Trust Compliance & Operations Lead

Clark-Wilson-LLP; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and Wellness Coverage

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Pregnancy and Parental Leave Support

Time Away

Community and Culture

Professional Growth

Referral Program

Job summary

Clark Wilson LLP in British Columbia is seeking a Trust Lead to oversee trust administration, financial controls, and regulatory compliance. You will coordinate daily trust activity, liaising with lawyers, accounting staff, and auditors to ensure accurate documentation and timely processing.

The role emphasizes risk identification, standardizing practices, and supporting continuous operation. A background in trust or legal accounting and related post-secondary education is preferred.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of trust accounting practices, applicable Law Society requirements, regulatory obligations, and internal controls.
• Demonstrated experience processing trust transactions, including receipts, payouts, transfers, cheques, wire transfers, and related documentation.
• Post-secondary education in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related discipline is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manage trust receipts by processing retainer and non-retainer funds received through wire transfers, cheques, credit cards, and direct deposits, ensuring transactions are accurately recorded and appropriately documented.
• Review and maintain supporting documentation for trust transactions and ensure records are complete, accurate, and properly filed.
• Monitor and follow up on unclaimed trust funds, working closely with lawyers and legal assistants to resolve outstanding items.
• Administer stale-dated cheques, including obtaining instructions from responsible lawyers, reversing transactions in the case management system, coordinating stop payments with the bank, and issuing replacement cheques.
• Process trust fund transfers between pooled and invested trust accounts, including preparing Letters of Direction, obtaining required approvals and signatures, and coordinating transactions with banking representatives.
• Manage daily trust transfers required to settle outstanding bills and maintain accurate trust account records.
• Process trust payouts by cheque and wire transfer, ensuring all required forms, approvals, signatures, and supporting documentation are complete and compliant with applicable requirements.
• Coordinate electronic fund transfers, including obtaining appropriate lawyer approvals and ensuring Law Society EFT documentation is properly completed.
• Process trust transfers between clients and matters, including coordinating USD/CAD currency conversions and ensuring all transactions are accurately documented and recorded.
• Administer invested trust savings accounts, including organizing monthly bank statements and accurately posting interest to client files.
• Coordinate annual T3 and T5 tax reporting, including collecting, organizing, and distributing tax forms to and from clients.
• Coordinate and process trust-related transactions for projects, ensuring transactions are completed accurately and within required timelines.
• Provide vacation coverage for trust-related transactions and responsibilities as required to support continuity of operations.

Skills

Organizational skills

Time management

Communication

Attention to detail

Teamwork

Independence

Education

Post-secondary education in Accounting/Finance/Business Administration or related discipline

Tools

CMS

Banking portals

Job description

Clark Wilson LLP in British Columbia is seeking a Trust Lead to oversee trust administration, financial controls, and regulatory compliance. You will coordinate daily trust activity, liaising with lawyers, accounting staff, and auditors to ensure accurate documentation and timely processing.

The role emphasizes risk identification, standardizing practices, and supporting continuous operation. A background in trust or legal accounting and related post-secondary education is preferred.