Director, Risk & Compliance - Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young

Overall Management & Relationship Expectations

The Director has responsibility for establishing an effective organizational structure. The Director’s team must support a community of attorneys and professionals in addressing time-sensitive client needs and ongoing management of key firm systems. A successful Director will:

• be a strategic yet pragmatic thinker, highly responsive, and a proactive and communicative leader, ensuring that the risk functions and related infrastructure are running effectively and that ongoing investments are being made to ensure continued agility;
• demonstrate the ability to thrive in a dynamic and collegial environment, develop and maintain a spirit of teamwork, trust and accountability with firm management, attorneys, chiefs, directors, managers, and legal assistants in providing time-sensitive and excellent service; and
• possess an appreciation for and expectations of the utmost attention to detail, high integrity and intelligence, and excellent judgment.

Essential Job Functions / Duties & Responsibilities

Operational

• Direct oversight and management of the firm’s New Business Intake (NBI), Conflicts, Records, and Docketing teams and services;
• Maintain best practices and firm-wide policies in managing NBI, client due diligence, conflicts of interest, ethical walls, matter mobility, calendaring, and docketing, outside counsel guidelines and client requirements, legal compliance, and matter and records lifecycle programs to protect the firm and its clients;
• Grow and manage the firm’s IG program, including selection and implementation of a firmwide IG software solution upgrade and compliance with related policies, processes, and procedures;
• Set strategic plans, goals and objectives necessary to guide operational and systems improvements;
• Recommend and oversee implementation of new technologies in support of department goals and initiatives and identify alternatives, analyze potential benefits and risks, and provide justification for recommended solutions;
• Support management of the firm’s professional, cyber and commercial insurance programs including reviewing, negotiating and advising on insurance renewals and coverage;
• Manage processes related to client information and third-party requests directed to the firm, and handle issues and questions related to client and third-party compliance requests;
• Support the work of the firm’s General Counsel on compliance and risk-related matters, training and education;
• Ensure training is provided to all personnel on how to effectively use the NBI and conflicts system and, in particular, how to comply with the firm's conflict of interest programs;
• Monitor the identification, resolution and documentation of all potential conflicts of interest within the firm and communicate with attorneys and General Counsel about potential issues with client-matter submissions to facilitate the conflicts clearing process;
• Own matter mobility, client due diligence and conflicts clearance management for all lateral opportunities;
• Own management of maintaining high-quality, up-to-date client data disseminated throughout firm systems, including through Intapp Open and 3E Elite;
• Work with CIO, Director of Information Security and other key stakeholders to keep evergreen the firm’s business continuity plan;
• Document and maintain an enterprise risk register to ensure proactive assessments and prioritization of business risks and related remediation efforts;
• Serve as a member of the firm’s incident response team.

Financial

• Negotiate contracts with vendors;
• Formulate recommendations for projects or programs to management and act as project manager working across departments, developing implementation plans and keeping on track and within budget;
• Develop and manage staff and operational resource budgets;
• Track and control expenditures within approved budgets.

Management

• Hire, train and evaluate information governance, new business intake, conflicts, docketing and records personnel;
• Define responsibilities, roles and objectives for team positions;
• Identify growth and training opportunities for team members to ensure professional development for individuals, the teams, and the firm;
• Establish and document best practices and work closely with new clients to identify and specify business requirements and processes;
• Assign, direct and monitor the progress of the work of the team while coordinating the equitable distribution of work and office coverage;
• Practice and foster a culture of teamwork and cooperation;
• Model qualities and performance desired in firm employees, including professionalism, quality work product, and customer service orientation;
• Implement effective and appropriate policies, procedures and workflow processes to provide reliable and efficient client service, as well as a pleasant and productive work environment.

Job Qualifications

• Proven experience working with senior-level lawyers and business professionals and in balancing competing priorities in a time-sensitive environment;
• Skilled in communications with all levels of the organization; writing, speaking and presentation skills for work with the firm leadership, the user-community and clients;
• Extensive experience in developing and motivating manager-level+ team members;
• Strong organizational and project management skills;
• Strong track record in systems planning, budgeting and implementation;
• Proven experience in directing effective processes for change management and adaptation;
• A J.D. degree with at least 15 years of related law firm or equivalent experience; 7+ years management experience;
• 10+ years of combined experience in Conflicts, New Business Intake and Records at midsized or large law firms;
• Ability to understand, evaluate and supervise the operation of technologically and functionally complex equipment and systems;
• Comfortable with the use of technology and the ability to master new applications quickly and sufficiently, to translate it for the attorneys (tools like Intapp and Research databases like D&B, CapitalIQ, Lexis);
• Proficient in all Microsoft applications, including but not limited to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and SharePoint;
• Proficient in ChromeRiver, 3E Elite (or similar accounting system), Milana, iManage/DMS, Intapp Open and Terms, and SQL databases;
• Comfortable conducting research using Internet and court-related databases and with teaching others how to use these databases effectively; must be able to generate reports using Adobe, Excel, etc., and navigate through databases.