Job description Allen & Overy is a leading international legal practice with a truly global presence. We are renowned for the high quality of our banking, corporate, international capital markets and litigation advice, and also have major strengths in areas such as employment and benefits, real estate and tax. Our deals and cases often make headline business news and we work with a large number of the top corporates, financial institutions and governments. With many of our partners acknowledged as leaders in their fields, and with all our people demonstrating the highest levels of professionalism, we have a reputation for delivering excellence in all that we do. The role of the Business Acceptance Unit is: to review client own form Outside Counsel Guidelines and amendments to A&O Terms of Engagement; to receive, review, monitor and keep a central record of Outside Counsel Guidelines agreed with clients. to remind lawyers of the need to ensure that Outside Counsel Guidelines and the Terms of our Engagement are clear and documented and to advise lawyers on unusual/non-standard terms and on aspects of the firm’s engagement terms policy; to ensure that A&O’s Engagement Terms’ policies and processes are kept to up to date and meet business and regulatory requirements; to process requests from Partners for A&O to accept new legal matters including performing anti-money laundering and background checks on new clients and performing conflicts checks on each new matter; to obtain required evidence of identity for new clients; to screen and analyze conflict search results and determine whether or not the new legal matter is clear of conflicts and appropriate for the practice to take on; to authorize the opening of new legal matters when checks have been completed and any issues or problems satisfactorily resolved; to facilitate resolution of legal conflict issues in consultation with A&O senior management; to facilitate resolution of business conflict issues in consultation with relevant partners/senior lawyers including, A&O senior management; to determine the need for information barriers to enhance the internal security of information and to facilitate them being established to meet the requirements of the situation; to direct the required levels of matter/virtual file security within the A&O virtual filing system to deal with business acceptance queries (including conflicts and anti-money laundering ID queries). Responsibilities Being an in-house legal specialist in relation to client form Outside Counsel Guidelines (OCG) and A&O own form Engagement Terms (Terms). Providing expert advice and counsel to Partners and senior BD staff to support the negotiation/agreement of Terms/OCG with our Clients. Analyzing and resolving professional, legal, regulatory and commercial issues relating to OCG and Terms arising from reviews of such terms and/or which are referred by BAU analysts, paralegals and by Partners and all other levels of lawyer and support staff. Exercising judgment as to when to refer issues of the type listed above to the Head of Engagement Terms and OCGs (the Head) and facilitating the resolution of any such issues referred. Responding to queries relating to OCG and Terms. Assisting the Head in monitoring changes in practice, professional rules, regulations and the law as affects OCG and Terms globally so that these can be reflected in A&O’s guidance to Partners, its standard form precedent Terms (including International Standard Terms of Business (ISTOB)) and the business acceptance and client engagement policies/processes. Supporting the Head in the creation and maintenance of precedents and know-how resources relating to OCG and Terms for use within the team and the development of appropriate Terms/OCG know how and policies, a database of OCG and standard form precedents for use throughout the firm. Assisting the Head in managing the day to day operations in relation to: development of the Engagement Terms Team’s regulatory and commercial expertise regarding OCG and Terms; day to day performance in terms of quality of service, fulfilment of the team’s role as set out above and its speed of turnaround regarding OCG and Terms; and an enquiry line regarding OCG and Terms. Proactively seek to streamline process and increasing efficiency within the Engagement Terms Team. Assisting the Head in the creation, maintenance, on-going development and implementation of the firm’s global Terms/OCG policies, processes and systems Assisting the Head in the design, implementation and delivery of training presentations and other development programs for A&O lawyers and support departments regarding OCG and Terms. Assisting the Head in retrospectively auditing OCG’s and Terms that are currently in place and identifying any constraints that apply to A&O, the responsible partners/business support professionals, and documenting review dates. Role requirements Experience of people management and an interest in developing mentoring skills. Commercially minded and possessing a strong legal skill set. Ability to analyze facts and scenarios thoroughly and to proactively put forward resolutions to legal and commercial problems; Excellent task/project management skills and a proven ability to manage multiple tasks/projects under time pressure; Strong interest in legal technology and finding technology-based solutions Enthusiastic, self-motivated and proactive. Key requirements Qualified lawyer with significant experience of contract/commercial law and contract reviews. Excellent communication skills at all levels. A proven ability to work independently and proactively and take the lead in driving projects forward to completion. Collaborative approach and ability to work well in a team. A commercial-minded, can-do attitude, with excellent communication skills and ability to influence. Flexibility outside usual working hours if and when dictated by business requirements. Experience with a top tier firm or other professional services firm with a strong background in commercial, M&A or finance transactions or dispute resolution is highly advantageous. For individuals assigned to or hired for this opportunity in New York or California, the estimated annualized base salary range for this position is $140,000-$220,000. The actual base salary offered will depend on the overall qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, including, if applicable, the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job, and other job-relation factors permitted by law. This role can be based in any of the firm’s US offices.