Business Development Manager

Ropes & Gray is a global law firm that operates across 17 time zones and has more than 1,400 lawyers based in the United States, Europe and Asia who collaborate seamlessly to provide clients with high-quality representation in innovative industries that shape the global economy.

Our clients include private equity firms, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, financial institutions, mutual funds, hospital systems, and more.

Client by client, we’ve built a reputation for first-class work, a pragmatic approach, and impeccable standards of service and ethics.

We count many of the world’s most respected companies and institutions as longtime clients, and serve organizations at all stages of development.

Clients trust us with their most important matters because they know we understand their businesses and deliver the results they need.

Our deeply rooted culture of teamwork means that our lawyers work closely with colleagues around the world to provide support to clients.

This collaborative approach encourages our lawyers to work alongside partners and clients on sophisticated matters.

We work as a team to support a range of leading legal practices, including private equity, M&A, capital markets, finance, asset management, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, data, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring.

Ropes & Gray London is one of the largest offices in the Ropes & Gray network, and the hub of the firm’s EMEA network and set up in London in 2010.

While we are now an established presence in the UK, we’ve retained all the buzz of our start-up years.

It makes us a little bit different: it means we have the stature and resources of a major international law firm combined with the pace, inclusivity and career progression of a specialist firm.

Our clients like to work with us.

We are, of course, always professional, but we are personal, and personable with it.

As a group, we’re international, diverse and our team is always professional, but uniquely personable.

With around 31 partners, 137 fee earners and a trainee intake of 13, everybody in the office knows everyone else.

That means that every hire we make is an important investment for the firm, because each team member has a distinct role to play in delivering excellent service to our clients.

The role

The Marketing and Business Development (MBD) Manager is a standalone role based in Milan, supporting primarily the Private Capital Transactions (Private Equity and Finance), Strategic Transactions, and Antitrust practices in relation to Milan and, when required, on other joint office initiatives across Europe and globally.

The role encompasses the full MBD mix — strategic planning, business development, profile-raising, pitches, events, sponsorships, thought leadership, directory submissions, and marketing collateral.

Working as a trusted adviser to partners and lawyers, the MBD Manager will develop and execute business plans, pursue new business opportunities, manage budgets, coordinate RFPs and panel appointments, and drive cross-selling across practice areas.

The Manager must be a confident self-starter who can operate autonomously whilst closely collaborating with MBD colleagues, partners, and lawyers across the firm's London, European, and US offices to ensure alignment with the firm's regional and global strategies.

The ideal candidate will have MBD experience within a law firm or professional services environment, strong communication and organisational skills with a team mindset, and the confidence to engage credibly with a wide range of stakeholders.

KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The MBD Manager will serve as the primary point of contact for business development, practice development, marketing, communications, and events functions in Milan office.

The role requires close alignment and collaboration with the MBD team in London, Paris, Asia and the US.

The responsibilities outlined below are indicative and not exhaustive - the role may include other related tasks as required.

Business Development

Working in close partnership with practice group partners, global teams, and relevant global MBD and other business support colleagues, the MBD Manager will be responsible for the following:

• Developing and implementing business and client development plans for target clients, including budget planning, expense monitoring, and joint initiatives to grow revenue and deepen relationships.
• Developing subject-matter expertise in Private Capital Transactions (Private Equity and Finance), Strategic Transactions, and Antitrust through market and industry research to inform the BD strategy and tactics.
• Driving pitching and new business generation, including drafting and project managing pitches and capability statements; developing winning strategies; working with finance on fee arrangements; and ensuring timely submission and post-pitch follow-up.
• Maintaining up-to-date pitch content, practice materials, and experience/deal tracking, and promoting best practices across global BD and marketing teams.
• Driving the development of existing client relationships and pursuit of new engagements, including organising and running internal BD meetings, setting agendas, circulating action points, and coordinating follow-up with key stakeholders.
• Project managing and preparing directory submissions, including league table and awards submissions.
• Establishing and maintaining internal reporting and communication frameworks to track progress and support management reporting across practice groups.
• Project managing client, market, and competitor research and tailoring outputs for partner or client use.
• Acting as a trusted adviser to lawyer teams in preparing for client meetings and pitches.
• Coordinating and project managing conference opportunities, speaking engagements, and sponsorships in alignment with overall branding and BD strategies.
• Supporting cross-office projects, ensuring effective coordination across European, US and Asia offices.
• Marketing and Communications

Working closely with the Marketing, Communications and Public Relations teams in London and the US, the MBD Manager will assist in co-ordinating the following in respect of the Milan office Marketing and

Communications

• Conceiving, developing, and executing integrated marketing and communications plans for the office and key practice groups, encompassing PR campaigns (working collaboratively with PR colleagues), media (including social) outreach, directories, rankings and awards programmes, and editorial production.
• Support and coordinate with local external PR agency, to build and maintain relationships with key members of local media.
• Preparing regular reports on communications initiatives and results.
• Developing a competitive intelligence programme to monitor peer firm activity in key practice areas
• Events

Working closely with the Events teams in London and the US, the MBD Manager will assist in co-ordinating the following in respect of the Milan office events:

• Planning and executing firm-hosted events (seminars, receptions, dinners, and webinars) end-to-end, including budgeting, invitations, RSVP tracking, venue selection, external vendor negotiations, on-site logistics, and speaker management.
• Overseeing on-site event details from set-up to breakdown, providing direction to team members and troubleshooting as necessary.
• Maintaining event tracking on the global calendar and advising stakeholders on available dates.
• Preparing post-event reports and follow-up materials for programme evaluation.
• Supporting internal events as required.
• Developing and maintaining relationships with external suppliers.
• Travel to events across Europe when required.

Qualifications and Skills

This position requires a professional, highly motivated individual capable of functioning in an international, fast-paced legal environment:

• Full professional fluency in both Italian and English, with the ability to communicate effectively in writing and verbally in each language across all aspects of the role.
• Professional experience, including management of direct reports.
• Minimum of eight years of experience in business development within a professional services firm or corporate environment.
• Strong knowledge of the Milan and EU markets.
• Preferred experience supporting the Private Capital Transactions (Private Equity and Finance), Strategic Transactions, and Antitrust practices.
• Quickly able to establish credibility with lead partners and key stakeholders by balancing a confident, measured, and persistent approach.
• Work effectively and efficiently as a team player with an enthusiasm for developing relationships.

Able to engage with and support colleagues and stakeholders across all aspects of the business.

• A confident leader and self-starter, when required, in a dynamic environment.
• Commercially minded and solutions orientated.
• Excellent organization, communication, and project management skills.
• Attention to detail and accuracy in all aspects of role and responsibilities.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with all levels of lawyers and business professionals.
• Experience writing in a professional services environment.
• Able to set clear goals and priorities, multi-task and meet multiple deadlines.
• Creative and flexible when managing individual as well as team’s workload and priorities, taking colleagues’ time into account, to respond quickly and positively to shifting demands and opportunities.
• Able to demonstrate creativity and initiative by continuously looking for areas to improve and ways to implement positive change to all aspects of role and responsibilities.
• Ability to thrive in a challenging and dynamic environment.
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