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 optimise 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.
Business Development team - Singapore
Our Marketing team helps the firm win and grow the right clients and work. We drive client development across the firm - deepening priority relationships, increasing share of wallet and converting strategic opportunities into profitable revenue. We equip partners with effective go-to-market strategies, tactics and processes, differentiated insights and disciplined execution. Alongside this, we strengthen the firm’s market profile and reputation to support client acquisition, retention, and growth. We work as one integrated global team, aligning central support and expertise with local knowledge and execution to maximize impact across offices, practice groups, sectors and client programs.
What you will do
You will support day-to-day business development for the Singapore finance practice by converting strategy into tactical plans that you deliver in an efficient, disciplined and collaborative way. You will provide both reactive and proactive support to lawyers and the business to help pursue growth opportunities, including managing the pitch pipeline, client development, running campaigns and other client touchpoints in line with go-to-market strategies, and ensuring that best practice is followed in terms of systems, technology and processes.
Strategic planning and execution
- Contribute to the development of approved business plans and translate into tactical execution, with timelines and deliverables; coordinate inputs, owners and return on investment; track spend against plan and report variances.
- Build concise dashboards and status reports using Dynamics and pipeline data to inform partner discussions.
- Monitor market and client news; summarize implications and feed intelligence into wider marketing activities.
Client development
- Work on the development of client plans, contact maps and meeting records, ensuring that Dynamics is populated with high data quality.
- Coordinate client meetings, briefings and events; prepare targeted follow-up so that we capitalize on client interactions.
- Capture client feedback and post-matter insights; log themes and flag opportunities to the senior BD manager.
- Assemble client and decision maker profiles using approved research tools to support cross-sell and outreach.
- Track coverage, contacts and actions for priority accounts.
AI and technology
- Use approved AI and technology tools to produce first drafts of marketing collateral whilst ensuring brand alignment.
- Utilize AI and technology to drive efficiencies and quality in terms of market, client and financial analysis and research to deliver a more informed and rapid service to the business.
- Share observations on efficiency and quality to improve prompt libraries and templates.
Pursuit excellence
- Coordinate proposals and work in conjunction with the pitch team, pricing and lawyers to support compelling, compliant submissions.
- Tailor credentials and case studies to client needs; support rehearsals and Q&A preparation.
- Maintain pipeline hygiene and data completeness; run basic go/no-go checklists and escalate risks promptly.
Market profile, content and campaigns
- Execute campaign tasks across channels per plan; track engagement metrics and report simple ROI indicators.
- Manage directories/awards submissions, speaker logistics and event follow-up within agreed timelines and budgets.
- Ensure consistent, evidence-based messaging and document quality in all materials.
Collaboration, integration and change
- Work closely with colleagues across regions, practices and central teams to progress tasks and share examples.
- Promote consistent use of firm systems and templates; maintain file hygiene and naming/version standards.
- Actively participate in change initiatives; share ideas and help embed new ways of working. Escalate blockers and propose practical fixes; adopt updated tools and processes.
- Adhere to agreed service levels and briefing templates with central teams.
Team leadership and development
- Provide day-to-day direction and guidance to executives; set clear briefs, promote collaborative styles of working and information-sharing, and conduct quality checks.
- Support resourcing across competing priorities and time zones; maintain action trackers and status notes.
- Contribute tips, examples and improvements to team playbooks and libraries.
- Contribute to onboarding by sharing exemplars and checklists for common BD tasks.
What you will have
- Proven experience executing business development activities in professional services, ideally international and matrixed.
- Intellectual curiosity about market trends and client needs combined with a proactive instinct to shape business development activities in line with these insights.
- Strong project management and stakeholder skills; clear, persuasive writing with a focus on client needs.
- Comfortable with data and research; confident using client data management systems (e.g., Dynamics), experience and pipeline systems.
- Highly organized, proactive and resilient; strong attention to detail and follow-through across multiple priorities.
- Strong client focus and ability to work well with busy lawyers while balancing deadlines.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; occasional travel as required.
