Compliance Officer

Watson Farley & Williams is an international law firm advising on complex disputes and transactions through local knowledge and an integrated international network.  We have a strong sector focus, combining our technical excellence with deep industry knowledge across Energy, Transport and associated Infrastructure.

The firm has achieved rapid expansion and year-on-year growth owed almost entirely to a focused strategy, strong leadership and the quality of its people.  The next stage in the firm’s growth plan is to achieve full-service strength within core sectors across the global platform.

We strive for excellence in all that we do and view investment in our people as key to achieving our business goals and values, which rest on developing deep and long-lasting relationships externally and internally through respect, sharing, communication and integrity.

Our global practice is integrated across our offices in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and North America delivering consistently high levels of service across borders and locally through a deep understanding of local business customs and culture.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace to attract and retain the most talented people from all backgrounds and cultures.  We believe in celebrating difference and that people from any background can rise to the top, ensuring opportunities to develop and progress are available for all.

The core Compliance Team at Watson Farley and Williams is based between London and Singapore and is comprised of: Director of Risk & Compliance, Compliance Manager, Assistant Compliance Manager, Senior Compliance Officers, Compliance Officers and a Compliance Administrator. As part of our strategy to globalise the team, we also have a Senior Compliance Officer in Germany and Greece.

This role involves working with the Compliance team to advise and support fee-earners and support staff in the Athens office on a broad range of issues including but not limited to anti-money laundering, conflicts, sanctions and other applicable regulatory requirements. This is a critical function, and involves some analysis and report writing, research into companies, as well as advising and liaising with lawyers and staff across the firm.

Gemma Webb, Compliance Manager.

The role of the Compliance Officer is very broad and involves the day to day activities listed below. You will also be involved in various compliance projects.

The day to day activities of the role includes:

• Reviewing new client and matter requests to ensure that all relevant information has been provided to satisfy our regulatory requirements and liaising with fee earners on obtaining any outstanding information.
• Analysing conflict check requests to identify any legal and commercial conflicts and liaising with partners accordingly.
• Undertaking PEP, sanctions and background checks as required and advising fee earners how to navigate any results.
• Reviewing and advising fee earners on escrow agreements from a compliance perspective.
• Reviewing and maintaining registers including process agency matters, gifts and hospitality, data protection, PEPs and Enhanced risk matters.
• Dealing with ad hoc queries.
• Training.
• Supporting the wider team with ongoing and ad hoc Compliance Projects as set out below.

Compliance Projects

Compliance projects are shared amongst the team on rotation (this is not an exhaustive list and is likely to change):

• Professional indemnity insurance renewal
• General insurance renewals
• Practising Certificate renewals
• Intranet/IT projects upgrades
• Tasks involved with new office opening

The ideal candidate will have previous experience in anti-money laundering policies and procedures and regulatory compliance including the following:

• Knowledge of relevant legislation, regulations and law society/bar association guidance.
• Experience of performing CDD checks on entities and individuals in a law firm.

• Experience of undertaking and analysing conflict checks.
• Exposure to Intapp software products.
• MS Office skills.
• Greek speaker preferred.

• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Confidence and strong communication skills.
• Attention to detail.
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and adjust to changing priorities in a professional manner.
• Willingness and ability to assume new tasks and responsibilities with a strong service orientation.

We offer a competitive benefits and wellbeing package for all employees.

The Firm promotes a culture of agility and flexibility and is fully supportive of flexible working arrangements where these can be accommodated.

Respect for different backgrounds and perspectives is at the heart of our firm’s core values and we recognise the importance of fostering an inclusive environment that allows everyone to reach their full potential. This is a key feature of our Global Code of Conduct, which places diversity and inclusion at the centre of our firm’s ways of working.

We believe that exceptional client service can only be delivered by exceptional people. For this reason, we aim to attract, retain and develop the best talent from a wide range of backgrounds. All decisions relating to employment will be objective and based on merit and ability.

We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are as inclusive and barrier-free as possible. This includes making adjustments for candidates with a disability or long-term health condition.  If you require adjustments to be made at any stage of the recruitment process, we’d encourage you to get in touch with a member of our team who would be happy to discuss options with you.