Just under half of our employees in the UK work in one of our business departments. Below we have included a short overview of the majority, but not all, of the teams based in the UK.
These teams often have global reach, and have responsibilities both in the UK and outside of the UK on behalf of the global firm.
"We all, regardless of role, share a couple of things in common; we have an absolute passion for client service and for upholding the reputation of Clifford Chance and we believe enormously in the value of team work and strive to work closely together in a collegiate and fun way day-to-day."
Caroline Firstbrook, Chief Operating Officer
Our clients increasingly expect us to invest in new innovative approaches to reduce their costs, improve outcomes and enhance their service experience. Our leadership in this area is something we refer to as "Best Delivery". To better support our partners in designing innovative approaches to matter delivery, we are creating a cross-functional virtual team, distributed across our offices, including continuous improvement, legal project management, resource managers, pricing experts and legal tech delivery advisors.
Read moreOur central Risk, Legal and Clearance teams provide advice on a range of regulatory and compliance issues. Their expertise spans a variety of areas including internal audit, data protection, conflicts and clearance and AML. The teams lead our thinking on risk management and legal and regulatory compliance. They are central to ensuring that the firm and our people maintain the highest standards of legal and regulatory compliance, progressing and protecting the crucial interests and reputation of the firm.
The Clearance Centre is a central part of the firm's risk management function and reports ultimately to the firm's general counsel.
Working in the London Clearance Centre you will be part of a team responsible for the management of conflicts of interest and associated compliance issues across Clifford Chance's global practice, including Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Your primary responsibility will be making decisions on whether new mandates can be accepted in the context of current conflicts, regulatory rules, and internal policies.
The Brand, Communications & Marketing (BCM) function plays an important role in supporting the firm in achieving its vision and progressing its strategy. Increasing our ability and opportunities to engage with our clients and wider stakeholder groups through compelling, differentiated and data-driven marketing programmes will underpin our future strategic and commercial success.
We have an ambitious global strategy which puts clients at the very heart of everything the firm does. We have a clear mandate around developing our existing strengths and relationships whilst increasing our market share in new markets. Our Client & Market Development function is pivotal in making the firm's vision a reality. Client & Market Development teams work strategically with our Global Business Units - all with the same vision "to be the global law firm of choice for the world’s leading businesses of today and tomorrow".
The global Academy team deals with all training and development for the firm's partners, lawyers and business professionals staff in the regions of London, continental Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East. The Academy team consists of 19 members and is responsible for course delivery and operations based in Amsterdam and London.
Our IT vision is to be one global IT team delivering world class expertise, innovation and agile technology solutions, whilst ensuring the stability and security of all our IT platforms and services. Our industry is evolving fast and our clients have new demands. Emerging technologies and applications are creating new opportunities for transforming client relationships. As an IT function, we embrace and respond to these challenges, collaborating more and more with lawyers and Business Professionals teams to improve the way we deliver to clients.
Human Resources management forms a key part of the firm's infrastructure, and it is an important part of the firm's global strategy to attract, motivate and retain the highest quality people across the firm and to become a recognised employer of choice. In London the HR department includes HR advisors and specialists, payroll, analytics, reward and benefits, diversity and inclusion, HR business partners, graduate and experienced hire recruitment teams, and graduate development.
Clifford Chance Applied Solutions is where we combine our legal expertise with technology to solve complex client challenges and requirements. We are building a range of digital products that improve efficiency and consistency, free up resources and enhance business performance. We call them "Applied Solutions".
As a firm we are committed to continuously looking at ways to work smarter, driving engagement in our teams and delivering a world class service to our clients.
Dedicating a resource manager who is pivotal in staffing deals has optimised work levels and balanced work variety at an individual level. It has also freed up partner time to focus on our clients who are at the heart of everything we do. Resource managers act as trusted advisors to the partners in respect of manpower planning and have responsibility for allocating work for 100+ lawyers across a number of different groups within each practice area.
The business operations teams are at the heart of ensuring our clients' needs are met and that we deliver an outstanding service every time. Comprising a wide range of roles and teams encompassing reception, front desk, switchboard, health & safety, the document production unit, business continuity and office services, these teams ensure that the office runs smoothly 24 hours a day.
The Global Programme Group (GPG) works with the firm's leadership to shape the solutions required to meet the firm's strategy, and then delivers the emerging programmes and projects. The GPG is organised into a number of portfolios which map to the firm's global functional leads. The main portfolios are IT, finance, human resources and learning, business development, knowledge and information, risk and facilities.
Clifford Chance's knowledge programme aims to bring the best collective wisdom and knowledge to bear to enable the firm's people to deliver the highest quality client service and to work as efficiently and effectively as possible. The Central Knowledge Management team is dedicated to delivering knowledge solutions that help achieve this objective by optimising the capture, organisation, distribution, retrieval and re-use of our knowledge.
The goal of Information Services (IS) is to ensure all internal clients (fee earning and business professionals) have access to knowledge and information resources which meet business needs cost effectively.
Our Finance team is at the heart of our strategy, involved in a variety of areas including managing accounts, budgets and forecasts, providing trend and competitor analysis and other statistical support for partner presentations, as well as cash management, remuneration, internal audit, procurement and pricing, and ultimately ensuring that the firm is compliant, efficient and profitable. The Clifford Chance Procurement department provides best in class strategic guidance and support to the firm with regards to all external supplier interactions.
Our Legal support secretaries provide the practical support our lawyers need in order to deliver the best possible service to our clients on every matter, every time. The role of our secretaries is crucial in assisting our people in delivery and outstanding client experience, providing high-quality support to partners across our practice areas. This ranges from providing administrative support and diary management to producing a variety of complex documents. Legal support secretaries are also client-facing and communicate regularly with our clients on behalf of lawyers.
Everyone at Clifford Chance plays a part in helping the firm deliver consistently outstanding services. We work together in the truest sense – through trust, mutual support, openness, informality and respect for each other.
By joining our team you will feel the full benefit of the Clifford Chance environment, joining a professional supportive team that values your talents. But don’t just take our word for it....
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Whatever your area of expertise, you’ll find a range of career opportunities at Clifford Chance. And wherever you’re heading, Clifford Chance is where you can be true to your ambitions.
Find out more and apply for one of our opportunities.
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