The opportunity
We are seeking a Head of Client & Matter Inception (CMI) to take overall leadership, ownership and strategic management of Osborne Clarke’s Client & Matter Inception (CMI) function. This is a senior, firm‑wide role with end‑to‑end accountability for our client and matter intake service – from initial instruction through to matter opening and related risk clearances – ensuring our approach meets regulatory obligations, aligns with our risk appetite and enables our commercial strategy.
You will be a senior member of the Risk & Compliance (R&C) team, and have line management responsibility for the CMI Manager, AML Manager and CMI Ops Manager (together, the “CMI Managers”), providing indirect leadership to Team Leads and the wider CMI team in the UK and internationally. You will lead and develop the CMI function, drive continuous improvement and innovation, and act as the primary CMI lead for major firm‑wide projects and for coordination across our international offices.
This is a permanent role, based out of our Bristol office but working to a hybrid arrangement.
About the role
Purpose of the job
Overall leadership, ownership and strategic management of OC’s Client & Matter Inception (CMI) function, including its end‑to‑end service, people, policies, processes and systems. The Head of CMI is the end‑to‑end service owner for CMI, accountable for the delivery and performance of the CMI service from initial instruction through to matter opening and related risk clearances. This includes accountability for service levels (SLAs), KPIs/OKRs, demand management, operational capacity and overall service performance and experience.
The Head of CMI is responsible for setting the strategic direction for CMI, ensuring that the firm’s client and matter intake is managed in a way that meets regulatory obligations (including SRA Code of Conduct, AML, sanctions, data protection and professional conduct rules), aligns with the firm’s risk appetite, and enables the firm’s commercial strategy.
The Head of CMI leads and develops the CMI team through the CMI Managers, drives continuous improvement and innovation, and acts as the primary CMI lead for major firm‑wide projects. The role also has responsibility for building and maintaining strong relationships with international offices (including jurisdictions such as Germany and Belgium that have their own local processing capability) and for coordinating and aligning CMI approaches and standards across OC’s network.
Key responsibilities
- Provide strategic leadership and end‑to‑end ownership of the CMI function, setting the vision, governance framework and multi‑year roadmap, and ensuring the service is aligned with OC’s strategy, risk appetite and regulatory obligations.
- Act as the firm‑wide service owner for the intake‑to‑matter‑opening lifecycle, defining and maintaining SLAs, KPIs/OKRs and other performance measures, actively managing demand and capacity, and ensuring a proportionate, user‑friendly and commercially aware service.
- Own CMI policies, risk governance and regulatory controls (including conflicts, client and matter opening, risk classification, AML/financial crime, sanctions and data protection), working closely with the MLRO, Deputy MLRO, COLP, COFA and Director of R&C, and representing OC with regulators, auditors and key clients where required.
- Lead, support and develop the CMI team through the CMI Managers, setting structure and resourcing, fostering an inclusive, high‑performance culture, overseeing performance and succession planning, and acting as a senior point of escalation for HR‑related issues.
- Provide senior operational oversight of the CMI service across UK and international offices, ensuring processes and workflows are clearly documented and standardised, monitoring service performance and stakeholder experience, managing volumes and peaks, and handling escalations on sensitive, high‑impact or complex matters.
- Drive cross‑functional and international collaboration, working with AML/CMI, Conflicts, Finance, Practice Group leaders and local CMI teams to ensure that CMI processes are integrated with wider risk and financial controls, support sector and client strategies, and are coordinated and aligned across jurisdictions.
- Provide strategic leadership for CMI systems, data and continuous improvement, acting as product owner for tools such as Intapp Open/Risk and Elite / 3E, sponsoring technology and data projects, ensuring robust MI and reporting to senior leadership and leading CMI‑related elements of major firm‑wide transformation and change initiatives.
- Exercise overall authority for people, risk and project decisions within CMI, including responsibility for culture, capability and succession, influence over governance and work‑acceptance matters, and input into (and where delegated, management of) budgets for the CMI function and its systems.
Person specification
Strategic leadership and vision
Significant experience leading a CMI or closely related risk/work‑acceptance function in a law firm or comparable professional services environment, with the ability to develop and articulate a clear vision and roadmap that aligns with firm strategy and regulatory expectations, and to translate this into actionable plans for people, processes, systems and data.
Influence, stakeholder management and communication
Excellent communicator and influencer, able to operate credibly at partner, Board and senior management level, build strong relationships across practices, offices and Business Services, and manage the stakeholder experience for end‑to‑end services, including gathering feedback and providing clear, concise and persuasive written and oral advice to senior stakeholders, auditors and clients.
Commerciality and professional judgement
Strong understanding of the commercial drivers of a global law firm and the role of CMI in enabling profitable, sustainable growth; exercises mature professional judgement in ambiguous situations, balancing regulatory, risk and commercial considerations under time pressure, and able to make and stand behind difficult work‑acceptance decisions where required.
Change leadership and continuous improvement
Proven track record of leading significant change and transformation in a risk/compliance, CMI or operations context (such as system implementations, process redesign or organisational change), bringing people with them through effective communication and engagement, and using data and feedback to drive continuous improvement and innovation.
People leadership and management
Extensive experience leading and developing teams of managers and senior specialists; able to set clear expectations, provide constructive feedback, manage performance and succession, and build an inclusive, high‑performance culture that supports wellbeing and professional development across a multi‑layered function.
Technical competence
Deep and current knowledge of CMI in a law firm context, including client and matter opening, conflicts interfaces, AML/financial crime, sanctions, data protection and relevant professional conduct requirements (including SRA Standards & Regulations), together with extensive experience of CMI and related systems (e.g. Elite / 3E, Intapp Open / Risk) and of using operational MI (backlog, cycle times, throughput, quality/error rates and utilisation) to manage an end‑to‑end service.
Organisation, resilience and career mindset
Highly organised and resilient, able to manage multiple strategic initiatives and senior stakeholder demands alongside BAU oversight; has an established career in regulatory and risk management, is self‑motivated and committed to ongoing personal and professional development, and role‑models OC’s values, professional standards and wider R&C leadership culture.
