Deputy Head of Conflicts

Deputy Head of Conflicts

Deputy Head of Conflicts

Location: London (other locations considered)

Contract Type: Permanent

Brief:

We are currently looking to recruit a Deputy Head of Conflicts with 6+ years PQE to join the General Counsel's office in London (other locations considered).

Purpose of the role:

To identify, assess and assist the firm to manage and resolve conflicts of interest in the context of legal conflicts, commercial conflicts and client relationships, having regard to applicable legal and regulatory frameworks, our risk policies, the firm's strategy and the markets and geographies in which we and our clients operate. The scope of the role will be to provide support across the entire PM network.

This is a senior role which will involve extensive interaction with senior stakeholders such as sector heads and practice group heads, as well as the rest of the fee earning community, with significant decision-making authority.

Given the firm's size and geographical reach and with its sectoral approach to delivering on strategy, the firm has many potential conflict issues (mainly commercial) to investigate and resolve across its entire office network. The firm also has to manage conflict issues that emanate from its non-legal service delivery teams.

The Deputy Head of Conflicts will work with the Senior Conflict Managers and 8 dedicated conflict analysts (Conflict Search Team (CST)), identifying and resolving conflicts of interest and working to resolve ethical conflicts and business relationship issues, reporting to and working very closely with the Deputy General Counsel who is also a member of the firm's Conflicts Committee. The role will include working with the Client Engagement Team on drafting appropriate conflict wording for bids and Outside Counsel Guidelines.

Working with the Deputy General Counsel will also provide significant exposure to dealing with wider General Counsel projects and risk/regulatory matters, such as internal investigations, complaints and reputational and geo-political risk issues. The proportion of non-conflict work will vary depending on the "issue of the day".

There is a lot of "buy-in" and respect for the way that conflict issues are managed at the firm which creates a good environment to operate in, with a "One Pinsent Masons" approach.

This is a fast-paced strategic role offering an enjoyable work environment and a good life-work balance.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

To include -

• Acting as subject matter expert for commercial conflicts, providing proactive advice and guidance on whether work can be taken by reference to our relationship with our existing clients (by reference to agreed client terms and positions of clients within the firm) and firm strategy, and/or whether any steps need to be taken before proceeding, and providing assistance with those steps (e.g. client consent wording, drafting confidential information protocols barriers etc).
• Liaising with partners and senior stakeholders on client strategy and managing client relationships in terms of commercial conflicts to resolve conflicts issues.
• Leading on internal investigations and other queries which involve conflict of interest or confidentiality issues.
• Acting as a point of escalation for conflict issues from CST who have their own level of delegated authority to clear conflicts.
• Training CST and/or conflict lawyers on the conflict rules and processes, and occasionally partners and other fee earners and Legal PAs.
• Supporting and advising the Conflicts Committee/Deputy GC in putting together business cases and making recommendations for the Conflicts Committee's/ Deputy GC 's decision.
• Attending Conflicts Committee meetings and advising the Committee of decisions and issues that the Committee needs to proactively manage.
• Understanding and identifying wider commercial, risk and reputational issues at client acceptance/conflict checking stage.
• Advising on lateral hire conflict issues.
• Advising on (and drafting) engagement terms relating to conflicts and confidentiality.
• Reviewing and maintaining the firm's conflict and confidentiality policies.

In addition, the role involves more generally:

• Assisting the CST and reporting to and supporting (with the other Conflicts Lawyers), the work of the Deputy General Counsel
• Delivering excellence in client service to the partnership with risk sensitive advice proportionate to their local regulatory, cultural and practice needs.
• Supporting the Atlas (major) client programme and firm strategy for growth when reviewing commercial conflicts
• Maintaining a log of key/complex/ commercially sensitive and/or legal conflicts with appropriate business intelligence to feed back to the business
• Maintaining and updating the firm's own standard terms of business and letters of engagement to manage legal conflicts and ensuring a good working knowledge of agreed client conflict terms.
• Having a good working knowledge of different conflict regimes in the jurisdictions where we operate.
• Ad hoc regulatory projects
• Responding to general risk queries from the business
• Dealing with and resolving client complaints related to conflicts of interests
• Other responsibilities will be added over time as the role develops and as business needs require

Relevant experience/qualifications:

• Qualified lawyer
• Must have at least 6 years PQE and have extensive conflict lawyer experience at an international law firm, in particular experience of managing commercial conflict issues

Key skills and abilities:

• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral
• Demonstrable strategic and leadership skills
• Incisive analytical and strong problem-solving, assessing potential risks
• Excellent commercial acumen
• Experience of dealing with partners and assisting them to resolve conflicts issues
• Proven ability to establish and maintain a high degree of confidentiality, respect, trust and credibility at all levels
• Ability to take responsibility and act autonomously and robustly
• Ability to plan, organise and prioritise tasks and projects
• Ability to solve problems creatively and effectively
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
• Negotiation and influencing skills
• Strong team player
• Ability to remain calm, controlled and resilient in a stressful and pressurised environment
• Enthusiastic and proactive

About the Firm

Pinsent Masons is a global 100 law firm, with over 3,800 employees operating out of 28 locations across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. We have a long-standing reputation for delivering high-quality legal advice rooted in a deep understanding of the sectors and geographies in which our clients operate. Our global reach ensures that we are well-placed to advise on complex multi-jurisdictional matters across a full range of legal disciplines.

The firm has significant multinational credentials in the financial services, energy, infrastructure, real estate, and advanced manufacturing and technology sectors. Services provided across these sectors include asset management and investment funds, corporate and M&A, commercial, competition, litigation and arbitration, banking, restructuring, insurance, regulatory, construction, projects, pensions, property, planning and environmental, procurement, outsourcing, employment, share plans and incentives, technology and tax advice.

We value diversity and inclusion. We are committed to creating a better workplace where all our people can succeed and feel like they belong. We want to attract, retain and develop people at all levels and encourage applications from all suitably qualified candidates whatever their ethnicity, religion, age, physical or mental disability/long term condition, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or other characteristics. We have embedded a range of diversity and inclusion initiatives to create an environment in which our people can flourish.

We stand out for our innovative approach to service delivery. For example, the firm has developed a number of in-house legal technology and project management solutions, operates a hub of freelance lawyers, called Vario, and a global Diversity and Inclusion consultancy, Brook Graham.

Put simply, we offer a wide range of professional services to our clients, enabled by our breadth of expertise, our culture and values, and our innovative approach.

Awards

We're being recognised equally by commentators and other market movers through a plethora of awards spanning every region and culminating in being named law firm of the year by Legal Business, the FT's most innovative law firm in Europe (for the third time in eight years), winning their sustainability award in Asia Pacific and being ranked as Thomson Reuters' leading legal brand in their UK index.

We have been recognised as by Stonewall as a Top Global Employer. Recognising that we are a leading employer in advancing LGBT+ inclusion. Pinsent Masons is recognised as a 'Top Ten Employer for Working Families in 2023' for the seventh consecutive year. We are accredited as a Disability Confident Employer by the Department for Work & Pensions and we were the first law firm to sign up the global Valuable 500.

Please click here to view full list of our global awards and nominations - www.pinsentmasons.com/accolades

We want everybody attending an interview to be comfortable and able to fully demonstrate their experience and talents. If you require any additional support or adjustments to help you do this, please let us know.

Should you require further details, please contact our in-house Lateral Recruitment Advisor Johenn Choi who can discuss the role and requirements.

Contact details:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johenn-choi

Johenn.Choi@pinsentmasons.com

#LI-LRJC

Location: London, GB

Posted Date: 9/23/2024