Lead Outside Counsel Specialist - 90415720 - Washington
Washington, DC, US, 20001
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As we move America’s workforce toward the future, Amtrak connects businesses and communities across the country. We employ more than 20,000 diverse, energetic professionals in a variety of career fields throughout the United States. The safety of our passengers, our employees, the public and our operating environment is our priority, and the success of our railroad is due to our employees.
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Our values of ‘Do the Right Thing, Excel Together and Put Customers First’ are at the heart of what matters most to us, and our Core Capabilities, ‘Building Trust, Accountability, Effective Communication, Customer Focus, and Proactive Safety & Security’ are what every employee needs to know and do to be most impactful at Amtrak. By living the Amtrak values, focusing on our capabilities, and actively embracing and fostering diverse ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives, together we will honor our past and make Amtrak a company of the future.
Job Summary
The Lead Client Engagement Specialist manages the day-to-day administration of outside counsel engagement, legal invoicing, rate records, accrual support, and related client-service processes.
This role serves as the primary operational contact for routine engagement and billing matters. Working with attorneys, outside counsel, Finance, Procurement, Accounts Payable, and other partners, the specialist takes ownership of assigned work from receipt through completion, resolves routine issues under established procedures, and presents management with decision-ready exceptions.
The successful candidate will be comfortable adopting new technology, automation, procedures, and ways of working. This person will identify opportunities to reduce manual effort, duplication, and unnecessary complexity while maintaining appropriate financial, legal, compliance, and operational controls.
Essential Functions
- Administer outside counsel and legal-service-provider onboarding, including engagement letters, billing guidelines, documentation, approvals, and status tracking.
- Review invoices for compliance with approved rates, budgets, engagement terms, billing guidelines, and department procedures.
- Identify and resolve billing discrepancies, including incorrect rates, duplicate charges, unsupported expenses, and missing information.
- Track rejected, corrected, aging, and unresolved invoices through final disposition.Research payment-status questions and coordinate follow-up with outside counsel, Finance, and Accounts Payable.Maintain accurate firm, matter, engagement, timekeeper, rate, and compliance records.
- Coordinate recurring rate reviews and prepare proposed changes and exceptions for management review.
- Distribute accrual requests; track, review, and follow up on incomplete or inconsistent submissions.
- Serve as the primary operational contact for routine questions involving engagements, invoices, rates, accruals, billing requirements, and payments.
- Maintain ownership of requests through resolution and provide timely status updates.Monitor deadlines, aging items, outstanding approvals, and incomplete actions.
- Prepare recurring reports on engagements, invoices, rates, accruals, exceptions, and workflow status.Research issues before escalation and provide supporting facts, documentation, options, and a recommended next step.
- Develop and maintain procedures, templates, checklists, job aids, and operational records.
- Learn and adopt new systems, automation tools, reporting solutions, and approved procedures.
- Identify opportunities to streamline repetitive, manual, or duplicative work.
- Support approved system enhancements, workflow automation, policy updates, and revised procedures.Perform other related duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, accounting, legal studies, operations, public administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant professional experience.
- 6 years of progressively responsible experience in legal operations, legal billing, outside counsel administration, law firm operations, finance, procurement, vendor administration, or a related professional-services environment.
- Experience administering detailed workflows involving invoices, financial records, engagement documentation, vendors, or comparable business records.
- Experience coordinating with multiple internal and external stakeholders.
- Experience researching operational issues and following matters through resolution.
- Experience handling confidential or sensitive information.
Preferred Qualifications
- 8 years of relevant work experience.
- Experience in a corporate legal department, law firm, government legal office, transportation organization, or similarly complex environment.
- Experience with eBilling, matter-management, financial, procurement, document-management, reporting, or workflow systems.
- Experience with outside counsel onboarding, legal invoice review, rate administration, accruals, and vendor-payment support.
- Experience supporting technology implementations, system testing, process redesign, or workflow automation.
- Experience identifying inefficient processes and recommending practical improvements.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Strong organizational, analytical, follow-up, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to take ownership of work and move it through completion.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent attention to detail and recordkeeping discipline.
- Ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.
- Ability to coordinate across functions without formal supervisory authority.
- Openness to new technology, automation, evolving procedures, and more efficient ways of working.
- Ability to question inefficient practices constructively while respecting established controls and governance.
- Sound judgment, discretion, and commitment to confidentiality.
- Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and applicable enterprise systems.
The salary/hourly range is $94,300.00 – $122,256.00. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, etc. Depending on an employee’s assigned worksite or location, Amtrak may consider a geo-pay differential to be applied to the employee’s base salary. Amtrak may offer additional incentive and pay programs to recognize and reward our employees, including a short-term incentive bonus based upon factors such as individual and company performance that is commensurate with the level of the position.
| Health and Wellbeing | Financial and Retirement | Work and Family Life Support |
| Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance | 401K with Employer Match | Generous Paid Time Off |
| Wellness Programs | Railroad Retirement Benefits | Paid Caregiving Days and Backup Care |
| Health Savings Account | Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness | Fertility and Family Building Benefits |
| No-cost Personal Health Advocate | Student Loan Assistance | Adoption and Surrogacy Assistance |
| Medical Plan Opt-out Credit | Tuition and Education Reimbursement | Paid Family Leave |
| Life Insurance | Rail Pass Privileges | |
| Short- and Long-term Disability Insurance | Employee Assistance Program | |
| No-cost Financial Advisor Sessions | Commuter and Flexible Spending Accounts |
Learn more about our benefits offerings here.
Requisition ID:167365
Work Arrangement:06-Onsite 4/5 Days Click here for more information about work arrangements at Amtrak.
Relocation Offered:No
Travel Requirements:Up to 25%
You power our progress through your performance.
We want your work at Amtrak to be more than a job. We want your career at Amtrak to be a fulfilling experience where you find challenging work, rewarding opportunities, respect among colleagues, and attractive compensation. Amtrak maintains a culture that values high performance and recognizes individual employee contributions.
Amtrak is committed to a safe workplace free of drugs and alcohol. All Amtrak positions requires a pre-employment background check that includes prior employment verification, a criminal history check and a pre-employment drug screen.
Candidates who test positive for marijuana will be disqualified, regardless of any state or local statute, ordinance, regulation, or other law that legalizes or decriminalizes the use or possession of marijuana, whether for medical, recreational, or other use. Amtrak's pre-employment drug testing program is administered in accordance with DOT regulations and applicable law.
In accordance with DOT regulations (49 CFR § 40.25), Amtrak is required to obtain prior drug and alcohol testing records for applicants/employees intending to perform safety-sensitive duties for covered Department of Transportation positions. If an applicant/employee refuses to provide written consent for Amtrak to obtain these records, the individual will not be permitted to perform safety-sensitive functions.
In accordance with federal law governing security checks of covered individuals for providers of public transportation (Title 6 U.S.C. §1143), Amtrak is required to screen applicants for any permanent or interim disqualifying criminal offenses.
Note that any education requirement listed above may be deemed satisfied if you have an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
Amtrak is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race/color, to include traits historically associated with race, including but not limited to, hair texture and hairstyles such as braids, locks and twists, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions, such as lactation), national origin/ethnicity, disability (intellectual, mental and physical), veteran status, marital status, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, genetic information, citizenship or any other personal characteristics protected by law.
