Overview
This role is responsible for leading the U.S.-based conflicts clearance function and supervising the team of Conflicts Attorneys. The Senior Manager, Conflicts Attorneys (U.S.) will be based in any U.S. office, oversee day-to-day operations for new clients and new matters across U.S. offices, serve as a senior escalation point for complex or novel conflicts of interest questions under U.S. professional responsibility rules, and interface with partners regarding approval of new matter requests.
As the team develops, the role will shift to place greater emphasis on leadership while continuing to personally handle the most complex and sensitive clearances.
Responsibilities
- Supervise the U.S. Conflicts Attorneys team, including:
- Day-to-day workload allocation
- Queue and escalation management
- Coordination of coverage across U.S. time zones
- Coordinate daily handover with the international conflicts team to ensure continuous coverage of the global clearance queue and consistent treatment of matters spanning U.S. and non-U.S. offices.
- Provide mentoring, training, and ongoing performance feedback to Conflicts Attorneys and Resolution Analysts; participate in goal setting, annual reviews, and hiring.
- Serve as the senior point of escalation for complex, novel, or high-sensitivity conflicts of interest issues; exercise independent judgment on clearance decisions within delegated authority.
- Analyze conflict of interest reports for new Firm representations to identify potential conflict problems and ensure new matters and attorney hires are compliant with conflicts and risk management policies and procedures.
- Resolve conflicts of interest issues, including negotiating and obtaining necessary waivers and drafting ethics wall memos related to clearance of new clients and new matters.
- Analyze information provided with new matter requests for compliance with Firm policies and applicable rules of professional responsibility.
- Review and edit draft engagement letters for compliance with applicable rules.
- Proactively communicate with partners, practice leadership, and Firm management regarding complex conflicts issues, including issues with potential to affect firm-wide risk.
- Oversee review of client outside counsel guidelines and assess the organization’s ability to comply; escalate problematic terms to the Office of General Counsel.
- Consult with partners, the Office of General Counsel, and information governance to create and maintain effective screening restrictions and monitor the ongoing integrity of ethical screens.
- Develop, document, and maintain conflicts policies, procedures, precedent library, and frameworks of analysis for recurring conflicts issues in specific practice areas.
- Establish and report on service levels and quality metrics for the clearance process; identify and implement process improvements to improve turnaround, consistency, and defensibility.
- Partner with Legal Operations and Information Systems on configuration, testing, and enhancement of conflicts clearance and ethical screening technology, including participation in requirements gathering and workflow design.
- Design and deliver orientation and ongoing training for attorneys and staff regarding the new matter approval process, conflicts policies, and screening obligations.
- Partner with Attorney Recruiting and the Office of General Counsel on the lateral hiring conflicts process, including candidate questionnaires, imputed conflicts analysis, and pre-arrival screening.
- Maintain thorough and accurate records of all conflicts resolutions and related communications.
- Provide coverage for the Director, Conflicts Attorneys & Assistant General Counsel as needed.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
- Substantial knowledge of conflict-of-interest principles under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the analogous rules of U.S. state jurisdictions, and demonstrated experience analyzing and resolving conflicts of interest in a large law firm environment.
- Familiarity with conflicts issues that arise on cross-border matters, including judgment to identify when non-U.S. rules should be referred to the international team.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and lead a team of attorneys and analysts, including training newer attorneys, delegating effectively, and holding others accountable for quality and timeliness.
- Sound and decisive judgment, with confidence to advise partners and Firm leadership on sensitive matters and to escalate appropriately.
- Commitment to confidentiality and professionalism, with ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with appropriate discretion.
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, orally and in writing, with attorneys, staff, and Firm leadership; ability to manage competing priorities and tight deadlines while maintaining accuracy and follow-through.
- Deep working knowledge of conflicts clearance and ethical screening technology (Intapp or equivalent), with ability to lead requirements gathering and workflow design discussions based on departmental and Firm needs.
Experience
- Qualified attorney; admitted and in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
- Minimum of 6 years of experience in a law firm conflicts, professional responsibility, or general counsel function.
- Demonstrated experience mentoring, training, and reviewing the work of other conflicts attorneys or analysts; formal supervisory experience preferred.
- Experience at a large or global law firm strongly preferred.
- J.D. from an accredited law school required.
Compensation & Benefits
- Annual compensation range: $270,000 - $295,000
- Salary offered within this range will depend upon qualifications and other operational considerations.
- Benefits include: health care; retirement benefits; paid days off (including sick time and vacation time); parental leave; basic life insurance; Flexible Spending Accounts; and discretionary, performance-based bonuses.
Location
- Based in any U.S. office.
Equal Employment Opportunity
The employer will consider for employment qualified applicants with Criminal Histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of local law. Equal employment opportunity is provided for all qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities, with reasonable accommodations available for qualified individuals unless doing so would impose an undue hardship in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.