Solicitor - Risk & Compliance in Southampton

About The Role

As a Solicitor in our Risk team, you will be responsible for working with fee earning and operational teams to support them in their compliance and regulatory responsibilities. You will be keeping abreast of changes in regulations and accreditations, as well as working to identify improvements in processes. You will act as a trusted business partner and help embed a proactive risk culture by developing policies, procedures and training, overseeing compliance initiatives, and leading or supporting risk and compliance projects.

Day to day, you’ll be successful in this role by:

• Liaising with our fee earning and operational teams to support them in their compliance and regulatory responsibilities. This may include follow up to audit outputs, root cause analysis if things go wrong and training where a need is identified.
• Acting as a business partner to fee earning and operational teams, building strong working relationships with partners, lawyers and business services colleagues to identify and advise on risk and compliance issues relevant to their clients and practice areas.
• Advising on client and matter opening and closing procedures, including conflict of interest escalations, and file closure in line with regulatory obligations and firm policy.
• Responsibility for risk input into client and supplier contract reviews and preparation of tenders.
• Advising on and drafting client engagement letters and retainer documentation, ensuring compliance with SRA requirements and the firm’s client acceptance policies.
• Assisting with internal investigations and SRA engagement.
• Providing training across the firm, to include induction training for new joiners and additional training firm-wide and as required, as a result of any identified issues/training needs or as a result of any changes in practice or regulation.
• Delivering feedback and coaching to staff to embed a culture of proactive risk awareness and regulatory compliance.
• Support the firm’s internal audit programme by evaluating audit outcomes and following up on remedial actions to drive continuous improvement.
• Drafting, implementing and maintaining policies and procedures in response to changes in regulatory and legal requirements.
• Supporting the work to achieve annual accreditation against the Law Society’s legal practice quality mark, Lexcel
• Supporting on change committee meetings: managing outputs and progressing initiatives
• Identifying and leading risk and compliance projects and supporting on wider strategic and operational initiatives as directed by the Director of Risk & Compliance.
• Investigating and responding to complaints, managing the full complaint lifecycle and acting as the main point of contact throughout.
• Assisting with claims handling, liaising with fee earners, insurers, brokers and other stakeholders.
• Advising on the supervision of client matters, including professional conduct, ethics, and client care obligations, promoting best practice across the firm.
• Keeping abreast of changes in regulations, accreditation processes and legal obligations that impact the firm, identifying improvements and communicating regulatory updates to the firm.
• Advising on the ethical and responsible adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) tools within the firm, ensuring alignment with regulatory expectations and professional conduct obligations.
• Supporting the development and implementation of AI governance frameworks, policies and risk assessments. Contributing to the Risk team’s own use of AI tools and technology to improve processes and ways of working.
• Assisting the Director of Risk and Compliance with additional reporting, analysis, advice, project work and other ad hoc responsibilities as required.

The role is right for you if:

• Knowledge of relevant regulations such as the SRA Standards and Regulations
• Ability to assimilate large amounts of data and spot themes/patterns.
• Presenting information in an accessible and plain English way
• An interest in and awareness of AI, legal technology and their implications for risk, ethics and regulatory compliance.
• Confident, tactful and perseverance to achieve goals
• Excellent attention to detail with a meticulous approach
• Good communication skills, professional manner and ability to influence to bring out behavioural change
• Seeks to continuously improve the way we work to deliver service
• Strong organisational and management skills
• Commercially minded with a proactive approach to improving client experience and the firm’s risk
• Qualified solicitor (England & Wales) with a minimum of 2 years' PQE, ideally gained in whole/part within a law firms risk and compliance team

About Us

Who we are

You’ll be joining a national law firm that enjoys a strong reputation, made possible by our exceptional people – each chosen for their industry knowledge and passion for their field. We want to help you to reach your full potential, love the work you do and deliver the best results for your clients. It’s our goal to make you feel great about working with us, and we work hard to cultivate a culture that makes it easy for you to stay with us for many years.

We work flexibly and you’ll be empowered to work where you do your best work, balancing your individual needs with the need for us to engage as teams and deliver excellent client service.

What we can offer you

A career at Clarke Willmott will feel different to other law firms. We thrive on our individual differences and diversity because as a team, we are united by our shared values and mutual respect. Working with us you will feel empowered, valued and free to be yourself in a safe and supportive environment.

Our mission is to help you realise your full potential whilst maintaining a positive work-life balance. We provide a comprehensive learning and development programme and a range of wellbeing initiatives to support your career journey.

There’s no doubt we expect the best from our people and even the occasional extra mile. In return, your dedication and commitment to the continued success of the firm will be rewarded with a comprehensive range of flexible benefits.