Financial Crime Associate - London

We are looking for Corporate Crime and Disputes Associate with an enthusiasm for the law, excellent communication skills and experience in advising primarily corporate clients on financial crime matters such as bribery, money-laundering and fraud, internal investigations and compliance controls. Sanctions experience would be a bonus. 

About CMS

CMS is a Future Facing firm with more than 70 offices in over 40 countries and 5,000+ lawyers worldwide. We combine deep local market understanding with a global perspective, we are passionate about building strong relationships with the clients we support, our people and the communities we work in.

We take a bold, dynamic and agile approach to ensure our clients are able to face the future with confidence. We are driven by technology and readily embrace the possibilities it opens up for developing new and better ways of delivering legal services. Our bold approach to a changing future ensures that we nurture our employees and recruit top talent. We don’t just want to face the future we want to shape it.

About the Role

The team you will be joining is small but fast-growing and very collegiate. Strong team-working skills are essential as are open-mindedness and an ability to learn new skills and ways of working quickly. While the key specialist team is small, it regularly operates as the specialist element within a larger team to support clients in conducting investigations and managing the outcome of that work. That will regularly involve working with a wider team of litigators, support staff and specialists from other groups such as corporate, employment, regulatory or competition, to provide joined up and holistic advice on all relevant issues.

You will work on corporate investigations (both internal investigations and investigations by external authorities), criminal defence and advice on discrete legal issues. You will assist clients with implementing compliance controls. Where appropriate, you will support the wider disputes team on matters connected with fraud, including asset-recovery matters.  You will also on occasion support other practice areas where criminal matters arise.

The role will also include an important business development aspect, as part of the firm’s wider Risk and Investigations Group, including taking acting part in group marketing and training initiatives.

Your responsibilities will include:

- Using technical expertise to deliver sound advice to clients on complex issues and support for clients in criminal or regulatory investigations and proceedings 

- Providing efficient professional support for partners 

- Developing professional relationships with clients and colleagues across the firm 

- Supporting the wider team in developing business and raising profile

- Contributing and building know-how 

- Contributing to learned articles for publication

- Achieving target utilisation rates for fee earning time 

- Ensuring daily closure of time entries 

- Managing/supervising the work of others including junior lawyers and trainees, and lawyers in other teams

- Ensuring key financial elements including billing management

About You

Qualifications & Experience

- To meet the demands of this role we envisage 3-6 PQE

- Degree level educated

- CPE/PGDL 

- Appropriate level of post qualification experience in relevant professional area 

- Deep experience in corporate / financial crime and ancillary matters 

- Experience of conducting investigations 

- Excellent professional track record in comparable firm

Skills & Knowledge
- Excellent analytical skills 

- Sound judgement 

- Excellent drafting skills 

- Ability to translate legal theory into practical advice

Equal Opportunities

At CMS, a next-generation mindset is woven into all we do. We're diverse, supportive and inclusive, embracing our corporate social responsibility and creating a culture of sustainability in which every one of our people, whatever their background, can maximise their potential and thrive.

For further information about CMS' diversity initiatives and programmes, please click here to view the diversity pages on our website.

Please apply online or contact a member of the Talent Acquisition team if you have any questions. For information regarding our competitive range of benefits please visit our Rewards & Benefits page on our website.

Please note that CMS have a preferred agency panel in place. Only applications submitted via the portal at the point of instruction will be accepted.

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