Risk Lawyer

AJ FOX COMPLIANCE; Leeds; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

AJ FOX COMPLIANCE is seeking a Risk Lawyer for a leading commercial law firm based in Leeds. You will join a growing, highly collaborative team to deliver a comprehensive legal risk and regulatory compliance service across practice groups and operations.

The role requires a qualified solicitor or barrister in England & Wales with a current practicing certificate and a strong track record in law firm risk management, with familiarity with SRA Standards and Regulations, POCA, AML, and data

Qualifications

• Qualified solicitor or barrister in England & Wales with current practicing certificate.
• Strong track record in law firm risk management and regulatory compliance.
• Familiar with SRA Standards and Regulations, POCA, AML, Bribery Act, MARS, and ECCTA.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert legal and regulatory advice on SRA Standards and Regulations and conflicts of interest.
• Advise on financial crime and regulatory frameworks (POCA, AML, Bribery Act, MARS, ECCTA).
• Oversee data protection governance, GDPR data breach responses and DSARs.
• Review and negotiate client retainers, outside counsel guidelines, panel terms, and supplier agreements.
• Support professional indemnity risk, insurers reporting, and client/third-party complaints handling.
• Design and implement firm-wide compliance policies and internal audit programmes.
• Develop and deliver compliance training for partners, fee earners and staff.
• Assist with annual compliance cycles including RF1 and ISO audits and Cyber Essentials Plus.

Skills

Legal risk management

Regulatory compliance

AML compliance

Data privacy/GDPR

SRA standards knowledge

Contract negotiation

Education

Qualified solicitor or barrister in England & Wales

Job description

We are working with a leading commercial law firm to hire a Risk Lawyer. In this role, you will join a growing, highly collaborative team of experts to deliver a comprehensive legal risk and regulatory compliance service across all practice groups and business operations.

The firm is looking for a qualified solicitor or barrister in England & Wales with a current practicing certificate and a strong track record in law firm risk management. We would like to hear from candidates who possess a deep familiarity with common law, UCTA, and the principles of professional negligence. You should have an awareness of the Solicitors Accounts Rules and a calm, commercially aware approach that allows you to deliver complex legal risk messages confidently.

The responsibilities will include:

• Providing expert legal and regulatory advice to fee earners, business support functions, and senior management on the SRA Standards and Regulations, ethical boundaries, and complex conflicts of interest.
• Advising on high-stakes financial crime and regulatory frameworks, including POCA, anti-money laundering, the Bribery Act, Market Abuse Regulations, and ECCTA.
• Managing data protection governance, including evaluating data breaches and coordinating responses to Data Subject Access Requests under GDPR.
• Reviewing, drafting, and negotiating bespoke client retainers, outside counsel guidelines, panel terms, and supplier agreements, with a strong focus on limitations of liability.
• Advising legal teams on potential professional indemnity claims or circumstances, reporting matters to insurers, and managing responses to first-tier client and third-party complaints.
• Designing, updating, and implementing robust firm-wide compliance policies, risk procedures, and internal audit programmes.
• Developing and delivering comprehensive compliance training and inductions to partners, fee earners, and staff at all levels of seniority.
• Assisting with major annual compliance cycles, including the firm’s professional indemnity insurance renewal, SRA bulk practicing certificate renewal (RF1), and statutory registrations.
• Supporting the firm through external compliance assessments, including annual ISO audits (9001, 27001, 22301, 14001) and Cyber Essentials Plus recertifications.