Trister, Ross, Schadler & Gold, PLLC is hiring a Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) to oversee the firm’s management functions, including finances, operations, human resources, and information technology. The COO will be responsible for maintaining and improving the efficiency and organization of the firm.

TRSG is motivated by a basic set of principles and values: social justice, fairness, and enabling our clients to use the law most effectively to achieve their goals. The firm’s attorneys are proud to advise and represent a broad range of clients, from individual employees to national nonprofits, unions, and political organizations, to family foundations, local grassroots organizations, and political candidates. We are dedicated to providing our clients with personal attention and excellent, efficient, and timely representation. We believe in our clients, and that simple principle drives our law practice.

The COO will work with TRSG’s partners to prioritize and refine long-term plans, with fundamental responsibility for overseeing the firm’s day-to-day operations. This is a senior management position with significant responsibility for decision-making and overseeing complex projects. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to: 

Finances and Governance

The COO will be responsible for maintaining the firm’s financial practices, systems, and integrity, including overseeing spending and approvals, including necessary policies, working with the firm’s outside accountant and payroll processor, handling tax and other filings, overseeing the billing system, working with partners on maintaining and executing legal ethics compliance systems, and maintaining our corporate registration.

Technology and Law Library

A major part of the role will be keeping the firm’s technological systems and safeguards up-to-date, efficient, and secure. This includes liaising with our IT vendor, maintaining existing systems and security procedures, and advancing existing projects such as the organization of our law library and electronic files. We seek a COO who will recognize opportunities for improvements we have not yet identified and implement changes. The ideal candidate will attuned to the habits and workflows of our attorneys, recommending changes that are ambitious but work for their colleagues.

Facilities Management 

The COO will be responsible for our office in Washington, D.C., including negotiating the lease and liaising with the building’s management team; purchasing and overseeing office technology, security, equipment, storage, and other infrastructure; and supervising construction projects. The COO will recommend updates to the space to suit our workforce, and will carry out those improvements in conjunction with the partners. 

Personnel Management

The COO will supervise the firm’s non-attorney staff, including an office manager and potential paralegal or operations assistant(s). The COO will have broad responsibility to help them set priorities and projects. An ideal candidate will have experience managing staff. 

Recruiting, Staff, and Teambuilding 

The COO, in collaboration with the partners, will be responsible for organizational processes to support recruiting, hiring, and onboarding new attorneys and non-attorney staff, as well as offboarding departing staff, and will structure and implement systems for performance reviews and staff training. They will also work with our Employment Law Group partners to maintain and improve staff resources such as the employee handbook. The COO will be responsible for organizing TRSG’s annual staff retreat in collaboration with the Office Manager. 

Human Resources and Insurance

The COO will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s human resources and insurance policies, including but not limited to health, vision, dental, disability, malpractice, general liability, as well as our 401k and FSA programs. The COO will also be responsible for updating and implementing paid leave policies and other human resources compliance tasks as needed. This broad area of responsibility includes evaluating policy options and recommending policies to suit the firm’s needs.

Branding and Marketing 

The COO will be responsible for monitoring and updating the firm’s public image and branding, including our website, letterhead and other branded templates. The COO will have authority to identify opportunities for improvement in visibility and branding, though this is expected to be a limited part of the job. 

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The ideal candidate will have at least five years of experience in law firm practice management or a comparable organizational management role, and the ability to identify how to improve their legal colleagues’ work efficiency in meaningful, unintrusive ways. They will also share the firm’s values and have a strong commitment to furthering nonprofit and political work. A successful candidate will be able to work on multiple projects simultaneously and have a collaborative disposition. Strong facility with or aptitude to learn Microsoft Office programs and other key software and technological applications required. 

The COO position location is hybrid; our office is in Dupont Circle, in Washington, DC. Full-time preferred; proposals for a fractional position will be considered. Compensation will be tied to experience, $150,000 to $175,000 per year for a full-time position. As an employee, the firm will be responsible for paying all applicable tax withholding. The firm offers a generous benefits package.

Trister, Ross, Schadler & Gold, PLLC takes equal opportunity employment seriously. We strive for an inclusive workplace. We welcome all applicants, regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, age, pregnancy, disability, work-related injury, veteran status, genetic information, marital status, family responsibilities, and all other factors protected by law. Trister, Ross, Schadler & Gold, PLLC bases its hiring and employment decisions solely on how a person’s merit and qualifications reflect skills that fit the Firm’s needs.

Trister, Ross, Schadler & Gold, PLLC is fully committed to providing equal opportunity, access, and reasonable accommodation throughout the employment process to individuals with disabilities. We will modify or adjust the application process, the job, or the work environment to provide accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of a qualified applicant or employee, consistent with applicable law. This commitment ensures individuals with disabilities can be considered for the position, perform its essential functions, and enjoy equal benefits of employment, provided the accommodation does not create undue hardship. If you need accommodations to participate in the application or interview process, contact info@tristerross.com.

Please send a cover letter and resume to info@tristerross.com. In the email subject line, write “COO Application” followed by your full name.