Fractional Chief Operating Officer - Personal Injury Firm (COO)

Overview

A fractional Chief Operating Officer (COO) will lead a six-month operational improvement initiative focused on creating greater consistency, accountability, and structure in day-to-day firm operations.

Working directly with firm ownership, legal leadership, and HR/Talent Management, this hands-on, project-based role will evaluate how work flows through the firm, identify opportunities to improve efficiency, document standardized workflows, and establish clear expectations for team and leadership performance.

Responsibilities

Legal Process & Workflow Development

• Evaluate existing workflows from client intake through case resolution and file closure.
• Meet with attorneys, paralegals, case managers, and support staff to understand how work is currently completed.
• Identify inconsistent processes, unnecessary administrative work, communication gaps, and operational bottlenecks.
• Develop clear, practical standard operating procedures (SOPs) for each major stage of the personal injury case lifecycle.
• Establish ownership, handoffs, escalation procedures, and expectations for recurring tasks.
• Create standardized checklists, templates, and workflows that are easy for teams to access and follow.
• Identify opportunities to improve case management software usage, automation, and reporting.

Expected outcome: A centralized, documented set of operational procedures that clarifies how work should be completed, who is responsible, and when actions are expected.

Pod Structure, Metrics & Accountability

• Evaluate the existing pod structure, responsibilities, reporting relationships, and distribution of work.
• Define responsibilities and expectations for each position within a pod.
• Establish practical key performance indicators (KPIs) related to case progress, quality, responsiveness, and operational efficiency.
• Develop pod-level scorecards and reporting tools so leadership can monitor performance.
• Establish recurring pod meetings, case reviews, and accountability check-ins.
• Create clear escalation paths for delayed cases, missed deadlines, and workflow breakdowns.
• Identify workload imbalances and opportunities to improve case assignments and capacity.

Expected outcome: A repeatable pod operating model with clear responsibilities, measurable expectations, and a straightforward system for evaluating operational performance.

Leadership Coaching & Operational Accountability

• Coach attorneys and firm leadership on implementing and reinforcing operational procedures.
• Set leadership expectations for monitoring workflow adherence, addressing performance concerns, and following through on commitments.
• Facilitate regular operational leadership meetings to review performance, identify obstacles, and determine corrective action.
• Help leaders recognize and address recurring breakdowns in communication, delegation, and follow-through.
• Develop simple management tools that support one-on-ones, team meetings, and performance conversations.
• Reinforce consistent decision-making, communication, and accountability practices across the firm.

Expected outcome: A leadership team that understands operational expectations, actively manages performance, and consistently reinforces established processes without continued dependence on the fractional COO.

HR & Talent Management Partnership

• Partner with HR/Talent Management to align operational structure, performance expectations, and staffing decisions.
• Clarify job responsibilities, reporting relationships, and performance expectations.
• Translate operational KPIs into meaningful inputs for employee performance evaluations.
• Support development of consistent performance management and accountability practices.
• Evaluate pod staffing, workload distribution, and operational capacity.
• Identify skill gaps, training needs, and opportunities for role development.
• Provide operational recommendations related to hiring priorities, staffing adjustments, and organizational structure.
• Support leaders in addressing performance concerns tied to process adherence, productivity, and role expectations.

Expected outcome: A clear connection between operational performance, employee expectations, leadership accountability, and talent management practices.

Project Deliverables (Six-Month Engagement)

By the end of the engagement, the firm should have:

• Documented Legal Operations Playbook: Centralized library of approved workflows, SOPs, checklists, and responsibilities for agreed-upon processes throughout the case lifecycle.
• Standardized Pod Operating Model: Defined responsibilities, workflows, handoffs, meeting expectations, and escalation procedures.
• Operational KPI Scorecards: Manageable set of performance indicators with clear definitions, ownership, and reporting expectations.
• Leadership Accountability Framework: Defined management routines, coaching expectations, and methods for addressing operational breakdowns.
• Performance & Capacity Recommendations: Operational insights and recommendations to support HR-led evaluations, staffing decisions, and workforce planning.
• Sustainability Plan: Assigned internal owners, procedures for maintaining documentation, and a practical roadmap for continued operational improvement.

Engagement Structure

• Duration: Six months
• Engagement type: Project-based Fractional COO
• Primary partnership: Firm Owner/Managing Partner, legal leadership, and HR/Talent Management
• Approach: Hands-on discovery, process development, collaborative implementation, leadership coaching, and measurable operational improvement
• Success measurement: Completion and adoption of agreed-upon workflows, pod-level accountability implementation, leadership adherence to established procedures, and the firm’s ability to sustain improvements independently.

Required Qualifications & Experience

Direct, hands-on experience implementing operational improvements within personal injury law firms is mandatory. General business operations, corporate COO roles, or legal practices outside of personal injury will not independently satisfy these requirements.

Candidates must demonstrate:

• Direct Personal Injury Law Firm Experience: Prior experience serving in a COO, Director of Operations, Legal Operations Director, Practice Administrator, or comparable operational leadership capacity within one or more personal injury law firms.
• Proven Process Development & Implementation: Experience personally identifying, developing, documenting, and implementing legal workflows and SOPs within a personal injury practice (beyond assessments and recommendations).
• Comprehensive Understanding of the Personal Injury Case Lifecycle: Intake, case opening, investigation, treatment coordination, medical records collection, demand preparation, negotiation, litigation, settlement, disbursement, and case closure.
• Experience Structuring and Managing Legal Pods: Developing, restructuring, or improving pod-based legal teams, including defining responsibilities, establishing handoffs, balancing caseloads, and creating accountability across attorneys, case managers, paralegals, and support personnel.
• KPI Development & Performance Accountability: Experience establishing and implementing measurable operational KPIs, performance scorecards, case progression metrics, and accountability systems within personal injury firms.
• Leadership Coaching & Change Management: Ability to coach attorneys, legal managers, and pod leaders on operational expectations, process adherence, team accountability, and management practices.
• Staffing & Capacity Planning: Experience evaluating caseload distribution, staffing ratios, individual productivity, and organizational capacity within personal injury practices, including collaboration with HR or firm leadership on performance management.
• Legal Case Management Systems: Hands-on experience with personal injury case management platforms such as SmartAdvocate, Filevine, Litify, or comparable systems, including workflow configuration, reporting, and operational optimization.
• Demonstrated Project Results: Specific examples of completed operational improvement projects within personal injury law firms, including challenges addressed, processes implemented, and measurable improvements achieved.
• Independent Project Leadership: Experience independently leading operational initiatives from discovery through implementation, leadership adoption, and transition to internal ownership.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to commit to a structured, approximately six-month client engagement.
• Strong written process documentation and leadership communication skills.
• Comfortable working directly with firm owners, managing attorneys, and legal support teams.
• Ability to simplify complex operations without introducing unnecessary administrative burdens.
• Willingness to provide examples of prior work, redacted deliverables, or professional references demonstrating relevant personal injury operations experience.

Compensation & Benefits

• Project rate: Will be determined collaboratively.

Location

• Location not specified.