Contracts Lawyer

Group Overview

The Client Terms Team, in which the Contracts Lawyer sits, forms part of the firm's General Counsel function providing crucial in-house legal support to the firm's offices globally.  The Team is primarily responsible for reviewing, negotiating and concluding contracts which the firm is entering into with clients as well as suppliers of goods and services to the firm. The role sits within a busy, established team responsible for ensuring that contracts concluded with suppliers and clients fall within the firm's risk policy and align with firm standards, practices and values.

Who you will work with

The Team works closely with the firm's Director of Business Intake, the Chief Risk & Compliance Officer, the Global Commercial Director and the Procurement Director as well as the firm's partners and Client and Market Development ("CMD") professionals.  The Team comprises a Senior Contracts Lawyer and a Contracts Executive, reporting to the firm's Head of Legal within the General Counsel's Office. 

In this role you will work closely with the firm's clients and perform the role of a trusted advisor to partners, lawyers and other business professionals within the firm.

You will also liaise with the firm's General Counsel, Chief Risk & Compliance Officer and members of the firm's Risk & Compliance Team to ensure commitments are consistent with the firm's standards and practices.

What you will be responsible for

The role will be to focus on:

• The review and negotiation of contracts under which the firm, globally, acts for its clients.
• Reviewing terms associated with the firm's use of technology tools and platforms mandated by clients.
• Updating terms associated with client use of legal technology tools and platforms made available by the firm.
• Reviewing and providing input on the contracts which the firm enters into with its material suppliers.
• Providing risk and legal input to Requests for Proposal ("RFPs") received from clients as well as client risk and compliance questionnaires.
• Providing risk and legal input to projects such as updates to the firm's standard Terms of Business, internal policies, processes and technology solutions.
• Supervising the Contracts Executive as and when needed.

What you will do

• Reviewing Framework Agreements, Outside Counsel Agreements, Policies and Codes, engagement letters, amendments to the firm's standard Terms of Business and similar documents received from clients ("Client Terms") to identify provisions which will require amendment/negotiation.
• Liaising with others within the firm on specialist topics (such as IT security, data privacy, conflicts).
• Coordinating with the Global Commercial Director where pricing is also under discussion with the relevant client.
• Incorporating provisions which the firm will want added to Client Terms.
• Preparing responses/mark-ups to Client Terms and communicating the firm's position to clients both internally (to relevant partners) and to external clients, including negotiating amendments.
• Dealing with requests from clients to amend the firm's Terms of Business.
• Updating internal guidance documents to ensure adherence to agreed terms.
• Reviewing and suggesting amendments to Terms of Use associated with third party technology tools and platforms mandated by clients in order to participate in tenders, benchmarking, assurance exercises and e-billing.
• Contributing to updates to the Terms of Use upon which the firm makes available legal technology solutions to its clients.
• Receiving RFPs and client risk or assurance questionnaires; advising CMD and internal clients on the most appropriate course of action.
• Undertaking initial review and delegating where appropriate to the firm's Client Questionnaire Team to coordinate and seek factual input from others within the firm.
• Assisting the Client Questionnaire Team to develop precedent responses to common questions and maintaining and updating that information.
• Assisting the Procurement Team to develop, update and implement its suite of template contracts for the supply of goods and services to the firm.
• Reviewing requests for amendments to the Procurement Team's standard contracts and draft contracts received from suppliers, typically where the Procurement Team has identified a need for legal assistance, in order to identify gaps / areas of concern / appropriate amendments.
• Preparing a risk summary to be considered before the firm enters into the contract.
• Assisting Procurement to negotiate amendments to supplier contracts.
• Contributing to the provision of training to the broader Procurement Team to increase their skill set.
• Keeping up-to-date with legal developments and considering if amendments to the firm's Terms of Business are necessary.
• Preparing draft amendments to the Terms of Business; and discussing those amendments with internal stakeholders.
• Reviewing draft policies and procedures developed by other teams within the firm and providing feedback.
• Contributing to internal projects involving development and roll-out of new technology relevant to the work of the Client Terms Team.

Your career experience so far

Skills:

• You will be detailed focussed with strong drafting skills. 
• Flexible to the demands of others and have the ability to work under pressure and on your own initiative.
• The ability to plan and organise effectively in order to meet business priorities.
• You will have the ability to adapt quickly to new processes and technology.
• The ability to form working relationships with others, both inside and outside of the immediate team.
• Sound awareness of commercial issues and ability to resolve them pragmatically.
• Flexible and effective verbal and written communication skills and an ability to build and maintain relationships with all members of the Firm. 
• You will be commercially minded with strong analytical, organisational, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work both unsupervised and as part of a team. 

Experience:

• Prior experience as a practicing lawyer.
• Experience in reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts. 
• Previous experience of gathering and analysing information, by using it to solve problems in a methodical and practical way.

Qualifications:

• A Law degree.

How we will support you

From your first day with us, you will have varied opportunities to continuously grow and develop your skills and knowledge. From formal training, informal coaching and mentoring through to skills-based and technical training and on the job learning.

You will be working with partners, lawyers and business professionals from all of the firm's offices and practice areas.

You will have exposure to work which often involves complex, high value matters that frequently headline in the financial and business press, and also work involving emerging markets and technologies.

You will develop an unbeatable multi-disciplinary skill set as well as client facing skills whilst working with some of the best-known market leaders in their respective practice areas.

We will provide the opportunity for you to develop as a recognised practitioner in the field.

Who we are

As one of the leading international law firms, our work spans jurisdictions, cultures, and languages – and so do our people.

We believe every career at Clifford Chance should be rewarding and stimulating –  full of opportunities to learn, thrive, and grow. That’s why we’re so proud of our inclusive, friendly and collaborative approach to work. 

You’ll find our clients in commercial and industrial sectors, the financial investor community, governments, regulators, trade bodies, and not-for-profit organisations.

But no matter who they are or why they’ve reached out to us, we provide a world-class service every step of the way. And that’s possible thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and conscientious approach to work that you’ll find across all our teams.

Whatever your area of expertise, Clifford Chance is a place where the brightest minds meet.

Hybrid Working

This role follows our 'balanced' hybrid working approach and as long as business needs allow, you will be supported to work in a hybrid way with the expectation of working from the office for a minimum of 50% of your time.

Equal opportunities statement

At Clifford Chance, we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team and their families, our firm and society.

We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age.  This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment including pay, promotion, training, transfer and every other aspect of employment.

We have a variety of flourishing employee networks. These networks are a place for colleagues to share experiences and advocate for change wherever they see an opportunity for improvement.

Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our firm. 

Find out more about our inclusive culture here.

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