and Employee Relations, facilitate smooth and professional transitions from the firm.
* ** Strategic and Advisory Support:
** Proactively identify trends, address Attorney concerns, and develop and implement targeted strategies for hiring, onboarding, retention, advancement, and development in collaboration with practice area leaders, partners, senior attorneys, advisors, and Practice Management. Partner with Recruiting and Practice Management to assess and anticipate hiring needs, using workforce data and performance metrics to identify development gaps, forecast talent needs, and guide succession and hiring strategies.

Shape role definitions, refine selection criteria, screen candidates, and deliver data-informed recommendations to leadership to support timely and effective talent hiring decisions. Manage the Advisor Program to ensure Attorneys receive consistent, high-quality guidance, feedback, and mentorship throughout their careers.
* ** Training:
** Anticipate training needs and, in consultation with partners and attorney development committees, collaborate with Learning +…