Business Development Manager - IP Transactions

About Ropes & Gray

Ropes & Gray is a preeminent global law firm. The firm has been ranked in the top three on
The American Lawyer's
prestigious A-List for eight consecutive years and #1 on
Law.com's
UK A-List twice in the past three years - rankings that honor the "best of the best" law firms. The firm has approximately 2,500 lawyers and professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology, and government in Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.The firm has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, including asset management, private equity, M&A, finance, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring. Ropes & Gray is an equal opportunity employer.

Overview

The Business Development department’s commercial objective is to grow firm revenue and take market share, grow existing client relationships, and develop new client relationships in alignment with firm and practice goals and our industry and client teams.

Business development works in collaboration with partners, other attorneys and business support colleagues to achieve these objectives and is part of a broader business support organization in a collaborative work environment. The business development team is a specialist business support function with a range of offerings focused on business development in the firm’s practice groups.

The Business Development Manager (BDM) will serve as a trusted advisor to the IP Transactions Specialty Group Leaders and partners to provide strategic, commercial, and practical support on the implementation of strategic and commercial business and client development priorities. The BDM is responsible for developing and executing integrated marketing and business development plans that increase the firm’s brand visibility, attract new clients, and drive client satisfaction and loyalty.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute business development and marketing efforts designed to generate new business and improve market visibility for the IP Transactions Practice Group.
• Collaborate with practice group partners and global teams to develop and implement business and client development plans for target clients, including budget planning, expense monitoring, and identifying joint initiatives to grow revenue and relationships.

Manage and drive the development of existing client relationships and the pursuit of new engagements – including with universities, academic medical centers, research institutes and technology transfer offices, as well as venture and growth investors active in IP-driven companies – in collaboration with other relevant business support colleagues, including the following:

Organize, participate in, and maintain internal business development meetings – be responsible for all aspects of client and target development efforts, including creating agendas, capturing, and circulating action steps, and proactively driving follow-up and making connections to other global business development and practice development colleagues.

Demonstrate expertise in IP Transactions and the industries it serves (e.g. life sciences, technology, and consumer brands), including by commissioning and conducting business research to keep abreast of industry/market intelligence and to support the BD strategy.

Project manage the delivery of client, market, and competitor research, tailor the data for partner or client consumption, and share insights from other PGs and offices for collaborative initiatives.

Monitor and identify external market developments affecting the IP Transactions practice (e.g., AI and data licensing, university technology transfer, and royalty and brand licensing trends) and translate them into client engagement, development opportunities, and thought leadership initiatives. Drive pitching and new business generation by:

Project managing and executing large pitches, proposals, and RFPs, including leading a team to develop a winning strategy, identifying ways to differentiate from the competition, and helping to write aspects of the pitch.

Working with finance to develop compelling fee arrangements.

Maintaining accountability for the timely and accurate completion and submission of the RFPs or pitches, ensuring proper document storage and tracking, and establishing and executing appropriate follow-up action steps post-submission.

Maintaining up-to-date pitch content, practice materials, client information and experience tracking.

Promoting best practices and knowledge sharing across global business development and marketing teams.

Acting as a trusted advisor to attorney teams to scope and prepare for both in-person meetings and pitches, and provide post-pitch client and target feedback.

Building a strong working knowledge of adjacent practice and industry group services and a clear understanding of the relevant group's strategy, priorities, and clients, to identify and develop cross-selling opportunities between IP Transactions and adjacent practices (e.g., M&A, private equity, life sciences and healthcare, technology, data privacy, venture and emerging companies, and tax).

Lead the strategy, planning, and execution of IP Transactions–related firm events (e.g., client and prospect events, roundtables, webinars, and related conferences), including:

• Developing event strategy and objectives in partnership with practice leadership that are aligned with practice priorities and target clients.
• Managing all aspects of planning and logistics, including budgets, timelines, venues, speakers, invite lists, content, and coordination with marketing, events, and other business support colleagues.
• Overseeing post-event follow-up, including capturing attendee and pipeline data in the firm's CRM system, and measuring ROI to inform future event planning.

Work with the marketing team and business support colleagues to:

• Identify opportunities to create and implement integrated branding and profile-raising campaigns.
• Pursue and support speaking, sponsorship and thought leadership opportunities for attorneys and build relationships with key industry and professional organizations.
• Determine the appropriate client and market targets for the delivery of knowledge marketing.
• Support the development and implementation of AI-enabled business development practices – particularly around pitches and RFP responses, prospecting, industry research, and events – building practice-specific AI successes, driving innovation across BD, ensuring the team is proficient in and regularly using AI tools, and contributing to workflows and processes that can be scaled across the firm.
• Support the Strategic Transactions Group's broader business development efforts, including the firm's ESG and CSR initiatives, by working with partners and business support colleagues on pitches, RFPs, thought leadership, and client and market development.
• Establish and regularly maintain effective internal reporting and communication frameworks to track progress, share outcomes, and support management reporting across practice groups and affiliated teams.
• Support the development of attorney-facing BD training.
• Manage and develop junior members of the business development team, fostering a culture of teamwork, accountability, continuous improvement, professionalism, and integrity.

Qualifications

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

• Superior client service skills.
• Able to quickly establish credibility with lead partners and key stakeholders by balancing a confident, measured, and persistent approach.
• Proactive and forward-thinking, anticipating partner and client needs and taking initia