Deputy General Counsel, Europe, Middle East & Africa Region

Deputy General Counsel, Europe, Middle East & Africa Region

Under the direction of the Firm's Global General Counsel (GC) and Director of Professional Responsibility (DPR), the Deputy General Counsel - Europe, Middle East & Africa Region (DGC--EMEA) is responsible for a wide variety of duties as part of the Office of General Counsel (OGC), including but not limited to assisting the OGC to manage risk and compliance specifically, and legal matters generally, throughout Baker McKenzie's EMEA Region, and providing legal advice and support to the EMEA Executive Committee members, regional leadership, office managing partners, and other business professionals on such issues.

Main responsibilities:
Help manage and mitigate risk and compliance and legal issues generally across Baker McKenzie's EMEA Region (Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Luxemburg, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom).

Overall accountability for the following:

• Oversight of the risk and compliance function for the EMEA Region, on behalf of and in close coordination with the Office of General Counsel, including AML and related issues, anti-bribery issues, and regional and local regulatory issues;
• Provision of legal advice and counselling to regional, office and practice group leadership;
• Provision of legal advice in the first instance to the business in the Region;
• Delivery of global risk and compliance training in the Region, and ensuring mandatory completion of same;
• Coalescing and leading the global risk community members in the Region, as a sub-set of the broader global risk community;
• Working with partners to resolve ethical and business conflict issues, including counsel guidelines advice.
• Support and advise regional leadership on Firm and Regional governance and constitutional issues.
• Support and advise regional and office leadership in relation to Firm structure, local structure and the regulation of legal services.
• Promote and embed consistent global Firm standards of good conduct, professional responsibility and ethics as articulated in the Firm's Code of Business Conduct, Attorney Manual, and relevant workplace and other policies, including conducting or coordinating workplace investigations.
• Assist with and advise on employment, labor, and human resources issues in the region, supporting and/or counselling management and the HR function as necessary.
• Assist with claims defense management and direction, as and when needed by the OGC.
• Assist in selecting, retaining and supervising outside counsel as directed by the GC, on claims, employment or other matters. Prepare and update budgets for legal matters within the OGC's area of responsibility. Negotiate fees. Evaluate performance of outside counsel and review legal bills for accuracy and cost efficiency.
• Assist in policy drafting and implementation.

The DGC-EMEA will be required to travel regularly within the EMEA Region, to deliver risk management training, assist in conducting internal investigations, and support global risk and compliance initiatives. Some travel outside of the region may be required annually.

Technical skills, qualifications and experience:

• The candidate must have the ability to work effectively in a team oriented, fast paced, highly visible environment where tasks are often sensitive and confidential in nature, and must demonstrate a detail oriented personality while maintaining a good grasp of the Firm's broader values and strategy.
• The candidate must have strong cross-cultural communication and organization skills, as well as the professional seasoning, credibility and judgment necessary to gain the respect and confidence of the Firm's senior management, distributed leadership and professionals.
• The candidate must have excellent research and writing skills, as well as excellent verbal communication skills, in order to distill legal problems and their solutions effectively.
• The candidate must have exceptional ability to collect, analyze, and interpret qualitative and quantitative data and information, as well as strong analytic and problem solving skills, with a focus on process and project management.
• The candidate must be able to work with minimum supervision, delegate when appropriate, and meet deadlines while under pressure and with frequent interruptions.
• The candidate must have outstanding interpersonal skills, including the ability to work effectively in a consensus-driven organization and to create consensus-based support for processes and outcomes, as well as work effectively with a highly motivated partner group.
• The candidate must have a strong moral compass, an unwavering commitment to the Firm's stated values, and the fortitude to objectively advise strong personalities.
• An undergraduate degree and a graduate law degree with at least fifteen years of broad-based experience in the legal profession or an inhouse legal department is required.
• In-house legal department and/or dedicated risk management experience is preferred.

Why Join Us?

Baker McKenzie is a truly global law firm. Founded in 1949, we advise many of the world's most dynamic and successful business organisations through our 13,200 people in 74 offices in 45 countries. Yet big does not mean impersonal. We work hard to ensure that everyone knows their role and has the support they need to perform it to the highest standard. Our culture encourages this - how we work, think and behave in a collaborative and fulfilling way.

To Apply

Please click on the Apply icon to start the online application process for this role. We will then be in touch with you once we have reviewed your application.

For more information about this position or to discuss any adjustments you may require during the process please contact in confidence, David Roberts, Recruitment Manager, on *************@bakermckenzie.com

Please review our Applicant Privacy Notice here

NO AGENCIES PLEASE

#J-18808-Ljbffr

Location: France, FR

Posted Date: 11/24/2024