Associate Director, Client Development – Funds

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is one of the world’s leading international law firms. The Firm was established in 1884 and has approximately 2,000 lawyers. Headquartered in New York with offices in Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, Palo Alto, San Francisco, São Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., the Firm provides coordinated legal advice and transactional capability to clients around the globe.

Simpson Thacher serves as counsel and trusted adviser to the world’s most successful and innovative sponsors. The Client Development & Engagement (CDE) function sits at the heart of the Firm’s growth strategy, bringing together business development, marketing, events and communications. This is a high-impact opportunity to partner with senior attorneys and Client Development & Engagement leaders, helping to showcase the Firm’s experience, deepen client relationships, and drive strategic growth. You’ll be part of a dynamic team that values initiative, collaboration, and intellectual curiosity—and you’ll work closely with colleagues across the Transactional practices and our global Client Development & Engagement department.

Job Summary & Objectives

The Associate Director, Client Development – Funds, is responsible for leading the Firm’s global client development initiatives for the Funds practices. The role serves as the central point of contact for pitch decks and client acquisition efforts, coordinating across lawyers and business teams to deliver tailored, high-quality materials that support new business opportunities.

A central focus of the role is designing and executing event strategy that advances client and sponsor relationships, alongside driving process improvement and implementation, managing internal relationships across the Firm, and managing the practices’ client development budgets. The role also draws on information about the Funds practices and lawyers, and on research and analysis about clients, competitors, markets, and trends, to ensure work product, communications, and critical functions meet the Firm’s high standard of excellence.

The Associate Director operates with a high degree of independence and judgment, serving as a trusted advisor to partners and practice leaders on client development strategy, market positioning, and growth initiatives. This role is responsible for shaping priorities, integrating cross-practice efforts, and ensuring the Firm’s capabilities are presented clearly, consistently, and competitively to clients and the market.

Responsibilities

Client Development & Growth Initiatives

- Lead the development of strategic pitches, proposals, presentations, and responses to RFPs for Funds, Sponsor Transactions & Advisory, Registered Funds, and related specialist areas, exercising judgment on positioning, messaging, prioritization, and the articulation of the Firm’s value proposition.
- Partner with Firm leadership and attorneys to develop and execute strategic client plans, relationship strategies, opportunity pipelines, and new business initiatives that foster new relationships, deepen existing ones, and support practice growth.
- Shape and oversee timely, accurate submissions for legal directories, rankings, awards, surveys, and other professional recognition opportunities relevant to the focus areas.
- Provide strategic guidance on and oversee the production and maintenance of differentiated client-facing materials, including practice descriptions, capability statements, brochures, engagement and experience lists, and client communications across print and digital channels.
- Work with CDE team members to maintain accurate engagement, deal, and case experience data across the Firm’s databases, channels, operations, and systems.

Practice & Sector Strategy

- Serve as the senior Client Development & Engagement lead for the Funds, Sponsor Transactions & Advisory, and Registered Funds practices, including related initiatives, pitches, and practice management support.
- Advise partners and practice leadership on client development strategy, market trends, competitive positioning, and growth opportunities, anticipating and proactively addressing their business development and client engagement needs.
- Integrate private funds, registered funds, fund transactions, regulatory, advisory, and M&A capabilities into a cohesive offering for sponsors and promote cross-practice collaboration.
- Coordinate with Communications colleagues to identify noteworthy matters, speaking engagements, writing opportunities, and appropriate media coverage that raise the profile of the Firm and its partners.

Event Strategy & Activation

- Develop and drive the annual event strategy and calendar for the Funds, Sponsor Transactions & Advisory, and Registered Funds practices, aligning programming with practice priorities, target clients and sponsors, and key market and regulatory developments.
- Partner with practice leaders and attorneys to define objectives, target audiences, formats, investment levels, and success measures for Firm-hosted events and third-party conference participation, evaluating results and ROI to continuously refine the Firm’s approach.
- Serve as the strategic BD lead for practice events, translating practice and client-development priorities into event opportunities and partnering closely with the CDE Events team who owns planning, production, logistics and overall execution.
- Manage from a business development perspective Firm-hosted dinners, roundtables, seminars, webinars, CLEs, and receptions from concept through delivery and follow-up, attending events where appropriate.
- Advise attorneys on content, speakers and panelists, agendas, and target audiences, developing thoughtful client and prospect guest strategies that advance relationship-building and pipeline goals.
- Develop and manage the approach to third-party industry conferences, including recommendations on sponsorship opportunities, speaking submissions, partner participation, side events, client meetings, and other opportunities to maximize the Firm’s presence and investment.
- Collaborate closely with the CDE Events, Communications and Graphics teams, providing strategic direction and practice-specific context to support  invitations, audience development, attendee communications, event materials, and other elements of successful event delivery.
- Lead the business development activation surrounding events, including pre-event partner preparation, post-event follow-up plans, CRM capture of engagement, and tracking of resulting opportunities and relationship activity.
- Manage event and sponsorship budgets from a business development perspective, ensuring investments align with practice priorities, Firm policies and approval requirements, and providing clear recommendations and timely budget updates to partners and Firm leadership.

Process Improvement & Implementation

- Assess CDE workflows supporting the Funds practices, including events, pitch and proposal production, directory submissions, experience management, CRM data, and marketing communications—to identify inefficiencies, gaps, and improvement opportunities.
- Design and implement standardized processes, templates, playbooks, and checklists that improve consistency, quality, and turnaround time.
- Lead process and tool implementations from planning through rollout, including defining scope and timelines, assigning owners, managing change, delivering training, and driving adoption.
- Partner with Technology, Knowledge Management, and other operational teams on enhancements to CRM, experience databases, event management tools, and related systems, including requirements gathering and testing.
- Establish metrics and reporting to assess the effectiveness of processes, events, and initiatives; document procedures; and share best practices across the broader CDE organization to drive continuous improvement and innovation.
- Develop, manage, and monitor the annual client development and events budget for the Funds practices, including forecasting, tracking actual spend, and reporting variances to practice leadership.

Internal Relationship Management

- Build and maintain trusted relationships with practice leaders, partners, and senior attorneys, serving as their primary CDE point of contact and a central coordinator across Registered Funds, Private Funds, Fund Transactions, and Sponsor Advisory.
- Partner with colleagues in Communications, Events, Finance, Knowledge Management, Technology, and other Firm departments on Firm-wide projects and cohesive, high-impact initiatives.
- Exercise discretion and prioritization in managing competing stakeholder demands, setting clear expectations, resolving cross-team issues, and keeping senior partners informed of status, trade-offs, and results.

Market Intelligence & Insight

- In partnership with Strategic Intelligence colleagues, oversee research and analysis related to clients, prospects, competitors, and industry trends affecting sponsors, fund managers, and regulated fund markets.
- Translate complex market, competitor, and regulatory developments into synthesized, actionable insights, reports, strategic recommendations, event themes, and content for partners and practice leadership.

Leadership & Team Development

- Supervise, manage, mentor, and develop CDE team members supporting the Funds and Registered Funds practices, fostering a culture of collaboration, excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Set clear expectations, assign and prioritize work, review work product, and support team members’ professional growth and engagement.
- As a member of the CDE leadership team, model senior-level judgment, accountability, innovation, and effective partnership with attorneys, senior colleagues, and internal stakeholders.

Education

Required

- Bachelor’s degree
- undefined

Preferred

- J.D.

Skills and Experience

Required

- Minimum of 10 years of demonstrated experience in a law firm environment, preferably in a business development role supporting Registered Funds practices, working directly with Partners
- Possess a solid foundation of market trends impacting Registered Funds
- Strong project management and organizational skills, with a proven ability to prioritize and balance competing demands in a fast-paced environment
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to effectively present information
- Proven ability to collaborate with a diverse team across multiple seniority levels and departments
- Strong, independent decision-making skills, with the capacity to interpret policies and counsel staff effectively
- Excellent relationship building skills, maintaining a high level of customer service, diplomacy, and discretion
- Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality work in a rigorous and competitive setting
- Strong analytical skills, capable of developing creative solutions to complex problems
- Deep business acumen and organizational awareness
- Exceptional attention to detail and flexibility to adapt to varying work situations
- undefined

Preferred

- 10+ years of experience at a leading law firm
- Previous experience as a practicing lawyer in a Registered Funds related role is highly desirable
- In-depth knowledge of the firm’s substantive practice areas, particularly in Registered Funds
- Experience with proposal generation systems or desktop publishing is a plus

Salary Information

NY Only: The estimated base salary range for this position is $250,000 to $300,000 at the time of posting.

The actual salary offered will depend on a variety of factors, including without limitation, the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and if applicable, the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job. This role is exempt meaning it is not overtime pay eligible.

Simpson Thacher will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.

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