General Manager

Typical role assignment: staff, general_manager

general_manager is a "manager of managers" role. It inherits the permissions of hr_manager, crm_manager, matter_manager and admin_manager, so you can see and act across the entire operational side of the firm without needing each role individually.

The difference between a Managing Partner and a General Manager:

  • The Managing Partner is a lawyer with strategic and client-facing responsibility.
  • The General Manager is the operations head — they make the firm run day-to-day.

In smaller firms one person wears both hats. In larger firms they're separate.

What you'll do here

Operations oversight

  • Dashboard — firm-wide health check every morning.
  • Reports — run Reports regularly:
    • Collections & AR aging (who owes the firm)
    • Lawyer utilization
    • Practice area profitability
    • Leave utilization
    • Trust reconciliation

HR oversight

  • Review leave requests and balances
  • Oversee employee records, departments, positions
  • Sign off appraisals where required

See HR & Leave.

Client relationships

  • Oversee the CRM pipeline: prospects, leads, consultations, complaints
  • Review client satisfaction scores
  • Follow up on complaints routed to the firm

See CRM.

Matter portfolio

  • See every matter in the firm
  • Spot-check time entries, budgets, and overruns
  • Review matter profitability

Financial operations

  • Oversee billing: draft → approved → sent → paid
  • Review trust reconciliation
  • Track collections

Facilities and front office

  • Monitor front desk activity: visitors, dispatches, reservations
  • Review office area usage

What you probably shouldn't be doing

  • Inviting users, assigning roles, configuring system settings — that's the firm administrator
  • Approving invoices as a partner would (you can see them, but a legal partner should sign off)

Your key modules