Career Opportunities

Overview:

Marten enjoys a national reputation as a leader in environmental, energy, and natural resource law. Our team of lawyers includes recognized authorities in water resources and water quality, air quality, climate change, wind and solar development, endangered species, forestry, public lands, fisheries, environmental cleanup, and environmental and energy project review and permitting. The firm has grown from its roots in the Pacific Northwest and today practices globally. 

The firm has grown to the point where it recognizes the need to strengthen its finance department – both by elevating the caliber of the team and strengthening internal processes. This is therefore a challenging opportunity to further professionalize a business that has grown organically and needs greater structure and stronger financial management.

The successful candidate will be a member of the firm’s management team, reporting to its equity owners and senior management team. The Controller will interface with the Executive Management Team and manage other professionals in the department. The successful applicant will be expected to work in the Seattle office five days per week and to occasionally travel.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will:

• Oversee the firm’s accounting function – including client billings, accounts payable, payroll, tax compliance, and other important functions.
• Prepare accurate and timely accounting information – both at month end and on an ad hoc basis as needed. 
• Ensure effective internal controls are in place and operating as designed.
• Oversee payroll reporting and related tax compliance. Work with an outside CPA firm on all federal, state, and local tax reporting and compliance requirements.
• Review and manage large accounts receivable and unbilled work in progress to maximize collection and billing efforts.
• Maintain positive relationships with the firm's primary financial institutions to maximize the firm's cash management and keep all loans, lines of credit and other financial obligations current and compliant with applicable agreements and restrictive covenants.
• Ensure the firm has adequate insurance protection for the risk tolerance defined by the firm’s objectives.
• Supervise and mentor members of the accounting department.
• Communicate business insights to the firm’s owners and management team in a way that improves the firm’s profitability. 
• Provide leadership in developing and continuously evaluating short and long-term strategic financial objectives (including developing appropriate performance metrics).
• Maintain open communication with the firm’s owners and senior management so that they are up to date with all pertinent business issues.
• Develop, evaluate, and implement financial management tools, including tools using the firm’s cloud-based legal accounting/firm practice management software platform to timely report performance on all key law firm metrics, including profitability, forecasting, utilization, A/R, A/P, unbilled work in progress, budget to actual on both hours and expenditures, as well as other key client data.

Position Responsibilities:

• Oversee daily, weekly, monthly and annual accounting processes, including timely payments to vendors and appropriate efforts to collect receivables.
• Financial reporting - both internal and external.
• Forecasting, budgeting, and planning.
• Financial transaction analysis and reporting.
• Managing vendor relationships and other firm contracts.
• Client pre-bill and invoice creation, editing, and submission via USPS, email, and/or client websites.
• Insurance.
• Banking - including credit cards, operating and trust accounts transfers, ACH payments, etc.
• Tax planning and compliance (in coordination with outside tax accountants).

Specific requirements:

• Experience working as the Controller or equivalent position of a rapidly growing, multi-state professional service firm.
• Demonstrated ability to add, strengthen or automate processes needed to improve speed, enhance internal controls, and support and scale a growing firm. Strong preference for those candidates with experience working with key third party partners such as tax advisors, payroll processors, benefits consultants, banks, insurance brokers, etc. 
• Strong business acumen, sound and consistent business judgment, and an entrepreneurial mindset.
• CPA or MBA from a leading business program strongly preferred.
• 10 years of experience minimum; preference for experience in a law firm accounting department.
• High level of professional integrity and accountability. 
• Outstanding communication skills (written, verbal, and presentation) with the ability to successfully advise senior management and favorably reflect the firm’s image to outside parties.
• Exceptional ability to build credibility quickly and develop and maintain effective working relationships with individuals at all levels within the firm. 
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize, move things forward and get things done. 
• Positive, upbeat personality with creative problem-solving skills.
• Extensive experience and understanding of professional services businesses that generate revenue by billing for time incurred; strong preference for experience with SurePoint LMS or other Microsoft SQL based law firm management software such as ProLaw or Juris.
• Advanced Excel skills.
• Experience with creating and using budgeting and forecasting models to prepare annual operating budgets, model year-end discretionary expenditure scenarios and prepare pro forma financials for strategic planning.
• Demonstrated success influencing decisions based on the use of data and other analytical tools. 

You can expect the following:

• Rapid growth. 
• An opportunity for incentive compensation if performance goals are met.
• An exempt position, in-office, working Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and some work outside normal business hours.
• Working directly with the firm’s ownership and executive team.
• A minimum $150,000 annual salary, or more (up to $195,000) commensurate with experience.
• Performance bonus opportunity tied to increased firm profitability at up to 10% above salary if 2025 profitability exceeds 2024 profit by 10%; up to 15% above salary if 2025 profitability exceeds 2024 profit by 15-20%; and up to 25% above salary if 2025 profitability exceeds 2024 profit more than 20%.
• A full benefits package, which includes medical and dental insurance, paid time off, a 401(k) with employer match, family leave, a transportation subsidy, health club and internet subsidy, an employee assistance program, life insurance, and long-term and short-term disability policies.

You can expect a respectful, diverse working environment:

• Marten recognizes the importance of recruiting talented professionals from the widest possible range of backgrounds. Environmental issues cannot be decoupled with discrimination issues, and we believe a core tenet of addressing systematic racism and discrimination is through representation. We continue to work towards our goal of employing a more representative, diverse staff through our hiring process. We evaluate each applicant as an individual, and consider not only their experience, but also their potential. 
• The firm is an equal opportunity employer. We believe every employee has the right to work in an environment that is free from all forms of discrimination. Consistent with applicable laws, the firm makes all decisions involving any aspect of the employment relationship without regard to race; color; gender orientation and identity; religion; age; marital status; national origin, citizenship or immigration status; the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability; genetic information; honorably discharged veteran or military status; family relationship or status; political ideology; status as a victim of violent crime including domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, or stalking; off-duty use of illegal substances; or any status or characteristic not listed above that is protected by applicable local, state, or federal law. Discrimination and/or harassment based on any of those factors are inconsistent with our business philosophy and will not be tolerated.

Applicants must be able to pass a background check and drug test and are expected to be truthful in all respects throughout the interview process.