Partner, Compliance Officer For Legal Practice, London

EY is a global network of professional services firms engaged in consulting transaction assurance and tax services with member firms in over 170 countries worldwide. The UK firm of Ernst & Young LLP has over 900 partners and 20000 employees. It is a multi-disciplinary firm regulated by the Financial Reporting Council for audit services the ICAEW for tax services and the SRA for Law and Immigration services.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) who will oversee monitor and report on compliancewith the SRA Standards and Regulations including the Codes of Conduct authorisation rules for recognised bodies/SRA and related guidance. Six partners and some 200 employees provide services regulated by the SRA.

The COLP will be a senior visible guardian of ethics client protection and professional standards maintaining an effective system of controls and supporting the new EY All in Strategy by showing curiosity intelligence and energy to deliver prompt pragmatic adaptable and commercial advice to all levels within our business.

Your key responsibilities

The work within the UK&I Tax and Law Quality and Risk Management team is highly varied and much of the work is at the cutting edge of business practice as the firm constantly finds innovative ways to help our clients businesses.

This in-house role includes:

Regulatory governance & oversight

• Maintaining and continually improving the firmwide compliance frameworkfor legal services mapped to the SRA Standards and Regulations (including Code of Conduct for Firms and for Solicitors) and where relevant the SRA Authorisation of Firms Rules(including ABS/MDP requirements).
• Establishing clear lines of responsibilityand secondline monitoringfor legal practice risks (client care conflicts confidentiality undertakings competence supervision complaints publicity/transparency referrals/introductions outsourcing and information security).
• Ensuring the firms structure ownership and managersremain compliant with authorisation conditions; promptly notify and manage any changes (e.g. ownership managers HoLP/HoFA equivalents office addresses reserved legal activities).

Systems & controls

• Designing and maintaining proportionate policies procedures and MIfor legal services ensuring they are understood applied and evidenced across practice groups and shared services.
• Operating an effective breach management process(capture triage rootcause analysis remediation and lessons learned) including a breaches registerand criteria for materialityassessment with timely SRA reportingwhere required.
• Overseeing quality assurance including file reviews supervision arrangements and competence/CPD monitoring aligned to the SRA Statement of Solicitor Competence.
• Ensuring compliance with SRA Transparency Rules(website disclosures complaints information pricing where applicable and use of SRA digital badge).

Multidisciplinary practice (MDP/ABS) specifics

• Ensuring robust separation and governanceof legal vs nonlegal services and any reserved vs unreserved activities; maintaining appropriate information barriersand conflicts controls where the firm provides multiple professional services to the same client.
• Coordinating with other regulatory functions and coregulators(ICAEW and FRC) to prevent regulatory perimeter breachesand ensure consistent nonconflicting controls.
• Approving and monitoring interdisciplinary engagements marketing and crossreferrals to manage conflicts independence and client disclosure/consentobligations.

Client and matter lifecycle

• Overseeing client engagement termsfor legal services (scope capacity conflicts confidentiality complaints governing law limitation of liability) and ensure risk clauses align with SRA standards and firm PI insurance conditions.
• Ensuring matter openingprocesses include compliant conflict checks competence/capability assessment supervision planning and (where relevant) foreign law/overseas practice risk controls.

Financial crime & data protection coordination

• Working in close partnership with the MLROto align SRA duties with AML/CTFcontrols (CDD/EDD sanctions suspicious activity handling tippingoff avoidance client risk assessment).
• Liaising with the Data Protection Officeron client confidentiality LPP/Litigation Privilege information security and incident response where data and professional obligations intersect.

Complaints claims and engagement with regulators

• Overseeing the complaints frameworkfor legal services (incl. signposting to the Legal Ombudsman) monitor trends and ensure fair outcomes and prompt remediation.
• Acting as principal contact with the SRAfor notifications investigations thematic requests periodic returns and practising certificate/authorisation matters; prepare selfassessmentsand attestationsrequired by the SRA.
• Coordinating with insurers and the Risk/GC function on claims potential claims and notifiable circumstancesrelevant to legal services.

People culture and training

• Championing a speakup cultureand visible leadership on ethics and professional standards.
• Setting and tracking mandatory trainingcompletion (SRA ethics client care conflicts confidentiality complaints handling financial crime awareness information security supervision) with targeted interventions for higherrisk teams.
• Ensuring competence and supervisionstandards are embedded (including for consultants secondees and overseas lawyers involved in UK legal services).

Reporting & MI

• Working with UK&I Leadership covering breaches and trends training completion audit outcomes complaints/claims AML liaison themes transparency rule compliance and open regulatory actions.
• Table material risks and decisionsat the appropriate governance forum with clear options impact analysis and recommended mitigations.

Key relationships

Managing Partner/Board; General Counsel; Tax & Law Quality and Risk Management; MLRO; COFA/Finance; DPO/InfoSec; HR/Learning; Head of Tax and Law Service Line; Marketing/Business Development; Internal Audit and external counsel.

Skills and attributes for success

• Strong team player with excellent negotiation and communication skills.
• Demonstrable commitment to the attributes of our highest performing teams focus on results accepting of accountability committed embraces healthy conflict builds trust.
• Keeps calm and copes well with conflicting and ever-changing deadlines.
• Ability to lead provide a view take responsibility and ownership of issues including an ability to take difficult decisions and provide substantiated arguments.
• Commercial awareness of the business issues facing EY as we evolve coupled with an active desire to get alongside our business offering legal insight and support.

To qualify for the role you must have

• 10 or more years of post-qualification legal experience.
• Demonstrable experience of SRA Standards and Regulations law firm governance and risk/compliance frameworks.
• Strong understanding of conflicts/confidentiality complaints handling supervision standards and legal professional privilege.
• Familiarity with AML/CTFcontrols (working with MLRO) data protection and information security in legal practice.

Ideally youll also have

• Proven ability to establish a high degree of credibility respect and trust at all levels including with senior members of the firm some of whom have a considerable understanding of the law and SRA regulations.
• Experience engaging with coregulators(e.g. ICAEW/FCA) and international memberfirm networks.
• Exposure to legal accreditations (e.g. Lexcel ISO standards) and quality assurance programmes.

What we look for

A self-starter adept at responding promptly/juggling deadlines who actively looks to build relationships based on trust and confidence.

What working at EY offers

We offer a competitive remuneration package where youll be rewarded for your individual and team performance. Our comprehensive Total Rewards package includes support for flexible working and career development and with FlexEY you can select benefits that suit your needs covering holidays health and well-being insurance savings and a wide range of discounts offers and promotions. Plus we offer:

• Support coaching and feedback from some of the most engaging colleagues around
• Opportunities to develop new skills and progress your career
• The freedom and flexibility to handle your role in a way thats right for you

EY is committed to being an inclusive employer and we are happy to consider flexible working arrangements. We strive to achieve the right balance for our people enabling us to deliver excellent client service whilst allowing you to build your career without sacrificing your personal priorities. While our client-facing professionals can be required to travel regularly and at times be based at client sites our flexible working arrangements can help you to achieve a lifestyle balance.

About EY

As a global leader in assurance tax transaction and advisory services were using the finance products expertise and systems weve developed to build a better working world. That starts with a culture that believes in giving you the training opportunities and creative freedom to make things better. Whenever you join however long you stay the exceptional EY experience lasts a lifetime. And with a commitment to hiring and developing the most passionate people well make our ambition to be the best employer a reality.

If you can confidently demonstrate that you meet the criteria above please contact us as soon as possible.

Join us in building a better working world.