Partner / Director of Legal and Commercial Risk

TLT is growing and to meet the challenges of that growth and our strategic plans, we wish to expand our capacity and capability to provide internal advice to the firm and its senior management team.

We are seeking a Partner/Director of Legal and Commercial Risk to join our Business Services Director team to provide expert commercial legal advice on internal matters to the firm and its senior management team. The role will also assist the Managing Partner, Senior Partner/COLP and Practice Director/COFA as required.

To meet that need we are looking for an experienced commercial solicitor, ideally an existing partner or senior lawyer in a law or professional services firm (a suitably experienced Managing Associate/Legal Director equivalent will be considered) who is experienced in providing both legal, commercial, risk and common sense advice to clients or management of the firm on all aspects of a regulated firm’s activities and the potential risk exposure that such activities create from a strategic and operational perspective.

The role will provide commercial legal, operational and strategic risk advice to the firm and its senior management in matters of commercial contracts (client and supplier), and other complex operational and legal issues that arise. This will also include advice on all aspects of a regulated firm’s commercial activities, and the considerations around potential new areas of work the firm wishes to take on, particularly the risk/reward ratio for pricing, and implications on the firm from client framework agreements, call off arrangements and service level agreements.

The role will also require working closely with FutureLaw and Managed Legal Services to utilise internally some of the very interesting technologies we have pioneered particularly around contract management and other resource solutions we wish to explore.

The role will complement the existing Director of Risk and Compliance, Risk and Compliance team, and Group Risk Managers but would maintain independence from the Risk and Compliance Team operating structure and will report to the firm’s Practice Director.

The reward package will mirror existing Partner or Legal Director structures as appropriate except that any bonus structure will be up to a maximum of 10% assessed under a Balanced Scorecard regime linked to achievement of agreed objectives.

The role can support part-time working but that is not likely to be less than 4 days per week.

Your Role

As a Partner / Director of Legal and Commercial Risk your day to day remit includes:

Legal

• Provide high quality, tailored legal advice to all areas of the firm either directly or by engaging appropriate expert external advisors.
• Contribute information, analysis and horizon-scanning detail, e.g. on upcoming issues, legislative proposals, market intelligence, best practice, anticipating change and developing appropriate strategies
• In conjunction with the Chief People Officer, provide support in relation to strategic lateral or team hires,
• Support the Head of Procurement and Procurement team in all aspects of third-party supplier management and supplier onboarding including the consideration and negotiation of retainers, service level agreements, and supplier terms and conditions. 
• Draw on the resources of the fee earning teams and external legal panel as required.
• Constantly seek team efficiencies and work closely with the Future Law team to ensure that appropriate technical solutions are utilised and that existing services such as Legal Sifter are adopted and fully utilised.
• Advise on any issues arising from collaborations and agreements with overseas firms
• Together with others create and manage a panel of external solicitors to provide privileged legal advice to the LLP and senior management as required 

Client

• Advise individual Partners on commercial and legal conflicts.
• Provide legal expertise and oversight on client contracts where deemed necessary including non-standard terms, Indemnity or insurance provisions, JV arrangements, onerous conditions, escalation, or decision-making process.
• Advise on business risk – including review and advice to the Managing Partner regarding requests for unlimited liability, identifying issues arising from PARC reviews, and pricing versus risk profile.  
• Through the conflict team, maintain and develop effective international conflict search capabilities, adhering to the highest standards required by the Firm and help advise on and resolve conflict issues
• Identifying and flagging any necessary changes to insurance cover occasioned by client take on, future workstreams or strategy of the firm –such as JV agreements and novel/non-standard arrangements with clients, consultancy services etc
• Supporting the Risk & Compliance Team where needed on enhancing client take-on approval processes (PEP, Geographic, Sanctions or Reputational), and advice on ongoing client issues, e.g., ceasing to represent clients, client requests that may conflict with or infringe SRA Principles or Codes of Conduct or other regulators requirements.

Leadership and management

• Provide line management to direct reports, providing support and supervision, and be a role model providing positive behaviours and ensuring the function is a great place to work
• Provide mentoring to selected individuals in order to support their development, in particular to develop diverse talent within the function
• Be an active member of the Business Services leadership team including governance meetings such as Risk and Compliance Committee (RACC) and Pricing and Resourcing (PARC).
• Attend and present to the Operations Board and Executive Board by appointment and as required.

Your Skills and Experience

Role Specific Experience

• Qualified solicitor with senior level experience gained within a relevant commercial field
• Experience of working in a professional services environment either in-house or client facing
   

Key Skills and Qualities

• An ability to command respect and have credibility with senior stakeholders
• Ability to advise on Boardroom legal issues
• Mental agility and a broad knowledge of the law, an eye for detail whilst being able to envision structures and ‘the big picture’
• Able to give a crisp intellectual articulation of the issues – to be ‘lawyer to the lawyers’ and demonstrate the judgment, experience and insight which would command respect from that population.
• Prepared to provide answers, advice and recommendations rather than simply presenting a learned discussion of the options.
• The ability to present information in a clear, concise and logical manner and to achieve effective communication across international boundaries, mindful of different cultural norms.
• Ability to run an effective team (of lawyers and other professionals) and forge effective relationships with senior colleagues,
• Provide senior leadership and role model positive behaviours

Your Team

TLT is known for the way we set new expectations and push the boundaries, but this can never compromise our firm, reputation or clients. The Risk team are there to make sure we are compliant with all our obligations in areas such as Data Protection, SRA and FCA regulation as well as protecting our clients and people. The Risk team includes both experienced lawyers and technical specialists who address an extensive range of regulatory and ethical requirements, thinking both commercially and practically to make sure we remain compliant and true to our values.

About TLT

Fast paced, fast growing and forward thinking, TLT is the law firm that helps clients stay one step ahead, and we do the same for our people.

We work with high profile clients in innovative sectors. With local, national and international reach, we have over 1,200 people in offices across the UK and a network of partner firms across Europe, India and the US. In 2021 we were named The Lawyer’s Law Firm of the Year, recognising our incredible success story.

Our purpose is to protect, prepare and progress our clients for what comes next and it’s essential that we do the same for our people, our planet and our communities too. In our open and collaborative culture, we encourage everyone to be their whole self, to have a voice and to contribute.

Our Benefits

We value our employees highly and we want you to feel valued. You’ll receive a competitive salary with an annual pay review. You will also have access to an extensive range of benefits via our flexible benefits scheme including 25 days holiday (which will increase to 30 days based upon length of service) and private medical insurance.

At TLT we have a progressive fully flexible working approach. We empower our people to work in a place and at a time that meets their needs, those of their clients and of the wider team and firm. Part of this agile approach is a focus on hybrid working and supporting the work/life balance of our people.

TLT is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive working environment and encourages applications from all suitably qualified people, regardless of any of the characteristics protected by the laws in the locations in which we operate.

We welcome applications from people with disabilities and are committed to providing reasonable adjustments, where necessary, to make interviews and jobs more accessible. Should you have any difficulty during the recruitment process, require any reasonable adjustments or an application to Access to work please contact the recruitment team on Recruitment.Operations@TLTsolicitors.com