Lawyers Associated Worldwide

Managing Director

Now seeking a charismatic Managing Director with strong membership association experience a solid financial acumen to guide our global US-based operations as we begin our next chapter of growth!

ABOUT LAWYERS ASSOCIATED WORLDWIDE (LAW)

Lawyers Associated Worldwide (LAW) is a global network of 85+ independent commercial law firms across the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. LAW has long supported its growing attorney membership base with a trusted global referral network, knowledge-sharing, professional collaboration on best practices, continuing education, and membership events. With a strong reputation for collegiality and an expectation for high professional and legal practice standards, LAW is focused on strengthening its member value proposition and strategically curating high quality law firm memberships. To learn more, visit www.lawyersworldwide.com.

Poised for continued success, LAW is seeking a US-based Managing Director with proven operational leadership skills and a passion for developing member value propositions and ensuring long-term financial sustainability and growth. Reporting to LAW’s Executive Committee and in close partnership with its officers, LAW’s Managing Director will flex between strategic and tactical operational duties, overseeing day-to-day association operations in close partnership with its global Executive Committee and key staff members in Chicago, Illinois. This role will be central to organizational growth as it aims to ensure solid and scalable internal operations, competitive value propositions, strategic recruitment processes, and high quality global and regional events and programs.

YOUR ROLE AS MANAGING DIRECTOR

• ADVANCE THE MISSION [Visionary Leadership & Board Relations] – As primary partner to LAW’s Executive Committee, you will translate strategy into actionable operational plans, ensuring strong engagement and frequent communication with the Executive Committee on all fiduciary and organizational matters. You will support the Board’s strategic planning process, lending insight on operational resources, technology, membership models, and member association trends and value propositions.
• INSPIRE TALENT + MAINTAIN CULTURE [Internal Team Leadership] – Serve as senior leader for a small yet mighty team of experienced association professionals, remotely based in Chicago, Illinois. Establish clear roles and responsibilities while fostering a collaborative, responsive, member-centric culture, ensuring challenge, accountability, recognition and reward. Develop accountable relations with outside vendors who serve as an extension of LAW to ensure excellence in operations, program delivery, technology and communications.
• ENSURE STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION + RESOURCES [Financial Management + Operational Oversight] – Manage the organization’s $1.3M annual budget in partnership with the Treasurer and Executive Committee. Instill a financial discipline throughout the organization while supporting the development of a balanced budget and healthy cash flow. Provide accurate financial reporting, forecasting, modeling, and a solid fiscal discipline while supporting new revenue initiatives such as sponsorship and leadership development programming.
• ENHANCE MEMBERSHIP VALUE + MEMBER ENGAGEMENT [Recruitment, Retention, Programs, Events] – Curate a small world of member firms through proactive outreach and consistent collaboration. Support LAW Board with member recruitment, onboarding, engagement, KPI tracking, programming and global events. Ensure internal systems and processes deliver reliable metrics and cutting-edge collaboration with ease. Oversee planning and execution of the Annual General Meeting, regional meetings, practice groups and virtual programs. Ensure events deliver strong ROI, meaningful connections, and high-quality professional content.
• REPRESENT LAW GLOBALLY [Member Relations & Brand Stewardship] – Serve as a visible and trusted representative of LAW with member firms, prospective member firms, vendor and partner organizations, and all related peer and referral networks. Promote LAW’s global capabilities and maintain awareness of competitive membership organizations and global legal industry trends.

IS THIS A MATCH FOR YOU?

• You believe in the mission of LAW and the value of professional connections! You enjoy being part of an international network and appreciate the needs and challenges of growing and scaling professional associations. You consider yourself a people connector, a project management guru, and a hands-on, operational expert with an eye for detail.
• You have gained 8-10+ years of progressive leadership experience, including a demonstrated record of success in growing and developing people, products, processes and or organizational resources within the membership association industry. Experience must include 5+ years of people leadership for a team of direct reports, including an ability to inspire and motivate, to manage conflict, and, to foster a healthy culture.
• You bring an interest in and familiarity with professional membership associations. Experience in international business, international networks, professional membership associations and/or networks is strongly desired.
• You are well-versed in proactively communicating in a transparent manner with internal and external stakeholders. You confidently interact at all levels and react with diplomacy and tact. You bring experience communicating a vision and prospective road map to key stakeholders. Demonstrated experience building a community of like-minded professionals, fostering collaboration, open communication and cooperative partnerships is desired.
• Your experience includes budget management or P&L ownership, including financial management, modeling, and reporting. Familiarity and/or experience in establishing industry partnerships and or sponsorship programs also highly desired.
• You are willing to serve as a hands-on leader with the ability and desire to flex between strategic and tactical priorities required. Superior project management skills and a proactive mindset is required. You have developed a solid business acumen, including savvy technology skills. Four-year college degree required. MBA or related graduate degree a plus.
• You possess a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and a belief that attracting a wide range of talented organizational stakeholders (members and sponsors) will further our success.

WHY JOIN LAW?

• YOU THRIVE ON CONNECTING PEOPLE TO RESOURCES – You genuinely love to network. You are energized by facilitating connections that create lasting value, and excel at identifying, improving, and communicating key value propositions that deliver long-term return for members, partners, and sponsors.
• YOU ENJOY A GLOBAL BUSINESS LANDSCAPE – You are motivated by the opportunity to lead a globally respected legal network with a strong reputation and deeply engaged member firms across key international markets—an organization defined by trust, collaboration, and enduring relationships.
• YOU FIND PURPOSE IN TAKING AN ORGANIZATION TO ITS NEXT LEVEL – You excel in growth-oriented environments and believe that evolution is critical to achieving strategic goals. you have the energy, drive, and operational expertise to support LAW on its own journey to its next set of critical milestones.

WORK LOCATION + TRAVEL

This position must be based in Chicago, Illinois. LAW’s internal team is working in a remote capacity with periodic in-person meetings. Ability to travel for regional and international events is required, including attendance at LAW’s Annual General Meeting. Travel for this position may range yet is estimated at 4-8 trips per year.

COMPENSATION PACKAGE

LAW offers a competitive compensation package with base salary in the range of $175,000.00 to $225,000.00, commensurate with skill and experience. LAW provides employees with medical insurance, paid vacation, paid holidays, and retirement benefits. Pre-approved professional development also provided.

APPLY NOW

Take the next step and complete the interest form on this page to share your resume with Occhio Search & Recruitment.

All resumes, referrals and inquiries will be held strictly confidential. Please direct all questions, referrals, and applications to our retained search consultants at Occhio Search. Contact Sarah Krueger (sarah@occhiosearch.com) or Elly Richards (elly@occhiosearch.com) with questions.

Lawyers Associated Worldwide is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome differences in form of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, geography, socioeconomic status, age, politics, religion, philosophy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression and veteran status. All applicants who share this goal are encouraged to apply and we look forward to hearing from you!