US Conflicts and New Business Analyst

US Conflicts and New Business Analyst

The Role

Under the general direction of the US Head of Risk and Compliance and according to established policies and procedures, the US Conflicts and New Business Analyst will work as part of the Risk and Compliance team. The role primarily focuses on managing the Firm's Risk regarding new business intake, including initiating and analyzing conflicts checks for new matters and advising relevant fee earners on new client acceptance, anti-money laundering (AML) and reputational risk issues in order to secure the necessary resolutions and approvals.  The individual’s primary work location will be the San Diego, Los Angeles, or San Francisco office, to be agreed with the successful candidate.  The US Conflicts and New Business Analyst will be based on the US West Coast and willing to travel between the Firm's seven US offices, as necessary, and to make occasional trips to London. This is a permanent, full-time position, working Monday to Friday, 40 hours per week. Flexibility is required as needed.

Essential Duties

• Familiarity with, and conversant in, conflicts rules of various jurisdictions and the ability to take initiative in matters relating to applicable US Rules of Professional Conduct and related case law and ethics opinions
• Review conflict check forms and new client inception forms to obtain clarity on parties, positions, and scope of work
• Perform conflict checks that originate from various offices and jurisdictions around the world; monitor and follow up on requests
• Assist Head of Risk and Compliance with necessary research and due diligence to aid in conflict decisions and resolutions
• Process sanctions-database searches and analyze data in connection with the firm's processes, policies and procedures
• Perform due diligence regarding lateral attorney, paralegal, and consultant hires
• Timely escalate conflicts and other risk issues to US Head of Risk and Compliance
• Communicate with Risk and Compliance team members and other firm stakeholders with a brief, concise statement of potential conflicts situations recognized in the conflicts reports and supply possible evidence to support
• Perform quality control in Thomson Reuters 3E Financial Management to ensure that all clients and matters created via the NBI workflow process and any amendments to them are processed correctly and, where necessary, liaise with the Finance and/or Risk & Compliance teams in other offices.
• Establish and perform maintenance on confidential and ethical screens; coordinate notifications and acknowledgments
• Document all communication; obtain waivers, acknowledgment to open and close client/ matters
• Propose improvements for methods and standards for analysis of conflicts of interest and other Risk related processes
• Assist in the testing, review and implementation of new software systems
• Capture institutional knowledge discovered during conflict resolution; assist US Head of Risk and Compliance in developing and driving risk policies
• Maintain strict confidentiality of the firms internal, personnel, and client affairs
• 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 undertake additional tasks as required

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree is required, JD preferred
• At least two years of experience in processing business intake and conflicts of interest, including compliance and regulatory monitoring in a law firm setting is required.
• Exceptional critical thinking and analytical skills, and acute attention to detail
• Ability to apply good judgment under time constraints
• Organizational and researching skills
• Ability to operate as a proactive team player but also to work and focus on tasks independently of others
• Strong MS Office skills and administration/clerical skills for updating records
• Ability to communicate in a confident and professional manner with a variety of stakeholders, including partners and legal assistants
• Experience and skill dealing with people in a calm, effective manner
• Ability to work efficiently and accurately under pressure, learn new processes quickly, and adapt to new environments and procedures
• Ability to ask for and accept direction, while also taking ownership of and resolving issues
• Ability to make efficient use of time to handle workload

Preferred Skills and Qualifications

• Understanding of conflicts under ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and applicable state rules
• Experience with FileSite/DeskSite/iManage
• Proficiency with Thomson Reuters 3E Financial Management, Intapp Open, and Wallbuilder
• Annual base compensation range $60,000 - $80,000

About Withersworldwide 

Law.com International's Law Firm of the Year 2021

For 125 years, our firm has focused on and helped successful people, families, entrepreneurs, family businesses, governments and institutions negotiate the wide range of legal issues they face in their business and personal lives. Over time, we have gained valuable insights into the ways wealth can be generated, preserved, deployed and enhanced. We assist our clients in a variety of industry sectors including real estate, manufacturing, motorsport, luxury brands, sport, hotels and hospitality, technology, energy, art and cultural assets, life sciences, charities and philanthropy and financial services. With 18 offices our experience means we can see the global picture. We provide legal advice across a range of different practice areas including estate planning, personal and corporate tax and, corporate, banking and finance, access to capital (both private and public) both equity and debt, real estate, intellectual property, immigration, international trust structuring, philanthropy, luxury assets, international probate, public international law and international arbitration. 

Equal Opportunities Employment Statement 

It is the policy of Withersworldwide to provide equal opportunities for all employees in relation to recruitment, training and promotion.  Decisions in these areas will be made only by reference to the requirements of the job and shall not be influenced by any consideration of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race (including color, nationality and ethnic and national origin), religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

If you are interested in applying for employment and need special assistance or an accommodation to use our website to apply for a position, please contact the firm at 203 789 1320 or email us.recruiting@withersworldwide.com with your request.  Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation are made on a case-by-case basis.