Commercial Legal Manager (Senior Commercial Lawyer)
England & Wales Qualified (8+PQE)
London
I’m currently partnering with a leading international professional services business to appoint an experienced Commercial Legal Manager into its high-growth Commercial Managed Legal Services (MLS) team.
This is not a traditional private practice or in-house role.
This opportunity is designed for a senior commercial lawyer who wants to move beyond pure matter management and step into a strategic leadership position — shaping delivery models, leading high-performing teams, and working in true partnership with clients to transform how legal services are delivered.
As an MLS Legal Manager, you’ll sit at the intersection of legal expertise, operations, and innovation. You’ll lead complex commercial engagements while helping clients drive smarter, more efficient legal solutions.
The team works closely with clients to understand their business model, risk profile, and operational environment — using industry insight, international capability, and intelligent legal tech (including AI-enabled tools) to deliver measurable improvements across:
- Contracting and matter management
- Legal spend optimisation
- Risk management frameworks
- Process design and operational efficiency
This is a rare opportunity to join an established platform with significant investment and growth momentum — and to play a visible role in shaping its next phase.
You will:
- Lead and inspire a team delivering commercial MLS engagements
- Take ownership of end-to-end delivery — on time, on budget, and to exceptional quality standards
- Build strong, trusted, long-term client relationships
- Support solution design, pricing, and client pitches for new MLS offerings
- Champion innovation, legal tech adoption, and AI-enabled delivery
- Drive continuous improvement and scalable operating models
- Identify and unlock organic growth opportunities within existing client accounts
This role combines technical commercial expertise with operational leadership and strategic client engagement.
About You
- England & Wales qualified Commercial Lawyer with 8+ years’ PQE
- Strong grounding in mainstream commercial contracts
- Background in private practice, in-house, or a combination of both
- Commercially astute and solutions-oriented
- Comfortable working with legal technology and process optimisation
- Confident stakeholder manager, able to balance competing priorities
- Experience with large-scale contract repapering or harmonisation projects (desirable)
