Risk Lawyer (Associate)

Why Michelmores?

Michelmores is the destination law firm for the ambitious, the imaginative and the distinctive. We help enterprises and individuals navigate change to find a positive future.

We are a flexible, friendly and inclusive organisation with as clear a focus on fresh thinking as we have on growth and success. We value and nurture our people’s potential and inspiration and give them a creative, open and collaborative environment in which to develop a career and succeed.

We believe that whatever your legal experience, you’ll find Michelmores different. From day one we encourage our people to forge relationships and expand their understanding and knowledge of areas that interest them— developing an understanding of commercial challenges and opportunities, rather than just knowing the law. We nurture creative and commercial thinking to help in your long-term career success – it mirrors our approach to ensuring the very best outcomes for our clients too.

Finally, our culture really is something special to us. At Michelmores we take pride in how we all work together, whatever our role or seniority, and you’ll really grow and thrive because we encourage people to develop in areas that excite them or makes them different. That’s how we nurture the brightest and best lawyers.

Are you keen to find an exciting new role where you will be part of a dynamic, forward-thinking, agile team? If so, come and join us on the journey.

What sort of work?

Reporting to the Head of Governance & Risk and working as part of the wider Governance & Risk team, you will play a critical role in providing legal and regulatory advice and guidance across the Firm.

In this role you will be working as an experienced member of the team, supporting key stakeholders across the business, including Partners, Lawyers and our Business Services teams, with a broad range of risk and compliance issues – including conflicts of interest, AML and financial crime, data protection, SRA Accounts Rules, and claims and complaints. You will also be handling day-to-day queries into our Risk helpdesk from across the business, and supporting our paralegals.

Why this team?

The Governance & Risk team is undergoing a period of growth, and this is a fantastic opportunity to join a growing team.

Effective risk management is a key part of the Firm's governance structure and its culture. The Governance and Risk team of specialists work with the Firm and its lawyers to ensure we maintain the highest standards of professional conduct, effectively mitigate risk and are compliant with all our legal and regulatory requirements. The team's focus is very much on providing timely, pragmatic and solution-orientated risk advice and guidance. We pride ourselves on developing ways to continually improve the Firm's processes and the delivery of consistently high-quality services to our clients, which differentiate us from our competitors and enhances our client care.

How do we work?

We take a flexible, agile approach to working patterns. As a Firm we are committed to supporting our people across all levels to achieve the balance they need. We are open to talk flexible working and to empower any candidate to put forward a flexible working pattern to meet their needs. We pride ourselves on our high-performance culture whilst offering a good work/life balance.

Most of the team work part of the week from their 'base' office and part of the week from home (with flexibility) but there is an expectation of working in the office two to three days a week. There would also be a requirement to travel between our other offices as and when required.

We are flexible about the location for this role, but you would need to have either Exeter, Bristol, Cheltenham or London as your 'base' office.

As a Firm we are committed to supporting our people across all levels to achieve the balance they need. We are open to talk flexible working and to empower any candidate to put forward a flexible working pattern to meet their needs.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for somebody who will understand our values and thrive in our culture. Ideally, we are looking for:

• A qualified lawyer with at least 3 years' experience, or an individual with an equivalent foreign qualification.
• Compliance, regulatory or claims experience is essential and would be particularly advantageous if gained within a risk and compliance team in a law firm, financial institution or regulator.
• Knowledge of conflicts of interest and financial crime is highly desirable.
• Proven experience of managing key processes and procedures is desirable.
• Experience of leading others and delivering training is desirable.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• An ability to work within a team and to communicate effectively with all levels across the firm.
• Efficient and responsive individuals with an ability to influence senior stakeholders.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills in order to meet the demands of challenging and commercial internal clients, as well as the ability to deal with competing priorities.
• Ability to work using own initiative and manage a diverse caseload.