Overview
Associate Director/Director, Business Development - Litigation role at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. The Firm's premier global Litigation Department represents a wide range of sophisticated clients, including financial institutions, technology and life sciences corporations, boards, audit and special committees, and senior executives on their most significant matters. Clients benefit from our breadth of experience and versatility to address their legal and business interests. The Associate Director/Director, Litigation will serve as the Business Development (BD) lead and senior strategic partner to the Litigation Department, driving growth initiatives and working closely with client-facing partners to shape and help secure new mandates from new and existing clients. This is a visible and commercially significant BD leadership role, designed for a high-performing professional with deep market fluency and a proven ability to help drive growth.
This role requires both strategic oversight and hands-on execution, with the mandate to ensure Simpson Thacher continues to win high-profile litigation, regulatory and enforcement matters. You will collaborate with the Chief BD Officer, Chief Client Officer, and other members of the BD leadership team to bring structure, insight, and scale to all dimensions of business development. You will manage a small, high-impact team, aligning with the priorities of the Firm partners.
Responsibilities
- Serve as a trusted business advisor to the litigation partners—aligning on priorities, strategic growth ambitions, white space opportunities, expansion targets, and competitive positioning.
- Lead the development and execution of growth strategies for the Litigation Department, including client targeting and market positioning.
- Provide 1:1 and team-based support to partners on client relationship development, visibility efforts, cross-selling, and client coverage coordination.
- Identify, prioritize, and pursue high-potential client and sector opportunities.
- Guide creation of sophisticated pitch materials, meeting preparation, and post-engagement follow-ups to reflect Simpson Thacher's client relationships.
- Build and support high-functioning client teams, with charters, feedback loops, operating rhythms, and milestone tracking; ensure teams are collaborative and aligned with client priorities.
- Equip teams with dashboards, optimized CRM systems, and proprietary insight trackers to drive visibility, follow-through, and value delivery.
- Anticipate, surface, and synthesize litigation trends into briefing materials and actionable insights for partners and teams.
- Translate wins into market narratives, practice positioning strategies, and matter publicity opportunities; collaborate with Strategic Intelligence, Communications, and Knowledge teams to institutionalize market insight workflows.
- Lead and support high-impact BD campaigns and targeted visibility initiatives specific to litigation, including matter-specific pursuits and broader strategic initiatives.
- Partner with the Events team to plan and execute events (roadshows, roundtables, conferences, hospitality) in collaboration with partners to deepen client relationships and raise the Firm's profile.
- Drive thought leadership and recognition efforts in collaboration with Communications to spotlight the Department's differentiated expertise and industry leadership.
- Track KPIs for growth, relationship health, referrals, and coverage quality; ensure Litigation priorities are integrated with Firmwide initiatives and serve as the internal convener across BD, CXO, Strategic Intelligence, and Communications.
- Build and lead a high-performing BD team dedicated to the Litigation Department, providing day-to-day management, coaching, and development; foster an inclusive and collaborative culture.
Qualifications
- Education: Required — Bachelor's degree; Preferred — JD or MBA.
- Skills and Experience: Minimum 8 years in business development, marketing, strategy consulting, or professional services, ideally within law; ability to partner closely with senior legal and/or financial professionals to translate strategic priorities into concrete growth plans; comfort balancing high-velocity workstreams with long-term relationship strategy; proven leadership and talent development; deep understanding of litigation and regulatory practice areas; entrepreneurial ownership, strong people leadership, and high emotional intelligence; strong storytelling, writing, and communication skills; systems-building instincts and operational creativity; experience translating market data into internal strategy; proven track record of driving growth across markets or regions; ability to translate complex ideas into persuasive narratives; initiative and independent judgment; ability to manage multiple projects with competing deadlines; ability to interact professionally with discretion.
- Preferred: Demonstrated ability to leverage data, analytics, and emerging AI tools to surface insights, streamline internal collaboration, and support client growth strategies.
Compensation
New York only: The estimated base salary range for this position is $250,000 to $350,000 at the time of posting. The actual salary offered will depend on qualifications, years of relevant experience, level of education attained, certifications or licenses, and location. This role is exempt from overtime pay eligibility.
Privacy Notice
For information about how Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP collects and processes your personal information, please refer to our Privacy Notice available at
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is committed to a collegial work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. The Firm prohibits discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, citizenship status, disability, marital or partnership status, sexual orientation, veteran's status or any other legally protected status. This policy pertains to every aspect of an individual's relationship with the Firm, including recruitment, hiring, compensation, benefits, training and development, promotion, transfer, discipline, termination, and all other privileges, terms and conditions of employment.
Details
- Seniority level: Director
- Employment type: Full-time
- Job function: Business Development and Sales
- Industries: Law Practice
#J-18808-Ljbffr