Law Firm Managing Attorney

This role can be based in any of our 7 Pennsylvania locations with occasional travel to our other offices as needed. Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak is seeking an experienced attorney-executive to serve as Managing Attorney. Working directly with firm ownership and the leadership team, the Managing Attorney will partner with leadership to instill the firm’s vision and mission across all areas of the organization while helping guide legal excellence, strategy, growth, culture, and organizational effectiveness. 

This role is designed for a respected legal leader who combines substantial estate planning, elder law, special needs planning, trusts and estates, public-benefits planning, fiduciary, tax-sensitive planning, or closely related experience with the ability to develop attorneys and lead firmwide initiatives. A defining responsibility is ensuring that the firm’s legal advice, documents, processes, and client service remain accurate, current, consistent, and aligned with applicable law and professional obligations. 

Key Responsibilities 

Substantive Legal Leadership and Quality 

• Lead the firm’s legal research and legal-update agenda across estate planning, elder law, special needs planning, asset protection, fiduciary matters, tax-sensitive planning, public benefits, and related practice areas. 

• Monitor relevant statutes, regulations, administrative guidance, court decisions, ethics opinions, agency practices, and other legal developments at the federal, Pennsylvania, and applicable local levels. 

• Translate legal developments into timely, practical guidance through attorney meetings, written summaries, issue alerts, training, recommended actions, and client-impact analysis. 

• Maintain strong legal knowledge systems, including practice guides, checklists, model language, forms, document templates, research resources, and shared precedents. 

• Coordinate periodic review and updating of planning documents, engagement materials, advice protocols, workflows, and educational content. 

• Serve as a senior resource for complex or novel legal issues and facilitate consultation, peer review, outside expertise, or escalation when appropriate. 

• Promote consistent standards for legal analysis, drafting, file documentation, issue spotting, risk identification, and client communication. 

Compliance, Ethics, and Risk Management 

• Lead initiatives involving professional responsibility, legal-service compliance, conflicts, confidentiality, supervision, competence, file practices, and related legal-risk controls. 

• Collaborate with firm leaders and appropriate advisors to assess changes in laws, ethical requirements, court rules, regulations, and agency procedures. 

• Develop and reinforce policies, training, controls, and documentation practices that support responsible, compliant legal services. 

• Coordinate responses to significant legal-quality concerns, compliance issues, client-service risks, or potential professional-liability matters with appropriate confidentiality and escalation. 

• Support compliance with continuing legal education, attorney registration, professional licensing, and other attorney-specific requirements. 

Attorney Leadership and Development 

• Lead attorney onboarding, substantive training, mentoring, continuing education, and professional-development initiatives. 

• Establish clear expectations for legal quality, responsiveness, productivity, professional conduct, collaboration, and client communication. 

• Provide direct, respectful feedback and coaching that strengthen legal knowledge, judgment, leadership, and client-service skills. 

• Facilitate attorney meetings, case and issue reviews, peer learning, and cross-office collaboration. 

• Collaborate on attorney recruiting, selection, integration, performance management, succession planning, retention, and accountability. 

• Identify emerging legal and leadership talent and create meaningful opportunities for growth and contribution. 

Firmwide Leadership and Execution 

• Work with firm ownership and the leadership team to develop and execute strategic priorities that advance the firm’s mission and long-term sustainability. 

• Convert ownership decisions into clear goals, accountable owners, realistic timelines, operating rhythms, and measurable results.

• Strengthen communication and collaboration among attorneys, departments, and office locations while addressing barriers to execution promptly. 

External Leadership and Relationships 

• Represent the firm professionally with clients, referral sources, professional organizations, community partners, regulators, and the broader legal community. 

• Participate in speaking, writing, teaching, and thought-leadership opportunities involving estate planning, elder law, special needs planning, law-firm leadership, and legal developments. 

• Support responsible business development and referral relationships in compliance with professional-conduct and marketing requirements. 

Qualifications 

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school. 

• Active Pennsylvania law license in good standing, or the ability to obtain and maintain active Pennsylvania admission promptly following hire. 

• Substantial legal experience in estate planning, elder law, special needs planning, trusts and estates, tax-sensitive planning, public-benefits planning, fiduciary matters, or a closely related field. 

• At least five years of progressively responsible legal experience, including meaningful leadership of attorneys, legal teams, practice groups, or law-firm initiatives. 

• Demonstrated ability to research and communicate complex legal developments and convert them into practical guidance, training, templates, and procedures. 

• Strong knowledge of attorney ethics, professional responsibility, legal-quality controls, risk management, and the obligations involved in supervising legal work. 

• Experience with strategic planning, organizational leadership, change management, and law-firm or professional-services operations. 

• Strong business and financial acumen, along with exceptional communication, facilitation, coaching, judgment, and relationship-building skills. 

• High integrity, discretion, resilience, humility, and the ability to lead difficult conversations with clarity and respect. 

• Ability and willingness to travel among SGY offices and attend occasional evening or weekend professional or community events. 

Core Leadership Qualities 

• Legal excellence and intellectual curiosity. 

• People-first leadership that combines dignity, development, and respectful accountability. 

• Strategic thinking paired with disciplined execution and dependable follow-through. 

• Sound legal, ethical, operational, financial, and reputational risk judgment. 

• Clear communication with attorneys, staff, clients, owners, and outside stakeholders. 

• A commitment to continuous improvement without sacrificing professional judgment or client care. 

• An unwavering focus on quality, care, and commitment. 

Compensation and Benefits 

Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak offers competitive executive compensation commensurate with the selected candidate’s legal experience, leadership record, subject-matter expertise, responsibilities, and demonstrated ability to deliver results. Employee benefits include Paid time off, Holiday Pay, Jury Pay, Birthday Off, Bereavement Leave, Health, Dental, Vision, Disability, Life Insurance, Retirement Plan, Gym Membership, Student Loan Assistance and Tuition Assistance. Specific eligibility, coverage, and plan terms are governed by applicable firm policies and benefit plans. 

Why Work for Us 

• Meaningful legal leadership: Shape how the firm studies, shares, and applies legal developments affecting older adults, individuals with disabilities, families, fiduciaries, and communities. 

• Direct collaboration with ownership: Help turn the firm’s vision and mission into disciplined, responsible execution. 

• Firmwide impact: Influence legal quality, attorney development, client experience, strategy, culture, growth, and operational effectiveness across multiple offices. 

• Opportunity to build: Strengthen legal-update processes, knowledge systems, compliance practices, attorney education, and leadership capacity. 

• Values in action: Join a workplace that emphasizes mutual respect, accountability, continuous learning, quality, care, commitment, and solutions-oriented leadership. 

About Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak 

At Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak, our commitment to a solutions-oriented work environment is realized through teams that are bound by mutual respect and accountability and who strive for continuous learning and growth. 

Does that sound like an environment you would like to work in? Are you a team player who is eager to learn, solutions-oriented, and reliable? If so, we may have a place for you on our team! 

We have offices in Williamsport, State College, Altoona, Wilkes-Barre, Muncy, Wyalusing, and Wysox, PA. 

Our employee benefits include: Paid time off, Holiday Pay, Jury Pay, Birthday Off, Bereavement Leave, Health, Dental, Vision, Disability, Life Insurance, Retirement Plan, Gym Membership, Student Loan Assistance and Tuition Assistance. 

Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.