Job Description

Coherent is seeking a detail-oriented Legal Operations Specialist - Billing to join its Legal Operations and Strategy team. Reporting to the Senior Manager, Legal Solutions and Strategy, this role will be responsible for the day-to-day administration of Coherent's legal billing processes and e-billing platform.
The specialist will work closely with Legal, Finance, Accounts Payable, outside counsel and other legal service providers to help ensure that invoices, accruals, vendor information and billing data are processed accurately and on time.
This is a hands-on operational role in a global legal department managing significant legal spend and a large population of outside counsel and legal vendors. The successful candidate will be highly organized, comfortable working with financial and billing information, and a natural collaborator and problem solver.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Support the end-to-end legal billing process, including invoice review, approval workflows, issue resolution, payment tracking, and compliance with billing guidelines.
• Coordinate legal accruals, budgeting, and financial reporting activities in partnership with Finance, Accounts Payable, legal matter owners, and external counsel.
• Serve as the primary administrator for the legal e-billing and matter management platform, maintaining data integrity, user access, workflows, vendors, matters, rates, and system records.
• Build strong working relationships with law firms and legal vendors, managing onboarding, billing communications, and ongoing support.
• Monitor and improve legal operations processes, identifying opportunities for automation, efficiency, and enhanced reporting.
• Create and maintain process documentation, billing guidelines, user training materials, and standard operating procedures.
• Support system enhancements, technology implementations, and legal operations transformation initiatives.
• Partner across Legal, Finance, Accounts Payable, Procurement, and IT to deliver operational excellence and support key business priorities.

Education & Experience

• Bachelors degree or equivalent professoinal experience.
• Three to five years of relevant experience in legal billing, e-billing, law-firm finance, accounts payable, legal operations or a related function.

Skills

• You are a proactive problem solver with strong organizational skills and a passion for improving processes. You enjoy working with both financial data and operational systems, and you are comfortable collaborating with stakeholders across multiple functions.
• You'll likely bring:
• A Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.
• 3 to 5 years of experience in legal billing, legal operations, e-billing, law firm finance, accounts payable, or a related function.
• Experience reviewing invoices, resolving billing discrepancies, and managing high-volume administrative processes.
• Strong analytical skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Excel and financial data reconciliation.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with a customer-focused approach.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities while meeting deadlines.
• Sound judgment and the ability to identify and escalate issues when appropriate.
• Experience handling confidential and financially sensitive information with discretion.
  
  Preferred
• Experience with legal e-billing or enterprise legal management platforms such as SimpleLegal, Unity, Brightflag, Legal Tracker, or similar solutions.
• Previous experience within a corporate legal department, law firm, or professional services environment.
• Familiarity with legal billing guidelines, LEDES invoices, accruals, timekeeper rates, and matter-based billing.
• Experience partnering with Finance and Accounts Payable teams.
• Involvement in process improvement initiatives, system implementations, or operational transformation projects.
• Curiosity about emerging technologies, including AI, and a track record of identifying opportunities to automate and improve workflows.

Working Conditions

• This position is hybrid
• May require occasional off-site meetings or travel
• Regular use of a computer and other office equipment is necessary
• Interaction with team members and external contacts is a regular part of the job
• May require occasional overtime and flexibility in work hours to accommodate the executive's needs

Physical Requirements

• Sitting for extended periods while working on a computer or conducting meetings.
• Use of hands and fingers for typing, writing, and handling documents.
• Occasional lifting of objects or materials up to 20 pounds for administrative tasks.
• Ability to communicate verbally and in writing.
• Mobility within the office environment to attend meetings or interact with colleagues.

Safety Requirements

All employees are required to follow the site EHS procedures and Coherent Corp. Corporate EHS standards.

Quality and Environmental Responsibilities

Depending on location, this position may be responsible for the execution and maintenance of the ISO 9000, 9001, 14001 and/or other applicable standards that may apply to the relevant roles and responsibilities within the Quality Management System and Environmental Management System.