Jason Cotterell

Commercial, finance-led, operations executive with deep experience in partnership environments, combining P&L discipline, operational leadership and sound judgement. Trusted adviser to Managing Partners, COOs and Executive

Boards, recognised for strategic thought, calm authority, constructive challenge and the ability to arbitrate effectively between partner interests while protecting firmwide performance.

Proven track record in driving profitability, improving working capital, building scalable operating platforms and ensuring the stable, efficient running of complex law firm operations. Qualified accountant (CIMA/CGMA) with MBA and extensive experience across finance, IT-enabled operations, shared services, outsourcing and transformation within leading international law firms.

Core Strengths

• Partnership & Executive Board advisory
• Law firm economics, profitability & working capital
• Firmwide financial planning, MI & investment discipline
• Finance, IT-enabled operations & shared services
• Operating model design & execution
• Transformation, innovation & automation
• Risk, compliance & governance
• Calm, credible leadership in complex environments

Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) – London

Director of Global Finance & Operations, and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), 03/2024-present

Senior leadership role accountable for the financial and operational performance of global transactional and business support services, acting as a trusted adviser to firm leadership and partners.

Commercial & partnership impact

• Advise firm leadership and partners on profitability, cost base, investment prioritisation and operating leverage across intake, finance and business services.
• Provide partner-facing management information covering billing, collections, pricing, margin and working capital,

supporting decision-making at Executive Board and practice group level.

• Act as senior escalation point for operational, financial and service delivery issues impacting partners and clients.
• Serve as a sounding board and trusted counsel to senior leadership during periods of organisational change,

providing pragmatic advice on financial trade-offs and operational risk.

Operational leadership

• Executive accountability for global finance and operations teams (~30 FTE) covering:

o New Business Intake (Terms of Business, CDD/AML)

o Time recording, billing, collections, accounting (including Verein accounting), invoice processing, expense management, FP&A and strategic & financial reporting o Data quality governance and business intelligence (data curation and Power BI / Tableau)

• Executive ownership of Business Process Outsourcing relationship (~95 FTE offshore), ensuring service quality,

cost efficiency, control and risk management across Finance, HR, Marketing and Intake.

• Partner with IT leadership to align strategies, deliver operational services (dual reporting lines for Product Owners)

support infrastructure investment decisions and scalable working practices.

Head of Global Business Process Transformation, 09/2020 – 02/2024

Worked alongside the Global CEO (MP), COO and senior leadership to establish a unified Group Finance function and scalable global operating model.

Firmwide commercial impact

• Built business cases delivering $7–9m of sustainable annual savings, directly improving partner profitability through automation, consolidation and process redesign.
• Supported leadership decisions on pricing, matter management, resourcing and investment trade-offs with robust financial and operational analysis.

Leadership & delivery

• Designed global finance operating model, organisational structure and governance framework.
• Led a roadmap of 25 initiatives across intake, pricing, billing, collections, accounting, FP&A and reporting.
• Partnered with IT on vendor due diligence, selection and systems delivery.
• Implemented BPO and RPA solutions delivering 60–80% capacity savings while maintaining service quality and control.

Baker McKenzie – London/Chicago

Transformation Leader / Finance Transformation Lead, 09/2018 – 07/2020

Senior leadership role delivering large-scale transformation within a complex global partnership.

Senior PMO Lead

• Created and managed firm’s global transition methodology for the delivery of anticipated $60m savings.

Finance Transformation Lead

• Led finance transformation initiatives delivering c.$20m in savings, improving margin and scalability.
• Worked directly with partners, practice leaders and executive management to implement standardised global processes while protecting client service quality.
• Designed organisational structures, role profiles and governance frameworks across global service centres.

Conducted resource planning and facilitated the recruitment of 800+ personnel across four service centres.

• Provided clear, commercially focused programme reporting to Executive Committee members.

PwC Consulting – London

Management Consultant (Various Projects/Assignments), 06/2015 – 08/2018

Advised multinational clients on operating model design, finance transformation, and shared services, delivering measurable operational and financial improvements.

Master of Business Administration

University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business. Thesis: Motivation & Retention of Professional Services Fee

Earners

CGMA/ACMA

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)

Bachelor of Architectural Studies

University of the Witwatersrand

Postgraduate Diploma in Management – PDM (Business Administration)

Wits Business School

Certifications

Lean Green Belt, Capgemini University

Affiliation

Golden Key International Honour Society member