The Department

The Risk and Compliance team work in collaboration with the business to ensure best practice across the Firm, effectively managing all aspects of the regulation surrounding the efficient running of our Firm.

The Role

Reporting into the Financial Crime Risk and Compliance Director and work closely with the COLP/General Counsel (Legal Practice) this role will be a critical part of the team, with a focus on providing support to the wider R&C department and more broadly across the MDR Group on a range of priorities and projects. This role will be a key part of ensuring that the highest standards are maintained within the department and in particular in the business acceptance team. This role will work alongside the AML and Conflicts Managers to provide continuity and support across the team as well as assist with quality control and risk management across the Firm.

As a result of our Firm's continued evolvement, this role will require an individual who has a flexible and agile approach to their work, with the ability to turn their hand to a multitude of tasks with a solutions-focussed approach. Strong interpersonal and communications skills are essential. An appetite for continuous personal development as well as a keenness to support other team members with their growth is required.

Duties and Responsibilities

The MLRO Team

• Working closely with the Director and MLRO team on day-to-day escalations on high risk matters, sanctions connections, return payment approvals, frozen assets reporting, internal suspicious activity reports and drafting Suspicious Activity Reports to the NCA.
• Drafting training for the wider team and firm on financial crime issues

Business Acceptance support

• Working closely with the Conflicts and AML Managers to:
  • support recruitment and training plans for new analysts
  • deliver quality control across the analysts cohort
  • provide feedback for analyst promotion and progression
  • identify feedback to the f/e teams and engage in the appropriate conversations needed to change behaviour as needed
  • mentor analysts where needed

Broader R&C duties:

• Support with varied Terms of Business.
• Initial point of contact for Procurement - including (but not limited to); ensuring policies and processes corroborate together, acting as the first point of call for guidance and advice, troubleshooting key issues and escalating upwards complex issues where needed
• To undertake and be involved with various projects across R&C and the firm - and work with the GC team for instance in relation to Mq2, the DMS folder structure, the matter lifecycle and other risk management
• Lead on Lateral Partner transition to the firm from a client onboarding perspective. Ensure that all relevant information on portable clients is obtained, conflict checks are carried out, issues are resolved and reported back to incoming partner.
• To suggest changes to best practice and to be a general advocate of it
• Support the better use of the Intapp functionality as appropriate, eg Blackbook entries, capture of institutional knowledge
• Support on project work as required by the wider R&C team on an ad-hoc basis

Group R&C Administration:

• Accountable for managing the register of interests - including reviewing and improving associated processes and the system
• Working with the GC team to ensure the effective management of company administration across all MDR Group Businesses
• Assisting with aspects of the renewal and partner ongoing process, together with the COLP

AML & Conflicts

• To have a general understanding of the MO system and what is required to open a matter, with a view to being able to provide quality assurance support
• To be able to provide basic support to the team, including providing support to the AML and Conflicts Managers on 'people priorities' and clearing basic checks if needed in extremis
• To act as the interface between AML & Conflicts and our Legal Operations community - supporting new joiners, troubleshooting basic issues, building effective working relationships including with the various Division Assistants

Skills and Attributes

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to be able to present themselves in a commercial and confident manner to a range of stakeholders and colleagues.
• The highest standards of rigour, delivered with care in a professional and pleasant manner.
• An inquisitive mind, with an eagerness to understand our business and spot trends and issues before they occur.
• Excellent drafting skills, with meticulous attention to detail.
• Strong organisational and prioritising skills, in order to meet the demands of challenging internal clients, as well as dealing with competing priorities.
• Effective people management skills, with the ability to mentor, manage and develop individuals
• A 'one team' approach to work - strong team player, with a passion for supporting and championing others
• Efficient and responsive with an ability to challenge and influence senior stakeholders.
• Ability to manage own diverse workload.
• Proactive, resilient and calm under pressure.
• Takes responsibility for and attends to self-development.
• Flexible and agile approach to the workload, with the ability to work in close collaboration with a variety of team members across the business.

Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.

About The Mishcon de Reya Group

The Mishcon de Reya Group is an independent international professional service business with law at its heart, employing over 1450 people with close to 670 lawyers. It includes the law firm Mishcon de Reya LLP and a collection of leading consultancy businesses that complement the firm's legal services. We have grown rapidly in recent years, showing more than 40% revenue growth in the past five years alone.

Based in London, Cambridge, Oxford, and Singapore, with an association with Karas So LLPin Hong Kong, the firm services an international community of clients and provides advice in situations where the constraints of geography often do not apply. The work we undertake is cross-border, multi-jurisdictional and complex, spanning six core practice areas: Corporate; Dispute Resolution; Employment; Innovation; Private; and Real Estate.

As of 1 January 2023, Mishcon de Reya and Taylor Vinters merged. The merger delivers on both firms' strategies to support the innovation economy and accelerate our growing share of the technology, media and life-sciences legal and consultancy services market in the UK and in key international innovation hubs globally.

In times of such far-reaching and profound change we want to be the law firm that enables our clients - and our own people - to shape the world's possibilities. We are here to help our clients benefit from new economies, new geographic centres of wealth, the new global movement of people and capital, and the impact of new technologies and new knowledge.

Our purpose remains rooted in our founding values. We take pride in the diverse range of people who make up the firm and are proactive in driving change and continuous improvement across the spectrum of equality, diversity and inclusion. Mishcon Academy , our in-house place of learning, development and new thinking for our people, clients and contacts and our innovative impact strategy, including a commitment to be a net zero carbon business , also play a central strategic role in the direction of the firm. In 2020 we launched Mishcon Purpose , a first-of-its-kind sustainability practice providing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) advice and purpose-driven insight to clients.

The Mishcon de Reya Group comprises standalone businesses MDR Brand Management , MDR Cyber , MDR Discover , MDR One , MDR Mayfair (in London, Singapore and Dubai) and MDRx . Complementary to Mishcon de Reya's core areas of work, each is led by best in class professionals recruited from a variety of non-legal industries and sectors.

We strive to create a fully diverse and inclusive workplace where all our people are empowered to fulfil their potential. We are proud of our agile working culture and are always happy to talk flexible working.

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