Maria Lawton
Director of Administration at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
- Role
- Director of Administration at Arnold & Porter
- Location
- San Francisco, CA, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Maria Lawton
Director of Administration with a focus on employee experience and engagement, while streamlining business operations. • Experienced in project management, operations, human resources, employee engagement, professional development and mentoring, market research, business development, legal recruiting, and event planning. • Lived and educated in England, South Africa, Indonesia, Cuba, Russia, Spain, and USA. • Dual UK/US Citizen. • Speaks English (fluent), Spanish (fluent), French (advanced), and Russian (basic).
Experience
Director of Administration
Mar 2023 — Present · San Francisco, CA, US
Provide strategic oversight and management of Arnold & Porter’s San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices, ensuring smooth administrative operations and alignment with firmwide policies, while adapting to local office needs.• Act as a trusted liaison between local office leadership (Managing Partner) and firmwide management (C-Suite and Management Committee), driving communication, consensus-building, and execution of strategic initiatives.• Lead cross-functional teams spanning facilities, HR, IT, and legal support services, ensuring seamless integration.• Oversee comprehensive budget forecasting and monthly variance analysis for all NorCal operational budgets.• Develop and implement programs and events to promote firm culture, employee morale, and collaboration across all levels of legal and administrative staff. Foster transparency through regular office-wide communications.• Direct facilities management operations, including property and vendor coordination, and security protocols.• Spearhead human resources functions, including recruitment, onboarding, performance evaluations, and employee engagement. Serve as a mentor to two mentees, as well as lead a firmwide managers mentoring circle.• Transitioned secretarial support to a team-based model, improving efficiency, collaboration, and work product.• Lead a large-scale office relocation and renovation project, coordinating with real estate, architecture, and construction firms, while maintaining 100% operational continuity and stakeholder alignment.
Education
The George Washington University
Master's Degree, International Affairs
2014 — 2016
Colegio Internacional SEK - El Castillo (Madrid)
International Baccalaureate (IB)
2004 — 2010
The University of Alabama in Huntsville
Bachelor of Science (BS), Business Administration and Management
2010 — 2014
Skills
- Writing
- Microsoft Word
- Recruiting
- Research
- Organization
- Business Strategy
- French
- Customer Service
- Microsoft Powerpoint
- Strategic Planning
- Motivated Self-Starter
- Social Media
- Foreign Affairs
- Spanish
- Teaching
- Time Management
- Strategy
- Economics
- Teamwork
- International Relations
- International Business
- Multi Tasking
- Management
- Project Management
- Policy Analysis
- Leadership
- Microsoft Excel
- Powerpoint
- Statistics
- Overseas Experience
- Public Speaking
- Multicultural
- Business Development
- Negotiation
- Communication
- Event Planning
- Foreign Policy
- Microsoft Office
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