Working Capital Controller

A&O Shearman is a new global industry-leading law firm, with nearly 50 offices in 29 countries worldwide.

Our fluency in English law, US law, and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets, enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. We work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.

We offer exceptional opportunities for our people; opportunities to work for the world’s leading businesses; to transform the status quo, and to deliver your best work, helping you and your career to thrive, while delivering unparalleled outcomes for our clients.

Whether you're helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the ways we manage our business, or ensuring the smooth-running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. We provide first-rate training and development, we are committed to an inclusive environment, and we provide support and ways of working that help you optimize your wellbeing.

What truly defines a career with us? We recruit the best and ask for the best of you. And together, we will redefine success.

ROLE PURPOSE

The Working Capital Controller is the primary day-to-day financial contact for assigned partners and matter teams across the full working capital lifecycle, from matter inception and budgeting through billing, collections and financial closeout. The role adds value by providing accurate financial information, proactive portfolio management and clear follow-through that help partners convert work into profitable cash, manage matter risk, understand financial performance and meet firm and client requirements. The WCC is accountable for effective execution, timely escalation and dependable coordination across partners, Legal PAs, Pricing, Finance and the Belfast Shared Services Center.

ROLE SCOPE

• Manage an assigned portfolio of partners and matters, including matters with complex practice-area or billing requirements.
• Execute and coordinate the end-to-end working capital process, ensuring actions are completed accurately and on time.
• Act as a trusted business advisor to assigned partners and fee earners, working closely with Legal PAs and other support functions to support billing, collections and matter management.
• Identify exceptions, emerging risks and overdue actions; take appropriate corrective steps and escalate material or unresolved issues with a clear summary and recommended next step.
• Provide analysis and practical guidance to partners within established policies, processes and commercial parameters.
• Ensure billing and collections activity complies with agreed client terms, applicable accounting and tax requirements, Solicitors Accounts Rules and relevant firm policies.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues and provide dependable coverage and knowledge sharing; the role does not include formal line-management responsibility.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Portfolio and partner management

• Actively engage with assigned partners, matter managers, fee earners and Legal PAs as the primary working capital contact for their portfolios.
• Hold regular partner reviews, normally at least monthly, to confirm matter status, billing forecasts, collection priorities, financial risks and required actions.
• Maintain accurate and current matter notes, action logs and supporting records so that commitments, ownership and next steps are clear.
• Provide concise partner-facing reports and narratives highlighting WIP, AR, billing activity, aged balances, exceptions and recommended follow-up.
• Build trusted working relationships through responsiveness, accuracy, commercial awareness and appropriately persistent follow-through.

2. Billing and revenue-cycle execution

• Obtain billing instructions and forecasts and follow through to ensure pledged billing is completed within the agreed timetable.
• Coordinate and follow up on billing actions processed by Belfast Revenue Assistants, including proformas, time transfers, time write-offs, disbursements and billing-guide changes.
• Review invoices and supporting schedules to ensure that time and disbursements are accurately charged and that invoices comply with client billing guidelines, agreed rates, tax requirements, revenue accounting controls and firm policy before partner or client distribution.
• Monitor billing progress, identify bottlenecks and resolve routine issues directly with the relevant teams.
• Review proposed billing write-offs, escalate material amounts and prepare clear supporting narratives for the appropriate approval process.
• Review unbilled disbursement balances and disbursement write-offs regularly, investigating significant or unusual movements.
• Identify unrecoverable or obsolete balances and progress them through the appropriate approval and write-off process.

3. Working capital and collections

• Proactively review WIP and AR balances, aging, exposure and lock-up indicators across the assigned portfolio.
• Take the lead on routine collection activity, coordinating partner, client and Credit Control actions and maintaining clear status updates.
• Identify balances at risk of delay, dispute or write-down and take early action to improve recovery and minimize preventable fee loss.
• Brief the assigned Working Capital Manager as required, providing a holistic view of partner and practice-area working capital positions, key risks, actions taken and proposed next steps.
• Escalate material, sensitive, complex or persistently unresolved exposures with the relevant facts, financial impact and recommended action.
• Support cash allocation and monitor client-money balances to ensure receipts, applications and refunds are addressed promptly.
• Maintain complete matter-status notes and retain appropriate supporting records for billing, collections, write-downs, write-offs and client money.

4. Matter management, budgets, pricing and commercial support

• Support matter inception by reviewing engagement-letter terms, agreed rates, billing arrangements and special requirements for completeness and operational accuracy.
• Prepare or obtain matter fee estimates and budgets, maintain them accurately in 3E and monitor performance against agreed estimates, caps and trigger points.
• Alert partners and matter managers when work approaches or exceeds agreed estimates, budgets or caps, and support the development of corrective actions.
• Provide routine pricing and rate support, including validation of agreed arrangements and coordination with Pricing where specialist modeling, non-standard commercial advice or significant fee restructuring is required.
• Prepare concise financial information and narratives for partner and client discussions, including time submission, billing status, WIP, AR, realization, profitability indicators and collection history.

5. Shared services, controls and quality

• Delegate appropriate transactional activity to the Belfast Shared Services Center and provide complete, timely instructions.
• Oversee and follow up on action items processed by Revenue Assistants, ensuring that outstanding items are progressed to completion.
• Quality-check work completed by shared-service colleagues before it is provided to partners or clients.
• Maintain effective working relationships with Revenue, eBilling, Credit Control, Cash Allocations and other Finance teams.
• Apply firm controls consistently and raise process, data-quality or compliance concerns promptly.
• Contribute practical suggestions that improve accuracy, timeliness, partner service and working capital outcomes.

6. Team contribution and continuous improvement

• Provide effective coverage for colleagues, including complete handovers when out of office or when portfolios change.
• Share knowledge, effective working practices and system guidance with colleagues.
• Participate in departmental projects, reporting requests and improvement initiatives as assigned.
• Review and follow up on missing timesheets.
• Adopt firm-approved AI and technology tools to improve the accuracy, efficiency and consistency of working capital activity.
• Provide training or financial-system support to Legal PAs and fee earners where appropriate.

DECISION RIGHTS AND ESCALATION

• Resolve routine operational, billing and collection issues independently within established policies, controls and processes.
• Escalate matters involving material financial exposure, significant client sensitivity, policy interpretation, repeated partner inaction, complex commercial judgment or cross-functional intervention beyond the WCC’s authority.
• Present escalations concisely, setting out the issue, financial impact, actions already taken, outstanding decision and recommended next step.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

• Working Capital Manager and Americas Working Capital leadership
• Assigned partners, matter managers, fee earners and Legal PAs
• US Pricing and Commercial Management
• Belfast Shared Services Center teams, including Revenue, eBilling, Credit Control and Cash Allocations
• Practice Management, Business Development and other Finance and business-services teams

• A minimum of three years of relevant experience in working capital, billing, collections, revenue control, finance or financial analysis, preferably in a law firm or partnership environment.
• Working knowledge of billing and collections processes, financial controls and client billing requirements, with the ability to learn and consistently apply firm policies.
• Strong analytical and numeracy skills, with the ability to identify exceptions, explain financial information clearly and balance detailed analysis with a broad, commercial view of a fast-moving legal practice.
• Excellent attention to detail, organization and follow-through, with the ability to manage competing priorities, varied workloads and demanding deadlines under pressure.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills and the confidence to advise, encourage and appropriately challenge partners.
• A proactive, dependable and service-oriented approach, with sound judgment regarding when to act independently and when to escalate.
• A recognized bachelor-level business degree is preferred but not essential.
• Competence in Elite 3E or a comparable financial system is advantageous.
• Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint, together with a willingness to adopt firm-approved AI tools.

Equal Employment Opportunity, including Veterans and Disability

A&O Shearman is an equal opportunity employer, including Veterans and Disability. Every individual has the right to work in a professional environment that promotes equal opportunity and prohibits discrimination and harassment. This policy applies to all aspects of an individual’s relationship with A&O Shearman, including, without limitation, recruitment, hiring, training and development, promotion, compensation, discipline, termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment.

If you are vision-impaired or have another disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar law and wish to discuss accommodations related to applying for employment at A&O Shearman, please contact US HR Transactions at [email protected] or call +1 212 610 6300 and ask for HR Transactions.This role is open to our New York, and Houston offices. For individuals assigned to or hired for this opportunity in New York, the estimated annualized base salary range for this position is $96,000 - $123,000. For individuals assigned to or hired for this opportunity in Houston, the estimated annualized base salary range for this position is $75,000 - $103,000. The actual base salary offered will depend on the overall qualifications of the individual applicant for the position and other job-related factors permitted by law. We offer competitive compensation and benefits package which includes a discretionary bonus, paid leave, life, health, accident, and disability insurance; and a 401(k) plan.