Senior Legal Counsel

The Department

The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) team advises the firm on its legal, regulatory ethical and governance obligations and implements measures to mitigate breaches, and encourage compliance, to enable the firm to fulfil its strategies. It is responsible for the conflicts, AML and engagement policies and processes and ensures they comply with the strategic objectives of the firm. The team also oversees regulatory compliance for our lawyers and the complexities associated with data governance and privacy, and deals with any professional claims or complaints that arise.

Role purpose

The Senior Legal Counsel will work in partnership with the Executive, the CMPs, OMPs, partners and business support professionals in identifying and understanding legal, risk and compliance developments and issues and how the OGC team can best respond and support those needs.

As a trusted business advisor, you will deliver a responsive, efficient and business aligned service, providing commercially sound advice on legal and regulatory issues, specialising in conflicts management, whilst playing a key role in managing the communication, implementation and embedding of the firm’s legal and regulatory policies to mitigate risk.

You will work in collaboration with colleagues in the broader OGC team including specialists to deliver services of high value and contribute to firm-wide legal and regulatory strategies, initiatives and projects.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Working closely with the Business Intake Team to ensure compliance with the firm’s conflicts policies and processes across all international offices, including the application of US conflicts rules
• Providing technical legal advice and support to Partners and fee earners on complex conflicts and confidential information queries, including advising the information barriers team
• Supporting the conflicts team with queries/escalations and supervision of certain complex/high risk/legal conflict checks
• Understand and identify wider risk and reputational business intake criteria
• Working closely with the conflicts team to review existing processes and implement enhancements
• Leading on internal investigations relating to conflicts
• Advising the Professional Claims team on potential own interest conflicts
• Reviewing and advising on conflicts provisions in bespoke client terms
• Influencing the design and optimisation of conflicts and information barrier management technology.
• Deliver training to legal teams (both domestic and international) on conflicts
• Deliver training / shadowing to the conflicts team
• Supporting the firm implement its strategy, as required and working with the wider OGC team on projects from time to time

About you

This role requires appropriate qualification including a law degree and current practising certificate as well as experience in conflicts with at least 5 years’ experience in a law firm environment. As the successful candidate you will:

• Have a good understanding of the legal and professional regime applying to conflicts of interest and confidential information
• Have experience in delivering effective solutions in international, complex and matrix-management environments;
• Have commercial acumen, analytical skills and be comfortable in operating in ambiguous situations, demonstrating a flexible and agile approach
• Get energy from multi-tasking and dealing with complex issues, managing a challenging workload and multiple priorities with an ability to operate efficiently and accurately at pace
• Be a strategic and creative thinker, balancing this with analytical skills and an ability to communicate confidently, clearly and concisely.
• Be a collaborative and supportive team player who thinks both internationally and regionally
• Build and maintain strong relationships within and outside the firm
• Exercise sound judgement, be solutions orientated and be able to challenge and influence constructively, being bold enough to challenge the status quo, combined with resilience
• Have the interpersonal skills to deliver effectively and work collaboratively, including in a virtual team context
• Be a self-starter with a high level of professionalism and personal accountability, taking a proactive approach to your own personal and professional development as well as the team members you work closely with
• Exhibit cultural curiosity, competence and sensitivity with the ability to adapt your style in order to achieve and influence effectively.

About us

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers and business service professionals located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Our global reach ensures that we can help businesses with their legal needs anywhere in the world. We strive to be the leading global business law firm by delivering quality, service excellence and value to our clients and offering practical and innovative legal solutions to help them succeed. Our clients range from multinational, Global 1000, and Fortune 500 enterprises to emerging companies developing industry-leading technologies, as well as government and public sector bodies.

Our values

In everything we do connected with our People, our Clients and our Communities, we live by these values:

• Be Supportive – we are compassionate and inclusive, valuing diversity and acting thoughtfully
• Be Collaborative - we are proactive, passionate team players investing in our relationships
• Be Bold - we are fearless and inquisitive, challenging ourselves to think big and find creative new solutions
• Be Exceptional - we are strategic and driven, exceeding standards and expectations

Diversity and inclusion

At DLA Piper, diversity and inclusion underpins how we live our values and everything we do. We believe that everyone has a voice, and that everyone’s voice counts. We know that the rich diversity across our firm makes us stronger, more innovative and creative, which helps us to better serve our clients and communities. We are committed to providing an inclusive working environment and culture across our global firm, where everyone can bring their authentic self to work.

Diversity of perspective, thought, background and culture combine to make us the leading global law firm; that’s why we actively seek to build balanced teams. We welcome the unique contribution that you will bring to our firm and actively encourage applications from all talented people – however your talent is packaged, whatever your background or circumstance and regardless of how you identify.

Hybrid working

We recognise that people have responsibilities and interests outside of their career and that as a business, we all benefit from working flexibly. That's why we are open to discussing with candidates the different ways in which we are able to support requests for agile working arrangements.