In-House Lawyer - Conflicts

A&O Shearman is a new global industry-leading law firm, with 48 offices in 28 countries worldwide. Our fluency in English law, US law, and the laws of the world's most dynamic markets, enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. We work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.
We offer exceptional opportunities for our people; opportunities to work for the world's leading businesses; to transform the status quo, and to deliver your best work, helping you and your career to thrive, while delivering unparalleled outcomes for our clients.
Whether you?re helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the ways we manage our business, or ensuring the smooth-running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. We provide first-rate training and development, we are committed to an inclusive environment, and we provide support and ways of working that help you optimize your wellbeing.
What truly defines a career with us? We recruit the best and ask for the best of you. And together, we will redefine success.
DEPARTMENT PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE
The Business Acceptance Unit (BAU) is a dynamic, global, collegiate team responsible for assessing all new business before it is accepted by the firm?s partners, to ensure the firm?s commercial objectives and legal obligations are met. The team works closely with partners and other senior stakeholders to identify and resolve legal and commercial conflict issues, sanctions and anti-money laundering risks, and reputational and values issues in each of the jurisdictions in which the firm operates. The BAU has a unique, broad view of the firm?s business, and facilitates strategic decisions by the firm?s leaders, while managing the firm?s risk exposure regarding new work.
ROLE PURPOSE
The role of the In House Lawyer - Conflicts is to be a trusted adviser to the business, providing high quality, proactive support and solutions to colleagues on a variety of commercial and complex regulatory issues, focused mainly on conflicts of interest and other business acceptance matters. It requires an individual with the ability to develop strong working relationships to be a "go to" for queries from around the world. The role is given a high level of autonomy and expected to take responsibility for identifying solutions and driving them forward.
KEY RELATIONSHIPS

• Partners and Fee Earners
• Practice Group Heads, Sector Heads, and Managing Partners
• The Risk Function

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Analyzing and resolving professional, legal, regulatory and commercial issues relating to business acceptance and client engagement which are referred by business acceptance analysts and by partners and all other levels of lawyer and support staff, focusing on business/commercial conflict issues and professional and legal conflicts issues.
• Undertaking an initial assessment regarding anti-money laundering, sanctions, reputational and suitability issues that arise in the assessment of new business and working with specialist teams within the BAU to resolve issues.
• Referring commercial issues to relevant stakeholders, including practice group heads and office/regional heads.
• Exercising judgment as to when to refer business acceptance issues to team leads and/or other senior BAU members.
• Responding, and managing the team?s responses, to fee earners? requests relating to business acceptance and client engagement to ensure the service level expected by partners is met.
• Assisting the Engagement Terms team with reviewing and drafting conflicts of interest provisions within engagement terms, client relationship terms and client panel terms.
• Monitoring changes in practice, professional rules, and the law as affects business acceptance and client engagement globally so that these can be reflected in the business acceptance policies.
• Assisting in the creation of precedents and resources for use within the BAU and client engagement team.
• Assisting in the creation, ongoing development and implementation of the firm?s global business acceptance and client engagement policies.
• Assistance in monitoring information barriers including setting up information barriers, information barrier clearances on walled matters and responding to queries on the firm?s procedures.
• Assisting in the design, implementation and delivery of training presentations for firm regarding risk management and, business acceptance and client engagement.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum 3 years of experience in relation to conflicts of interest within a law firm environment is essential.
• J.D. required. Preferably admitted in NY, DC, or TX
• International experience with a leading top tier firm is highly advantageous with a strong background in multi-jurisdictional transactions or dispute resolution.
• Commercial mindedness and possession of a strong legal skill set.
• Ability to analyze facts and scenarios and make recommendations to effectively resolve legal and commercial problems or issues by using judgment that is consistent with standards, practices, policies, procedures, regulation or government law.
• Excellent task management skills and a proven ability to manage multiple tasks.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills and capability to work effectively with all levels.

This role is open for individuals based in any U.S. office. For individuals assigned to or hired for this opportunity in New York, the estimated annualized base salary range for this position is $139,000 - $213,000. The actual base salary offered will depend on the overall qualifications of the individual applicant for the position and other job-related factors permitted by law.

Equal Employment Opportunity, including Veterans and Disability

A&O Shearman is an equal opportunity employer, including Veterans and Disability. Every individual has the right to work in a professional environment that promotes equal opportunity and prohibits discrimination and harassment. This policy applies to all aspects of an individual?s relationship with A&O Shearman, including, without limitation, recruitment, hiring, training and development, promotion, compensation, discipline, termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment.
If you are vision-impaired or have another disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar law and wish to discuss accommodations related to applying for employment at A&O Shearman, please contact US HR Transactions at US-HRTransactions@aoshearman.com or call +1 212 610 6300 and ask for HR Transactions.