Associate - Governance & Risk

Why Michelmores?

Michelmores is the destination law firm for the ambitious, the imaginative and the distinctive. We help enterprises and individuals navigate change to find a positive future.

We are a flexible, friendly and inclusive organisation with as clear a focus on fresh thinking as we have on growth and success. We value and nurture our people’s potential and inspiration and give them a creative, open and collaborative environment in which to develop a career and succeed.

We believe that whatever your legal experience, you’ll find Michelmores different. From day one we encourage our people to forge relationships and expand their understanding and knowledge of areas that interest them— developing an understanding of commercial challenges and opportunities, rather than just knowing the law. We nurture creative and commercial thinking to help in your long‑term career success – it mirrors our approach to ensuring the very best outcomes for our clients too.

Finally, our culture really is something special to us. At Michelmores we take pride in how we all work together, whatever our role or seniority, and you’ll really grow and thrive because we encourage people to develop in areas that excite them or make them different. That’s how we nurture the brightest and best lawyers.

This is an excellent opportunity to join the Firm's Governance & Risk team, working with partners, lawyers and business services colleagues to provide legal and regulatory support on a wide range of risk and compliance matters.

The role has a particular focus on claims and complaints, and so would suit someone previously working in a professional indemnity role, or with broader risk and compliance experience but with a willingness to develop in this area.

The current team comprises 7 lawyers (4 Senior Associates, 1 Associate and a Paralegal), led by a Partner, and the Firm's Head of Governance & Risk.

Effective risk management is a key part of the Firm's governance structure and its culture. The Governance and Risk team of specialists work with the Firm and its lawyers to ensure we maintain the highest standards of professional conduct, effectively mitigate risk and are compliant with all our legal and regulatory requirements. The team's focus is very much on providing timely, pragmatic and solution‑orientated risk advice and guidance.

We pride ourselves on developing ways to continually improve the Firm's processes and the delivery of consistently high‑quality services to our clients, which differentiate us from our competitors and enhances our client care.

We take a flexible, agile approach to working patterns. As a team we agree together on the best working arrangements that will enable each of us to provide exceptional client service, to collaborate and connect with colleagues, and to achieve the right home/work balance.

As a Firm we are committed to supporting our people across all levels to achieve the balance they need. We are open to talk flexible working and to empower any candidate to put forward a flexible working pattern to meet their needs.

We are flexible about the location for this role, but you would need to have either Exeter, Bristol or Cheltenham as your 'base' office.

We are looking for somebody who will be a good fit for our team, understand our values, and thrive in our culture. Ideally, we are looking for:

• A qualified lawyer with at least 2 years' experience, ideally in a risk and compliance role, or moving from a professional indemnity or litigation fee‑earning role.
• Knowledge of conflicts of interest, AML and financial crime is highly desirable.
• Proven experience of managing key processes and procedures is desirable.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• An ability to work within a team and to communicate effectively with all levels across the firm.
• Efficient and responsive individuals with an ability to influence senior stakeholders.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills in order to meet the demands of challenging and commercial internal clients, as well as the ability to deal with competing priorities.
• Ability to…