Senior Risk Lawyer

The firm

HFW is a sector focused global law firm.  We have over 700 lawyers working across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.  We take a progressive approach to our roles in commercial business – thinking creatively and pragmatically to support our clients.

Whether we are solving complex issues within the construction, aviation or shipping industries, or providing advice across insurance, commodities and energy, we are specialist lawyers here to add value to our clients.  We think about the commercial solution first and then underpin our advice with a solid foundation of legal expertise. 

Entrepreneurial.  Creative.  Collaborative.

The department

The Risk & Compliance team is made up of a Risk & Compliance Partner, a Head of Legal Risk (supported by five Risk Lawyers, two Senior Risk & Compliance Officers and two Solicitor Apprentices), a Head of Business Acceptance (supported by a Compliance Manager, 12 Risk & Compliance Officers and a Risk & Compliance Assistant), a Head of Conflicts (supported by two Conflicts Researchers), a Compliance Systems Manager, and a Data Privacy Manager.  The team is represented in London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and Dubai.

The Department works closely with the firm’s General Counsel who is also the COLP and MLRO, as well as the Firm’s PI Partner and others specialising in areas such as sanctions and data protection.

The role

This is a legal role, reporting to the Head of Legal Risk, and supporting the Head of Legal Risk, the Risk & Compliance Partner and the Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) in relation to all aspects of their roles, worldwide.

Key responsibilities

• Advising on all aspects of Risk and Compliance, including but not limited to the SRA code of conduct, professional standards and best practice, ethics, conflicts, financial crime (including AML and sanctions), client and third-party terms and conditions, supplier contracts, data protection and AI;
• Liaising with colleagues in the Risk & Compliance team, other business services teams and in fee earning teams, worldwide;
• Developing and maintaining a good knowledge and understanding of the firm’s policies, systems and processes;
• Identifying new or changed regulatory requirements and legal obligations that have an impact on the operations of the firm;
• Drafting or updating policies and procedures to take account of changes in the regulatory law in any of the jurisdictions in which the firm operates;
• Keeping registers and monitoring compliance;
• Any other ad hoc duties as may be required.

Key skills & experience required

• Qualified lawyer (England & Wales) with 6 – 10 years’ PQE;
• A minimum of three years’ experience working in the Risk team of an international law firm;
• A detailed knowledge of the SRA Handbook, especially the Code of Conduct;
• Excellent communications skills, both written and oral;
• Experience of working with key stakeholders to achieve an objective;
• Up-to-date knowledge of relevant areas of law and procedure, including contract, tort, financial crime (including AML and sanctions), conflicts, confidentiality, privilege and data protection;
• Experience of applying and advising on the above;
• Ability to prioritise, and to delegate or seek help when appropriate;
• Motivated;
• Pragmatic;
• Strong analytical, organisational and IT skills
• High levels of discretion, confidentiality and diplomacy;
• Flexibility to travel to offices within the firm’s global network to undertake audits and training;
• Experience of providing training and of dealing with claims and complaints is desirable.

Additional information

Kindly note that this job description is not contractual. It will be reviewed periodically and may be amended or altered to meet the needs of the firm.

HFW aims to ensure equality of opportunity and we are actively working towards improving the diversity of our staff. All applications will be considered only on merit and the applicant’s suitability to meet the requirements of the role.

HFW collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants to manage its recruitment process. The firm is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations. For information on how the firm will process your data, please see our Privacy Notice, in the section “What we collect and how we use it”.