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The Conflicts Attorney is accountable for conducting research and providing analysis relating to the firm’s ethical duties in accordance with the applicable rules of professional conduct and firm policies. This includes accurate conflicts clearances, ethics screens and conflicts waivers, including escalation of appropriate matters. Ensures that ethical issues are appropriately escalated to the Director of Conflicts/Ethics Counsel, Director of Risk Management, Senior Director of Risk Management/Associate General Counsel, or General Counsel. Ensures adequate assistance is provided to Firm's General Counsel, Senior Director of Risk Management/Associate General Counsel, Director of Conflicts/Ethics Counsel, or Director of Risk Management on rules of professional conduct, as needed. This position can be resident in Kansas City, MO, Atlanta, GA or Washington, DC.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Accountable for managing the ethics screen process under the supervision of the Director of Risk Management.
• Accountable for final review of conflicts analysis for all new hires, including professional staff and lateral attorney hires, and implementation of steps to cure identified conflicts, including establishing ethics screens and obtaining waivers.
• Accountable for managing the waiver process, including drafting, logging, and filing waivers.
• Ensures that the Risk Management department's function and performance are visible and accountable to key stakeholders.
• Accountable for ideas for intra-departmental and cross-functional improvements in operations or processes.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Juris Doctor required.
• Substantive experience addressing conflicts and ethics in a law firm environment.
• Demonstrated ability to clear conflicts of interest, providing thorough analysis and proposed resolutions, including drafting specific waivers and ethics screen memoranda, as well as identifying unwaivable conflicts.
• Demonstrated ability to explain complex conflicts analyses to affected attorneys and address their requirements while maintaining a focus on the risk tolerance of the organization.
• Demonstrated ability to manage the ethics screen process, including identification of individuals to be screened from clients and matters, drafting ethical wall memoranda, implementation of ethical walls, maintenance of and modifications to ethical walls, and periodic review to determine the need for ongoing or updated restrictions.
• Demonstrated ability to manage the waiver process, including drafting joint representation waivers and adverse transactional waivers, logging waivers, and documenting and filing executed waivers.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complicated and detailed analyses to attorneys or management in writing or orally. Demonstrated excellence in written and oral communication, including presenting before a group of people and training groups of various sizes on risk management systems or procedures. Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with a diverse group of attorneys and staff and to provide good customer service at all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and analyze and review potential conflicts regarding new hires and lateral attorney candidates, including knowledge of specialized conflicts rules; to implement all necessary screening and obtain waivers; and to evaluate applicable rules regarding post-employment obligations of former government attorneys.
• Demonstrated ability to draft and revise engagement letters and to review outside counsel guidelines and similar documents for alignment with Firm policies, collaborating with the affected attorneys to negotiate these with clients.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and apply the rules of professional conduct, including those governing concurrent client conflicts, former client conflicts, imputed conflicts, unauthorized practice of law, confidentiality, advertising, and withdrawing from representation.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct legal research, presenting findings in written form, and complete special projects and support new initiatives as requested by the Director of Conflicts/Ethics Counsel, Director of Risk Management, or Senior Director of Risk Management/Associate General Counsel.
• Demonstrated proficiency with Intapp or other conflicts software and Elite or other accounting software. Familiarity with Dun & Bradstreet Family Tree Portal or other corporate-family research tools. Ability to obtain necessary data from financial applications. Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel and demonstrated familiarity with PowerPoint.
• Demonstrated ability to organize and prioritize tasks, including appropriately balancing the needs of various external stakeholders.

ABOUT LITTLER At Littler, we understand that workplace issues can’t wait. With access to more than 1,800 employment attorneys in over 100 offices around the world, our clients don’t have to. We aim to go beyond best practices, creating solutions that help clients navigate a complex business world. What’s distinct about our approach? With deep experience and resources that are local, everywhere, we are fully focused on your business. With a diverse team of the brightest minds, we foster a culture that celebrates original thinking. And with powerful proprietary technology, we disrupt the status quo—delivering groundbreaking innovation that prepares employers not just for what’s happening today, but for what’s likely to happen tomorrow. For over 75 years, our firm has harnessed these strengths to offer fresh perspectives on each matter we advise, litigate, mediate, and negotiate. Because at Littler, we’re fueled by ingenuity and inspired by you.

BENEFITS

We offer a generous benefits package to full-time and part-time employees working a minimum of 20 hours a week. Benefits include comprehensive health, dental and vision plan for you, your spouse/domestic partner and children. In addition, we provide a superior 401(k) plan, ample time off programs, mental health programs, family building and caregiving, generous paid parental leave, life insurance, disability insurance, a wellness program, flexible spending accounts, and an employee referral bonus program. For more information about our benefits visit: www.littler.com/benefits/state-details.

For more information about our firm visit: www.littler.com.

This opportunity is open to submissions by professional recruiters with an active, signed fee agreement through our dedicated Search Firm Portal.

For inquiries regarding this opportunity, please e-mail Jennifer Carrion at jcarrion@littler.com with "Conflicts Attorney" in the subject line.

Littler Mendelson is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. This job description is a general description of the types of responsibilities that are required of an individual in this job. It is not intended to be a complete list of the responsibilities, duties and skills that may be required for this job.