Senior Risk, Compliance & Conflicts Lawyer

London (City) + remote
Up to £95,000 per annum + benefits
29 Sep 2021
27 Oct 2021
Permanent
Full Time

The Firm
HFW is a sector focused global law firm.  We have over 500 lawyers working across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.  We take a progressive approach to our roles in commercial business – thinking creatively and pragmatically to support our clients.

Whether we are solving complex issues within the construction, aviation or shipping industries, or providing advice across insurance, commodities and energy, we are specialist lawyers here to add value to our clients.  We think about the commercial solution first, and then underpin our advice with a solid foundation of legal expertise. 

The Role
This is a legal role, supporting the Director of Risk, Compliance & Conflicts and the Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) in relation to all aspects of their roles, worldwide.

The Department
The Director of Risk, Compliance & Conflicts and COLP are based in the London office, together with two Risk, Compliance & Conflicts Lawyers, an AML & Sanctions Lawyer, a Compliance Systems Manager, five Risk & Compliance Officers, a Risk & Compliance Assistant and three Conflicts Researchers.  There are also two Risk & Compliance Officers in the Hong Kong office and two in Australia, one of whom is also a Risk, Compliance and Conflicts Lawyer. 

The department also works closely with other partners within the firm specialising in anti-money laundering and sanctions, data protection, professional indemnity, claims and complaints handling, and bribery.

Key Responsibilities
-    Assisting the Director of Risk, Compliance & Conflicts and COLP with the numerous daily queries which arise regarding the SRA Code, professional standards and best practice, ethics, conflicts, financial crime, supplier contracts and firm and third party terms and conditions; 
-    Regularly updating the Professional Standards Manual and Partners' Guide;
-    Drafting policies and procedures to take account of changes in the regulatory law in any of the jurisdictions in which the firm operates;
-    Analysing conflict reports and advising on complex conflict-related issues;
-    Reviewing data protection policies and procedures on at least an annual basis and updating as necessary and assisting with data protection queries and processes;
-    Writing and amending terms of engagement with clients in all the jurisdictions in which the firm operates;
-    Writing and amending terms of engagement with counsel, foreign lawyers and experts;
-    Updating the firm's risk register;
-    Resolving escalated conflicts queries, including US conflicts rules; 
-    Any other ad hoc duties as may be required.

Key Skills & Experience Required
-    Qualified lawyer (England & Wales), with 6 – 10 years' PQE; 
-     A minimum of three years' legal compliance experience in an international firm, including dealing with confidentiality and ethics;
-    Conflicts experience essential;
-    A detailed knowledge of the SRA Handbook, especially the Code of Conduct;
-    Excellent written legal skills, including the ability to draft and review policies, procedures, terms of engagement and contracts with third parties;
-    Up-to-date knowledge of relevant areas of law and procedure, especially contract and tort;
-    Knowledge of data protection, anti-money laundering, sanctions, anti-bribery and corruption, corporate tax evasion and anti-modern slavery rules and application;  
-    Strong organisational and IT skills; 
-    Outstanding communication skills, with the ability to communicate and deal with queries in a confident and assertive manner, whether with partners, other lawyers or business services staff;
-    High levels of discretion, confidentiality and diplomacy;
-    Flexibility to travel to offices within the firm's global network to undertake audits and training;
-    Experience of providing training, and of dealing with claims and complaints is desirable.

Additional Information
Kindly note that this job description is not contractual.  It will be reviewed periodically and may be amended or altered to meet the needs of the firm.

Due to the volume of applications, only those candidates shortlisted for interview will be contacted.

HFW operates a Preferred Supplier List (PSL). Recruitment agencies should not submit CVs unless they are part of the PSL and have been engaged regarding this specific vacancy.

HFW aims to ensure equality of opportunity and we are actively working towards improving the diversity of our staff.  All applications will be considered only on merit and the applicant's suitability to meet the requirements of the role.

HFW collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants to manage its recruitment process. The firm is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations.  For information on how the firm will process your data, please see our Privacy Notice on our website (www.hfw.com/Privacy-Notice), in the section "What we collect and how we use it".