Please note that we are unable to accept agency introductions for this role. Agency CVs will be immediately declined and deleted in accordance with our data privacy obligations and shall not impact our ability to directly source the individual for this role. About us Linklaters is a leading international law firm, with 31 offices in 21 countries worldwide. We are one of The Times’ Top 50 Employers for Women, a Working Families top 30 employer, recognised by Stonewall as a top 10 employer for LGBTQ+ inclusion, by Working Families as a Top 30 Employer, and by the Social Mobility Employer Index as a top employer for advancing social mobility. Legal & Risk has global responsibility for managing risk and compliance across the firm. Effective risk management is a fundamental part of protecting the firm’s reputation and helping the firm succeed. The function is headed up by the Legal & Risk Leadership Team and is organised into three teams: Business Acceptance, Contentious Risk and Regulatory Compliance, located in London, Germany, Hong Kong, New York, and Warsaw. About you You will be a qualified practicing lawyer with at least five years’ PQE gained at a large or leading international law firm. Ideally this would include at least two years’ experience practising as a Legal & Risk Lawyer. You will have: experience of drafting, negotiating and advising on legal documents for clients; familiarity with deal structures and terminology (familiarity with UK and US professional responsibility/conduct rules would be useful); strong written and oral communication skills as well as the ability to analyse complex legal issues, solve problems and offer practical solutions that balance the firm’s legal obligations with its business needs; the ability to cope under pressure and prioritise effectively; strong people management skills with the capacity to work as part of a team and develop relationships with partners, fee earners and staff at all levels whilst adapting to different cultures worldwide. You will also be confident, approachable, intelligent, hard-working, resilient, diplomatic, able to command respect and influence others. Your role This role sits within the global Business Acceptance team, part of the Legal & Risk function. We are a diverse, inclusive and supportive team which manages the legal and commercial risks of new business acceptance globally, including conflicts of interest, financial crime, reputational risk, protecting client confidentiality and client engagement terms as well as the development and management of systems and controls for new and existing business including suspicious transaction reporting. This is a global senior legal role, acting as a trusted advisor to the Firm’s senior management, the partnership, fee-earners and business teams across all offices/jurisdictions, focusing on policies and procedures related to new business acceptance and the provision of strategic ethics and regulatory advice, including: Advising on complex legal and commercial issues related to new business acceptance with a particular focus on conflicts of interest, confidential information/information barriers and terms of engagement with clients. Developing global policies and procedures relating to conflict of interests, best practice as regards client engagement letters and client care generally, and information barriers. Developing relationships with, and a deeper knowledge of market activity in, key sector groups and being the first point of contact for Sector Leaders and Sector Managers in relation to risk issues. Reviewing and advising on contracts and documentation relating to engagement terms, outside counsel guidelines and other key contracts with clients, including secondment agreements. Supporting the Director Global Conflicts and Head of Conflicts Management in team management e.g. by managing lawyers, as well as supporting and developing members of the wider Business Acceptance team. Leading priority Legal & Risk projects and initiatives to raise awareness globally about business acceptance and other risk topics through regular training and other initiatives. Contributing actively to the promotion of a global risk management culture. Key dimensions This role has a: global remit, as the Business Acceptance team is responsible for the Firm’s compliance with all business acceptance laws and regulations across all offices with centralised systems and controls; and direct impact on the management of risk worldwide, since a core focus is to ensure that the Firm’s reputation is preserved, and professional rules and laws are complied with. This role involves dealing with the complex regulatory issues arising from the approximately 12,000 new matters opened each year and liaising with the Firm’s partners globally, including advising the Senior Partner, Managing Partner, Divisional Practice Heads, Head of Clients & Sectors, and Sector Leaders on regulatory requirements. The role is typically faced with navigating the regulatory framework on complex high-profile transactions under considerable time pressure whilst ensuring the commercial sensitivities of the situation are taken into account so as to seek out valuable, creative solutions for regulatory road blocks wherever possible. This role contributes directly to the Firm’s revenue generation. This role is responsible for leading and managing priority Legal & Risk projects and initiatives. This includes developing and implementing training on key regulatory topics and policies. This role has direct line management responsibility for one or more lawyers and is responsible for supporting and developing members of the Business Acceptance team. Key responsibilities 1. Advice on new business acceptance regulations, policies and procedures Advise partners (globally) and senior management on conflicts and reputational issues across the full range of practice groups on a day-to-day basis. To influence partners at all levels; deliver difficult messages; collaborate with partners in seeking to find appropriate solutions to difficult regulatory issues. Apply policies and relevant laws to, and navigate the commercial considerations around, highly complex matters, working closely with the Firm’s lawyers and senior management. Work with the Firm’s lawyers to ensure compliance with our contractual and legal obligations related to confidential information. Provide expert knowledge of relevant conflicts rules to the Firm’s lawyers and other members of the Legal & Risk team. 2. Engagement letters and Outside Counsel Guidelines Advise partners (globally) on the use and content of engagement letters, terms of business and outside counsel guidelines. This requires deep experience of the Firm’s position on key issues impacting the Firm’s risk/exposure – including the ability to influence partners to negotiate/push back with clients on sensitive commercial and legal terms. 3. Development of global Legal & Risk policies and procedures Influence the Firm’s strategy and policy in relation to risk management, specifically in relation to conflicts and confidentiality. This includes considering what standards we should adopt on a global basis, recommending the policy to be adopted to the Global Head of Conflicts and then seeking to achieve buy-in from the relevant stakeholders before implementing it. 4. Sector Focus Act as key contact point supporting specified Sector Leaders with all business acceptance issues arising in their sector and assisting in proactively prioritising clients to preserve the Firm’s flexibility to take on roles. 5. Training and Communication Identify training needs and training the Firm’s lawyers on new regulatory developments and internal policies; Train Legal & Risk Lawyers and wider Business Acceptance team on risk issues in light of relevant SRA rules and Firm policy developments; and Roll out global training and communications plans in relation to new or updated Legal & Risk policies. 6. Projects Act as functional lead in the management and implementation of global Legal & Risk projects. 7. Team management and development Assist the Director Global Conflicts and Head of Conflicts Management in management of the Business Acceptance team including: recruitment of Legal & Risk lawyers; direct line management, supervision and mentoring of lawyers; and supporting and mentoring members of the wider Business Acceptance team. This list of responsibilities and skills is not exhaustive. It is intended to describe the general content of, and requirements for the performance of this job, and as such, the role may also include the undertaking of additional tasks as required. How to Apply Applications are only accepted online via the portal. Questions must be directed to the recruitment team on: lateralrecruitment@linklaters.com and not the practice or partners. Further Information A band of PQE as advertised on a role does not intend to preclude applications from those candidates that may have more or less PQE. Our intention is only to indicate a guideline as to how long we would expect a qualified lawyer to have practised so as to have gained the necessary skills for the role as described. Equal Opportunities The firm operates as a meritocracy and, therefore, selection for recruitment is on merit, irrespective of race, colour, age, religion, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation or disability. This assumes that the applicants are fit and able to undertake the job. Selection decisions, and the reasons for those decisions, are recorded in writing at each stage of the selection process. Selection criteria and, where appropriate, technical skills tests are in place to measure an individual’s ability for the safe and effective performance of a job. Those involved in recruitment, selection and dealing with the public are provided with training and guidance in administering equal opportunities. Please note that we are unable to accept agency introductions for this role. Agency CVs will be immediately declined and deleted in accordance with our data privacy obligations and shall not impact our ability to directly source the individual for this role. Technical Skills Legal Practices This list of duties and responsibilities above is not exhaustive. It is intended to describe the general content of, and requirements for, the performance of this job. As such, the role may also include the undertaking of additional tasks as required. Application Policy Applications and CVs (direct or via agency) are only accepted online via the portal. Queries related to our roles must be directed to the relevant recruitment team and not the partners, practices or stakeholders (lateralrecruitment@linklaters.com for legal roles or ukbtrecruitment@linklaters.com for business team roles).