The varied titles for the head of administration in a law department

Previous posts have considered distinctions between titles: Assistant and Associate General Counsel (Nov. 8, 2005; March 23, 2006 for below those levels; June 16, 2006 #1 for a contrary view; and June 15, 2006 for international titles), secretary and administrative assistant (May 17, 2006), officer designations (Feb. 28, 2006), and legal assistant or paralegal (Aug. 21, 2005 and June 7, 2006).

For still another position, there are also a number of potential titles — the position of the non-lawyer manager for the department.

At Sara Lee Corp., that position is styled Vice President, Legal Operations & Administration. At VerizonBusiness the counterpart is Director of Operations, Legal and External Affairs. The common term, Administrator, conveys less breath and authority than the impressive titles from Sara Lee and VerizonBusiness. The title with the least stature for the function (See my post of Aug. 1, 2006 for a view of lawyers as administrators.) is that of Office Manager.