Senior In House Regulatory Counsel

We have an exciting opportunity for someone to join our Risk & Compliance team in London for a Senior In-House Regulatory Counsel role, reporting to the Head of Regulatory Compliance, COLP. The OGC team is the firm’s in-house legal team, which reports to the General Counsel, working alongside the Risk and Compliance team. The OGC at Bird & Bird is committed to providing a consistently high level of service for the firm and its partners and staff. Under the leadership of the team’s Legal Director, it is aligned with and supports the firm’s strategy, always promoting a One Firm culture.

The function currently comprises a central team in London, consisting of a mixture of lawyers and non-lawyers. The team deals with a variety of issues, from advising on, drafting and negotiating the terms in which the firm engages with its clients, its suppliers and other third parties, advising on commercial business decisions, legal tech, innovation, ESG, privacy, the Firm’s corporate affairs, and other areas of operational risk management. As such it plays a key role in protecting the Bird & Bird brand and promoting the commercial interests of the Firm. We are looking for candidates with a keen interest in the client’s terms area of work, and a pragmatic and commercial approach, who are looking to develop their skills.

Key Responsibilities

• The Senior In-House Regulatory Counsel will work closely with the Head of Regulatory Compliance, COLP and other members of the Risk and Compliance team, the General Counsel, Heads of country and local Risk Management partners in ensuring that the Firm is compliant with its regulatory obligations in all jurisdictions in which the Firm operates.
• To assist the COLP in ensuring that systems and controls are in place to enable the firm, its partners and staff to comply with the terms of its authorisation by the SRA, the SRA Standards and Regulations and any other relevant legislation, regulations and rules that apply to the Firm, its partners and staff.
• Working with other members of the Risk and Compliance team, other business services teams, Heads of Country and Risk partners as appropriate to ensure there is a robust approach to monitoring regulatory compliance and for the internal reporting and recording of compliance failures.
• Assisting the COLP with the review of regulatory compliance failures, initiating any necessary remedial actions and reporting these as required by regulation and/or engagement terms.
• Writing and reviewing policies and processes in all areas of regulatory compliance management.
• Keeping abreast of any regulatory or other compliance changes that may affect the Firm and, as necessary devising and implementing new regulatory compliance and risk management policies and processes.
• Ensuring partners and staff are trained in relation to relevant compliance obligations and the Firm’s compliance and risk management policies and arrangements and their duty to internally report compliance issues.
• Providing guidance to the Partner HR team in relation to regulatory related queries and PC/Recognised Body renewals.
• Assisting with internal risk assessments and regulatory audits.
• Dealing with escalations from the Business Acceptance team in relation to complex technical conflict questions or lateral hire questions.
• Assisting with the development of a wider strategy for the management of risk within the firm in line with the Firm’s risk appetite.
• Developing a strong service culture within the regulatory compliance team of working to the same standards as we apply to our client work, in terms of quality of guidance, sound commercial judgement, speed of response and end user experience.

What you’ll bring

• Significant experience as a qualified lawyer
• An analytical mind
• Considerable experience in all aspects of regulatory compliance
• Excellent communication skills
• Have a Pragmatic approach
• Can learn new areas of expertise and methods of working

What’s in it for you

We provide comprehensive support for our colleagues’ health and wellbeing, including private medical cover, life assurance, critical illness cover, and regular health assessments. In addition, we offer a range of lifestyle benefits designed to help our team live their best lives, such as a cycle to work scheme, access to online GP appointments, discounted gym memberships, and an electric vehicle scheme.

How to apply

If you require any assistance, please email us at talentacquisitionlondon@twobirds.com. To apply, click on the 'apply' button to submit your details.

About Bird & Bird

Bird & Bird opens up a world of possible for lawyers and professionals everywhere. Working for a leading international law firm like Bird & Bird means working alongside people who are truly collegiate in the way they work with everyone. We work as one global team, with over 70% of work involving people from across the firm. And that’s only increasing! It’s this common purpose and shared approach that makes for a more productive and collaborative place to work.

Your firm. Your future.

If you want to find out more, visit www.twobirds.com. As a disability and neurodiversity inclusive employer we want to ensure that you have a barrier-free recruitment experience at Bird & Bird. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please provide details to your recruitment contact who will be in touch to discuss any details provided and understand more about your individual adjustment needs.