Conflicts Staff Lawyer

Sidley in London

We are proud to offer our lawyers and professional staff myriad opportunities to apply their talents toward important, challenging projects on a global stage. Our culture of collegiality attracts people with diverse skills and backgrounds who are dedicated to teamwork, collaboration and superior client service.

Sidley has built an inclusive, collegiate culture firmwide and we maintain an environment focused on teamwork and cooperation. Our London office has a relaxed, down-to-earth friendliness, with lawyers and business professionals at all levels treating each other with genuine respect. We value the skills and knowledge that each team member brings and believe in creating a work environment where everyone thrives.

We are located in a distinctive new development at 70 St. Mary Axe with panoramic views across London. Based in the heart of the City and close to Liverpool Street station with all the area has to offer - fantastic restaurants and bars, shopping and sporting facilities.
You'll find a great social scene within the office, with organised events including sailing and skiing weekends, seasonal parties and charitable team activities.

Inclusion

Sidley is committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive culture. We recognise that bringing together individuals from various backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives strengthens the quality of our legal work and continues to position us as a trusted leader in the legal profession. Our commitment to inclusion not only enriches our workplace but also enhances our ability to fulfill our mission providing the highest quality legal services for our clients.

Role overview

Based in the London office, the Conflicts Staff Lawyer will be working as an integral member of the firm's global Conflicts New Business Department, headquartered in Chicago and led by the firm's Deputy General Counsel. The UK and EU team works closely with the US and other international offices, and this is a visible and internationally connected role from the outset.

The UK and EU team is led by the Director of Conflicts, AML & Compliance for Europe and the Middle East, and the Conflicts Lawyer to whom the Conflicts Lawyer reports. The Conflicts Lawyer works alongside other Conflicts Lawyers, the Conflicts/AML Analysts and the Team Administrator to provide an exceptional conflicts clearance and new business intake service to Partners, Associates and Secretaries across Sidley's global offices.

This is an advisory and stakeholder facing position rather than a purely administrative function. The Conflicts team is viewed as a business enabling partner to the firm, balancing robust risk management with commercial pragmatism. The successful candidate will work directly with Partners and senior stakeholders across offices, providing clear, practical and commercially grounded guidance.

As one of the world's largest law firms, the firm depends on a responsive, commercially sound and technically robust conflicts and onboarding function. The Conflicts Staff Lawyer will provide a critical business service across three main areas:

• Reviewing escalated conflicts searches submitted during London business hours and providing clear, practical clearance advice
• Reviewing and approving new clients and matters to ensure compliance with the firm's new business intake policies and procedures
• Advising on new business intake policy and procedural issues across jurisdictions

The successful candidate must be comfortable operating in a fast paced, high performing international firm environment where responsiveness, sound judgement and strong stakeholder engagement are essential.

The Conflicts and New Business team currently operates on a hybrid working model of three days per week in the office and two days working from home, although additional days in the office may be required in the future dependent on business need. Wednesday is currently the team's anchor day, when all team members are expected to be in the office to support collaboration, training and team alignment. There is flexibility in selecting the remaining in office days, subject to operational requirements.

To support effective onboarding, relationship building and knowledge development, new joiners are expected to work predominantly from the office on a full time basis during their first few months with the firm.

Key responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each Essential Duty and Responsibility (the "Essential Duties") satisfactorily. The requirements listed are representative of the minimum knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the Essential Duties.

The successful candidate will:

• Review and analyse conflicts reports to identify potential conflicts of interest and business issues
• Conduct detailed corporate and regulatory research using external databases and online tools to verify new clients and matter parties
• Prepare comprehensive Conflicts Summaries for Partners outlining identified conflict and/or business issues and proposed resolutions, including conflict waivers, ethical screens and internal clearances
• Review and approve New Business Forms to ensure compliance with the firm's new business intake policies and procedures.
• Provide advice and assistance to Partners, Associates and support teams regarding the firm's new business intake policy and procedures
• Draft engagement letters, conflict waivers, and screens as required
• Participate in the weekly Conflicts Staff Lawyer meetings and contribute to knowledge sharing and process improvement
• Support the onboarding of lateral Partners and Associates from a conflicts and intake perspective
• Stay current with applicable professional conduct rules and conflicts regulations across all relevant jurisdictions

Candidate profile

The following attributes are essential for success in this role:

• Strong working knowledge of professional conduct rules, including the SRA Code of Conduct and ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct
• Admission to a recognised law society or bar in a jurisdiction where the firm has an office
• Excellent written and spoken English
• Strong legal analytical skills and sound judgement
• Commercial awareness and the ability to balance risk with business needs
• Highly organised with the ability to manage competing priorities under pressure
• Discreet, trustworthy and comfortable handling highly confidential information
• Confident communicator with strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach

Preferred:

• Previous conflicts or new business intake experience within a US or large international law firm
• Experience using corporate research and compliance screening tools such as CapitalIQ, Bureau van Dijk or WorldCheck
• Experience with the Intapp Open conflicts and new business intake solution
• Strong proficiency in Boolean searching and one or more enterprise conflicts search applications (such as Intapp Open, S&P Cap IQ, Orbis and WorldCheck)
• Anti-money laundering knowledge and experience
• Experience reviewing and negotiating engagement letters and outside counsel guidelines
• Experience delivering training to stakeholders
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills, particularly in Word and Excel

Benefits

• Annual discretionary performance bonus
• Non-contributory pension scheme - 5% employer contribution, with an additional 3% matched from you
• 33 days paid time off - inclusive of short-term sickness absence
• Private Medical Insurance
• Permanent Health Insurance
• Life Assurance - equivalent to four times your salary
• Health club contribution
• Interest-free season ticket loan
• Free GP service and regular health checks