Senior Director of Conflicts and Professional Responsibility Counsel

Job Description

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with offices in the United States, Europe, MENA, and Asia that represents clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory and policy, intellectual property, and transactional and corporate matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation and government-facing matters, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Professional Responsibility Counsel is the Senior Director of the Conflicts Department and is responsible for overall management and operation of the Conflicts Department, including personnel, processes, budget and special projects.  The Professional Responsibility Counsel is also part of the firm’s Office of General Counsel and serves as advisor to the General Counsel and the firm in the areas of ethics and conflicts of interest.  The Professional Responsibility Counsel is supported by the Conflicts Director and Assistant Professional Responsibility Counsel.

Job Responsibilities

• Manages and develops staff and attorneys of Conflicts Department, including training and professional development of same.
• Serves as advisor to Department’s conflicts attorneys on complicated new matter or conflicts issues.
• Handles risk management and professional responsibility issues/projects as assigned by the General Counsel, including but not limited to issues associated with, compliance by attorneys with regard to multijurisdictional practice/bar licensing laws and rules.
• Supports the mission of the Committee on Professional Responsibility in collaboration with the Chair and Vice-Chair, including but not limited to the training of clearance partners and resolution of complex conflict of interest and new matter opening issues. 
• Supports the General Counsel’s review of outside counsel guidelines, particularly with respect to issues involving new matter clearance and conflicts of interest.
• Advises the firm’s attorneys and staff on ethical issues related to conflicts of interest.
• Keeps current on developments in professional responsibility law and on best practices for professional responsibility risk management.
• Develops and manages annual Conflicts Department budget.
• Evaluates and improves operational procedures and services relating to new matter intake and evaluation.
• Makes recommendations to management on ways to increase cost-effectiveness, quality, and efficient use of resources relating to new matter intake and conflict checking, including monitoring adequacy of Department size and makeup.
• Oversees Assistant Professional Responsibility Counsel’s management and handling of lateral-related conflicts checks, background due diligence, orientation, and onboarding efforts associated with the firm’s lateral attorney recruitment/hiring.
• Oversees Assistant Professional Responsibility Counsel’s management of firm’s client’s auditor requests for information (“audit letter process”).
• Serves as final reviewer of new matter requests submitted by firm attorneys, including assisting with resolution of issues, and approval or denial of requests as appropriate.  Manages delegation of approval authority to others as appropriate.

Qualifications

Education

The position requires a Law degree and bar membership.

Experience

The position requires a minimum of fifteen (15) years of increasingly responsible, directly related experience that includes personnel supervision and management on a regular basis. 

Experience should include law firm practice and experience that included processes/procedures related to the approval of new clients, new matters, conflicts clearance, and hiring of lateral attorneys, as well as other general practice and risk management issues, management responsibilities and the direct supervision of others.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Ability to conceptualize, organize, plan, implement and evaluate processes and procedures.

• Ability to analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative data from a variety of sources, apply critical and creative thinking to draw conclusions or develop solutions to complex problems. 
• Demonstrated advanced knowledge of professional ethics rules and the ability to analyze professional responsibility questions; understanding of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the rules of professional conduct of the different states required.
• Ability to research rules of professional conduct of different jurisdictions to ascertain applicable rules, opinions and laws.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively supervise others, including hiring, training, assigning