Location: Derby
Salary: £50-£60K per annum
Purpose of the Role
The Senior Compliance Solicitor or Legal Exec will play a key role in safeguarding the business
through robust governance, risk management, and legal compliance oversight. Working closely with
the firm’s COLP, they will lead on legal compliance, internal risk reporting, policy development,
escalations, and training across the organisation.
Experience in contentious probate or exposure to probate-related disputes is highly desirable due to
the nature of the business and the risk profile of our work.
Key Responsibilities
1. Governance & Risk Management
- Oversee and develop the firm’s risk management framework, ensuring all areas of the
business are assessed and mitigations are identified and implemented.
- Maintain and continuously review the firm’s risk and breach registers providing insightful
commentary on trends or patterns
- Lead internal and branch office audits, escalating areas of weakness and ensuring corrective
action is completed
- Provide monthly written and verbal reports to the COLP and Compliance Committee,
highlighting key compliance themes, risks, breaches, and emerging trends
- Prepare and deliver board-level updates around risk, compliance, and regulatory priorities.
2. Legal & Regulatory Compliance
- Ensure compliance with the SRA Standards and Regulations, GDPR, AML obligations, and
other relevant legal frameworks
- Monitor and interpret changes in legislation relevant to the business (e.g., probate practice,
data protection, financial sanctions), advising the COLP and Board accordingly
- Lead and complete all regulatory reporting, ensuring all returns are submitted accurately
and within required deadlines
- Serve as the primary escalation point for compliance-related queries across the business
3. Policy, Process & Internal Control
- Draft, review, and implement internal compliance policies and procedures, ensuring they are
aligned with legislation and firm-wide operational practices
- Embed consistency across the branch network by ensuring processes support high-quality
client outcomes and regulatory compliance.
- Review contractual arrangements to ensure compliance with GDPR and SRA frameworks.
4. Specialist Support – Contentious Probate and High-Risk cases (Desirable)
- Provide expert compliance guidance on probate risk issues, including contentious probate
areas such as will challenges, disputes over estate administration, or potential conflicts.
- Support teams handling higher-risk cases, offering legal insight that strengthens compliance
controls and reduces exposure.
- Deal with any internally triaged “high risk” complaints to ensure the legal position is
appropriately considered and addressed in any response from the Company and advise
where necessary of Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) notifications.
5. Training & Culture
- Own and deliver the annual compliance training plan, ensuring high standards of regulatory
understanding across the firm
- Promote a proactive compliance culture, acting as an ambassador for excellence and
professionalism
- Build strong working relationships with internal stakeholders and relevant external
authorities, including the SRA
Experience & Qualifications
Essential
- Qualified Solicitor or Chartered Legal Executive (England & Wales).
- Significant experience in legal compliance, risk management, or regulatory oversight within a
law firm.
- Strong working knowledge of SRA regulations, professional ethics, and governance
frameworks.
- Proven ability to draft policies, undertake internal audits, and provide high-level risk
analysis.
- Excellent communication skills with the confidence to influence senior stakeholders.
Desirable
- Experience in contentious probate or professional negligence litigation work (e.g will
challenges, trust disputes, contested estate administration)
- Experience working in a multi-site legal practice or regulated professional services
environment.
Key Competencies
- Strong analytical and investigative skills.
- High level of professional integrity and sound judgment.
- Ability to translate regulatory requirements into practical business processes.
- Effective relationship-builder with strong stakeholder management capability.
- Skilled communicator for training and complex reporting.
- Calm and decisive under pressure.
What This Role Delivers to the Business
- Strengthened governance and organisational resilience.
- Reduced regulatory risk and improved audit outcomes.
- Consistent compliance culture across all branch offices.
- High-quality, timely reporting enabling informed decision-making by the COLP/Compliance
Committee
