(As I’ve discussed with a few colleagues recently, it definitely feels like more firms are creating and/or hiring for positions dedicated to managing OCGs and terms of engagement. So this update and posting is worth reading not only by those who might be interested in this specific position, but also by those looking to scope and define similar roles in their organizations, as I found it well crafted.)
Arnold & Porter is seeking: “Client Guidelines Attorney” —
- The Conflicts & Client Intake Department of Arnold & Porter has an opening for a Client Guidelines Attorney in the Washington, DC office.
- The Client Guidelines Attorney is responsible for ensuring that established policies and procedures to memorialize the relationship between Arnold & Porter and its clients from all domestic and global offices are effectively implemented under the supervision of the Director of Professional Responsibility, and in collaboration with Arnold & Porter’s Office of General Counsel, the client Relationship Partner, the Director of Client Service & Compliance, and others as necessary.
- To fulfill this responsibility, the Client Guidelines Attorney must understand and reconcile the terms of firm-generated client retention documents with the terms of client-generated retention documents, such as outside counsel guidelines (OCGs), that may to some degree conflict with Arnold & Porter’s ethical obligations, business goals and/or risk tolerance.
- The Client Guidelines Attorney then must be able to communicate effectively with all levels of firm management, attorneys, and staff to describe what measures should be taken to ensure Arnold & Porter and its clients have retention expectations that are clearly understood, aligned, and recorded.
- While it is not necessary to have broad experience with or knowledge of the professional responsibility rules governing the attorney-client relationship to be considered for this position, the Client Guidelines Attorney is expected to become fluent in such rules quickly and contribute as a subject matter expert in discussions concerning analyses of client OCG terms as well as discussions of how to improve Arnold & Porter’s policies and procedures in this area.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Working collaboratively and proactively under the supervision of the Director of Professional Responsibility to ensure that established policies and procedures to memorialize the relationship between Arnold & Porter and its clients are effectively implemented.
- Providing assistance and guidance to the Relationship Partner and client team members drafting, negotiating, interpreting, and implementing the terms of time-sensitive client OCGs, other client-generated retention documents, client Requests for Proposal (RFPs), firm-generated retention documents, or some combination thereof.
- Communicating effectively both internally and externally to describe what measures should be taken to ensure Arnold & Porter and its clients have retention expectations that are clearly understood, aligned, and recorded.
- Providing contextual analysis and critical assessment of client OCGs, non-standard client retention documentation, and RFPs and follow up as needed with the Relationship Partners and others to ensure proper documentation and resolution of outstanding issues.
- Monitoring global compliance with negotiated client OCG terms that may include, among other things, running conflicts on affiliated corporate entities, using form waivers, providing client notice, implementing ethical walls, and updating the firm’s conflicts and client intake databases and repositories.
- Soliciting and coordinating feedback and/or approval on client OCGs and other client-generated retention documents from Arnold & Porter subject matter experts.
- Liaising with practice groups to address practice group compliance and considerations.
- Developing an expertise in technologies used by Arnold & Porter to perform job responsibilities and maintain market awareness of new or better technologies that may improve Arnold & Porter processes.
Qualifications include:
- Four-year college degree and J.D. are required; preexisting active bar admission in at least one jurisdiction in good standing where the firm maintains an U.S. office is preferred and, if not achieved at the date of hire, will be required as a term of employment shortly after beginning employment.
- A minimum of one year of work experience in the area of conflicts of interest or other relevant experience (e.g., commercial contracts, new business intake, ethics) at a large law firm and some prior experience as a practicing attorney preferred.
- Experience with conflicts databases and researching corporate entities using Mergent, Edgar, Hoovers, Dun & Bradstreet or other corporate databases a plus.
For additional detail:
You can see more details in the specific job posting here
And read more about professional life and benefits at the firm, ranked by Fortune magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” on their careers page
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