Inhouse Solicitor/Legal Counsel

About Crowe

Crowe is a leading national audit, tax, advisory and consulting firm with global reach and local expertise. We are an independent member of Crowe Global, one of the top 10 accounting networks in the world, with access to more than 40,000 people in over 140+ countries and across more than 800+ offices globally.

Our vision is to be recognised as essential to the future success of our clients by helping them to answer tomorrow’s questions and make smart decisions that have lasting value through the highest quality audit, tax, advisory and consulting services.

Crowe is where talented people can realise their potential, are successful and enjoy what they do by making a positive difference to our clients, communities and each other.

At Crowe, our aim is to create a community where regardless of gender, identity, sexuality, race, ethnicity, education or background, everyone is valued, can flourish and achieve their full potential.

The Team

The Practice Protection team is responsible for protecting the people, finances and reputation of Crowe UK and is well-regarded within the business and outside.  We are a small team with a broad remit.  We advise the firm on all legal and risk issues, deal with complex contracts, transactions and investigations, as well as financial crime compliance, data protection, whistleblowing, enterprise risk and assurance.  There are ten people in the team, and we are recruiting for a second solicitor to work alongside the General Counsel/Head of Practice Protection. The role is a generalist one and requires a willingness to learn and demonstrate initiative.

The role

From time to time, you will:

• Advise on, manage and resolve contentious matters (i.e. regulatory investigations, complaints and litigation).  We tend to use external solicitors sparingly and you would be responsible, with supervision, for the commercial aspects, provisioning, drafting and any negotiation.
• Provide advice and guidance to teams on contracts of all kinds, e.g. engagement terms, third party release letters, supplier contracts and transactional documentation. We do not negotiate these for the business but provide necessary guidance and support.
• Deal with insurance coverage issues, help produce the insurance reporting pack and assist with professional indemnity insurance renewal each year.
• Prepare and assist with presentations to the business on legal matters, including lessons learned themes.
• Support the wider Practice Protection team; frequently legal and risk issues span multiple disciplines.
• Identify risk issues and be part of the fix.

We are looking for someone with:

• Not less than three years PQE.
• Ideally, some experience dealing with professional negligence litigation and/or regulatory investigations into accountants or other professional services firms. This can be taught but the better you understand the nature of the work, e.g. audit, the more valuable you are to the business.
• Sound judgment, a principled approach to work and an ability to solve problems. Occasionally, there will be no ‘right’ answer to a situation, nor precedent, so you need to apply some basic principles and work out the ‘least worst’ answer.
• Empathy: You are defending people and reputations. If there is a regulatory finding, that might be public, and their kids and grandkids might see it.
• Excellent social and communication skills.   This is a very hands-on role and you need to build trust. 
• A desire to put in place measures to fix not just the immediate problem, but to solve any wider structural or policy issues.
• Ideally, an interest in risk management, how people make decisions and behaviours.
• A willingness to make commercial decisions and not be afraid to be wrong.
• Good computer skills (e.g., Excel, Word, PowerPoint).

Why choose Crowe?

At Crowe we understand that it is often the culture and values of a firm that are most important when looking for a new workplace.

Whether you’re working in statutory audit, corporate tax or you’re a marketing or HR specialist, we place our people at the centre of everything that we do; promoting a collaborative, inclusive and friendly culture while remaining passionate about supporting and developing our people as they build their careers. We listen to our people and adapt to their changing needs alongside the needs of our growing business. We invest in our people to help them be the best they can be.

We value new ideas and innovation, and welcome people who are committed to making a difference by delivering excellent services to our people, clients and communities.

At Crowe, you will find the specialist knowledge, the resources and the commitment to help you build a satisfying and rewarding career, with continued learning and development, highly competitive salaries and flexible benefits.

We want to create the best environment for our people to grow and thrive and recognise the importance of offering a flexible approach to our working environment, which we would be happy to discuss with you further.

Crowe is committed to equal opportunity and diversity in recruitment and employment. We value the differences that a diverse workforce brings to our organisation, driving effectiveness in our teams and providing our clients with a quality service.

Entry and progression within the firm is determined solely by the application of objective criteria, personal performance and merit which is supported by a clearly defined career pathway..

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