Senior Manager, Conflicts Attorneys (International)

Summary:

Gibson Dunn is a leading global law firm, advising clients on significant transactions and disputes. Our exceptional teams craft and deploy creative legal strategies that are meticulously tailored to every matter, however complex or high-stakes. The firm’s work is distinguished by a unique combination of precision and vision.

Based in London, the Senior Manager, Conflicts Attorneys (International) will lead the Firm's Conflicts Attorneys outside the United States and oversee the day-to-day operation of the conflicts clearance function across the Firm's international offices. The Senior Manager will serve as the senior escalation point for complex and novel conflicts of interest questions arising under the professional conduct rules of the jurisdictions in which the Firm's international offices operate and will interface directly with the Firm's partners regarding approval of new matters.

The Senior Manager will continue to personally handle the most complex and sensitive clearances while building, training, and leading a growing team, with the balance of the role shifting toward leadership as the team develops. The Senior Manager will also be responsible for the operational health of the international function — workload allocation and coverage across European, Middle Eastern, and Asian time zones, turnaround and service levels, precedent and template libraries, training programmes, and the continued development of the Firm's conflicts and ethical screening technology — and will handle additional assignments from the Firm's General Counsel and Legal Operations team.

This role reports to the Director, Conflicts Attorneys & Assistant General Counsel.

Responsibilities include:

• Supervising the Conflicts Attorneys based outside the United States, including day-to-day workload allocation, queue and escalation management, and coordination of coverage across the Firm's international offices and time zones.
• Managing the daily handover of the global clearance queue to and from the U.S. team, ensuring continuous coverage and consistent treatment of matters spanning multiple regions.
• Providing mentoring, training, and ongoing performance feedback to Conflicts Attorneys and Resolution Analysts, and participating in goal setting, annual reviews, and hiring for the team.
• Serving as the senior point of escalation for complex, novel, or high-sensitivity conflicts of interest issues arising in the Firm's international offices, and exercising independent judgment on clearance decisions within delegated authority.
• Analysing conflict of interest reports for new Firm representations to identify potential conflict problems and ensure new matters and attorney hires are compliant with the Firm's conflict and risk management policies and procedures.
• Resolving conflict of interest issues, including negotiating and obtaining necessary waivers and consents and drafting information barrier and ethics wall memos, related to the Firm's clearance of new clients, and new matters.
• Advising on matters where the professional conduct rules of two or more jurisdictions apply or diverge — including differences in the availability of information barriers, the form and timing of client consent, and the treatment of former client and imputed conflicts — and coordinating with the U.S. team where U.S. rules are also engaged.
• Analysing information provided with new matter requests for compliance with Firm policies and applicable rules of professional conduct, and reviewing and editing draft engagement letters for compliance with same.
• Proactively communicating with partners, practice leadership, and Firm management regarding complex conflicts issues, including issues with the potential to affect firm-wide risk.
• Overseeing review of client outside counsel guidelines and the assessment of the Firm's ability to comply, and escalating problematic terms to the Office of General Counsel.
• Consulting with partners, the Office of General Counsel, and information governance to create and maintain effective screening restrictions, and monitoring the ongoing integrity of information barriers.
• Working with information governance and the Office of General Counsel on the data protection implications of conflicts intake and clearance, including cross-border transfer of conflicts data and retention of clearance records consistent with applicable law.
• Developing, documenting, and maintaining the Firm's international conflicts policies, procedures, precedent library, and frameworks of analysis for recurring conflicts issues in specific practice areas and jurisdictions.
• Establishing and reporting on service levels and quality metrics for the international clearance process, and identifying and implementing process improvements to improve turnaround, consistency, and defensibility.
• Partnering with Legal Operations and Information Systems on the configuration, testing, and enhancement of conflicts clearance and ethical screening technology, including ensuring international requirements are reflected in system and workflow design.
• Designing and delivering orientation and ongoing training for attorneys and staff in the international offices regarding the new matter approval process, conflicts policies, and screening obligations.
• Monitoring developments in the professional conduct rules and regulatory guidance of relevant jurisdictions and updating Firm policy and training accordingly.
• Maintaining thorough and accurate records of all conflicts resolutions and related communications.
• Providing coverage for the Director, Conflicts Attorneys & Assistant General Counsel as needed.
• Performing other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Substantial knowledge of conflict-of-interest principles under the professional conduct rules of England and Wales, together with working knowledge of, or the demonstrated ability to develop expertise in, the rules applicable in the other jurisdictions in which the Firm's international offices operate.
• Demonstrated experience analysing and resolving conflicts of interest in a large or international law firm environment, including on cross-border matters where more than one set of rules applies.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and lead a team of lawyers and analysts working across multiple offices and time zones, including delegating effectively and holding others accountable for quality and timeliness.
• Sound and decisive judgment, with the confidence to advise partners and Firm leadership on sensitive matters and to escalate appropriately.
• Commitment to confidentiality, professionalism, and Gibson Dunn's values of excellence, collaboration, and innovation, and the ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with appropriate discretion.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing, with attorneys, staff, and Firm leadership across different jurisdictions and working cultures, and to manage competing priorities and tight deadlines while maintaining accuracy and follow-through.
• Deep working knowledge of conflicts clearance and ethical screening technology (Intapp or equivalent), with the ability to lead requirements gathering and workflow design discussions based on departmental and Firm needs.
• Willingness to accommodate occasional early or late calls to cover other time zones, and to travel to other offices on an occasional basis.
• Additional language skills relevant to the Firm's international offices are advantageous but not required.

Experience:

• Qualified lawyer/solicitor.
• Minimum of 6 years of experience in a law firm conflicts, professional responsibility, risk, or general counsel function.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring, training, and reviewing the work of other conflicts lawyers or analysts; formal supervisory experience preferred.
• Experience at a large or global law firm strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting offices in more than one jurisdiction preferred.

 

Gibson Dunn will consider for employment qualified Applicants with Criminal Histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of local law.