Senior Conflicts & Governance Counsel (Fully Remote)

California-Barred Attorney Required

Join a forward-thinking law firm where you'll play a strategic role at the intersection of ethics, risk, and firm operations. As a fully remote Senior Conflicts & Governance Counsel, you'll advise leadership, attorneys, and business teams on complex conflicts and governance issues that shape firmwide decisions.

This role is ideal for a California-licensed attorney who enjoys analytical work, risk evaluation, and solving novel ethics questions. You'll operate with autonomy, high visibility, and the opportunity to influence policy across multiple departments.

What You'll Do

Lead Complex Conflicts & Ethical Analysis

• Independently manage conflicts clearance for the Firm's most sensitive and high-stakes matters, including lateral partner hires, group acquisitions, and major client engagements.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for novel, nuanced, and cross-jurisdictional conflicts issues.
• Use sound legal judgment to resolve issues or escalate appropriately to the Director of Governance, General Counsel, and Partners.

Draft, Review & Negotiate Key Legal Documents

• Draft and negotiate conflicts waivers, engagement letters, and related agreements ensuring compliance with Firm policies, ethical rules, and risk tolerance.
• Review vendor and third-party agreements, assessing legal, regulatory, and operational risks and ensuring alignment with Firm governance standards.
• Analyze client outside counsel guidelines (OCGs), identify deviations from Firm policies, assess risk implications, and craft tailored responses.

Advise Firm Leaders & Strengthen Governance Policy

• Provide direct guidance to attorneys and professional staff on conflicts, ethical walls, intake requirements, document retention, and governance rules.
• Support Firmwide processes involving conflicts checks, new business intake, audit letters, OCG compliance, and risk controls.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of governance systems, workflows, and policy development.

Conduct Legal Research & Provide Practical Guidance

• Research conflicts, ethics, lateral hiring, records disposition, and related governance issues.
• Provide clear, actionable legal recommendations to leadership and attorneys based on research findings.

Partner Across Departments

• Collaborate with Information Security, IT, Records, Finance, and Compliance on Firmwide risk management initiatives.
• Help implement consistent governance practices across all operational areas.

What You Bring

• Active California bar admission (required).
• Strong knowledge of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and state-specific ethics rules.
• Exceptional analytical skills with a proactive, solutions-oriented approach.
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment while maintaining responsiveness, accuracy, and confidentiality.
• Strong communication skills capable of advising attorneys and senior leadership.