Associate General Counsel
Monday through Friday, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm (additional hours as required)
The Compliance Attorney is primarily responsible for conflicts analysis performed in connection with lateral attorney hires, and secondarily for assisting the General Counsel’s Office with tasks relating to engagement letter compliance, information wall implementation and maintenance and reviewing outside counsel guidelines, client questionnaires, codes of conduct, and other similar materials, as needed. The position will be part of the Office of General Counsel, with frequent direct interaction with the Associate General Counsel and Senior Conflicts and Compliance Attorney, and will work with other lawyers at the firm and firm administrative personnel. Given the demanding and global nature of the firm’s work, the Compliance Attorney must be available outside normal office hours and flexible with respect to evening and weekend work as circumstances require. The position is not an external client-facing or partnership track position.
Typical responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
Lateral Attorney Conflicts Analysis
- Review of lateral attorney candidate conflicts reports (which are based on prior work history). Identify and analyze potential conflicts.
- Communicate with the candidate and relevant attorneys regarding potential conflicts.
- Draft conflicts waiver request letters for review by Senior Conflicts and Compliance Attorney. Waiver request letters will be communicated by or on behalf of the Deputy General Counsel to the lateral candidate’s current law firm.
- Assist with implementation of ethical walls, as appropriate.
- Consult with Managing Attorney to ensure appropriate notifications to government agencies and courts, as appropriate.
- Accurately document conflicts resolution, including waivers obtained or relied upon, as applicable.
Engagement Letter Compliance
- Monitor engagement letter compliance.
- Maintain repository of client engagement letters.
- Consult with Associate General Counsel regarding engagement letter questions and liaising with responsible lawyer(s) in responding to client requests.
Client Outside Counsel Guidelines
- Review client Outside Counsel Guidelines and prepare draft responses regarding same.
- Consult with Associate General Counsel regarding responses to client Outside Counsel Guidelines and liaising with responsible lawyer(s) regarding same.
- Monitor status of Outside Counsel Guidelines responses and correspondence regarding same.
- Maintain repository of client Outside Counsel Guidelines.
Client Questionnaires, Codes of Conduct, and Other Contractual Provisions
- Review client due diligence and information security questionnaires to identify compliance and risk issues and prepare draft responses regarding same.
- Review Terms and Conditions associated with RFPs, Codes of Conduct, or other client requests and prepare draft responses regarding same.
Information Wall Implementation and Maintenance (using IntApp WallBuilder)
- Liaise with lawyers to identify the need for and scope of information walls involving certain individuals and/or timekeepers on certain matters.
- Draft information wall memoranda for review by responsible lawyer(s).
- Maintain information walls by reviewing new matter memoranda to identify necessary matter additions, and coordinating periodic notifications to newly added timekeepers.
- Identify information wall violations and coordinate resolution with the responsible lawyer(s).
General Responsibilities
- Evening and weekend on-call coverage.
- Special Projects, as needed.
- General knowledge of the Rules of Professional Responsibility.
- Impeccable integrity.
- The ability to work as part of a team.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Excellent organizational skills, ability to set priorities and multi-task while meeting strict deadlines. Ability to maintain flexibility as priorities and tasks change.
- Keen attention to detail.
- Ability to exercise discretion and good judgment, including as to the need for consultation with more experienced colleagues.
- Ability to thoroughly research potential conflicts and use deductive reasoning and analytical skills to draw appropriate conclusions about potential conflicts.
- Availability outside normal office hours and flexibility with respect to evening and weekend work as circumstances require
- Law degree from an accredited law school and licensed and in good standing to practice in New York.
- A minimum of two years of experience in a large law firm. Experience in conflicts clearance in a large law firm is a plus.
The expected base salary for this position is $170,000.00. Salary offers are based on a wide range of factors including relevant skills, training, experience, education, anticipated assignment, and, where applicable, licensure or certifications obtained. Market and organizational factors are also considered. Davis Polk offers a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.