Senior Compliance Specialist

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP•New York, NY

About The Position

Cleary Gottlieb is a global law firm with fourteen offices and approximately 1,100 lawyers from more than fifty countries. The Senior Compliance Specialist is a senior member of the Pricing Operations group within the Revenue Operations Team. The role owns the end-to-end billing compliance process, from reviewing client guidelines through implementation, ongoing monitoring, and resolving compliance issues, exercising sound judgment with minimal oversight. It is the primary point of contact for billing compliance matters and involves cross-functional coordination with Pricing Operations, eBilling, and the Global Client Account Team (Billing & Collections). The position manages interpretation and implementation of billing system rules to support attorney compliance with client guidelines; owns key client billing data, including payment terms and submission deadlines; leads setup and maintenance of matter plans; manages client cost constraints; and safeguards billing-related records across the firm's accounting and matter management systems. The position reports to the Senior Pricing Operations Manager. The Revenue Operations Team reports to the Director of Revenue.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
At least 5 years of corporate or law firm experience in billing, e-billing, pricing, or a related role.
Demonstrated track record of owning processes end to end.
Highly detail-oriented, with excellent writing, organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills.
Ability to interact confidently and professionally with partners, attorneys, clients, and senior business professionals.
Flexibility to work evenings and weekends as needed to meet partner deadlines and client expectations.
Advanced proficiency in Excel and Word, including experience creating partner-ready materials.
Ability to work independently, exercise sound professional judgment on matters with financial or client-relationship impact, and escalate appropriately.
Agility with technology and aptitude for learning new systems, with a strong commitment to continuous learning.

Nice To Haves

Law firm experience is preferred.
MBA, MS, or another advanced degree is a plus.

Responsibilities

Review client outside counsel guidelines, engagement letters, and billing policies; analyze and summarize key provisions for the Pricing Operations Manager and Risk Attorneys; and recommend firm positions on negotiable terms.
Design, implement, and maintain billing-system rules for client-specific guidelines, including restrictions on block billing, billing increments, timekeeper eligibility, and other common restrictions, with end-to-end accountability for accuracy.
Monitor updates to client outside counsel guidelines, assess their impact, and drive resolution of material changes.
Maintain an organized, current repository of client outside counsel guidelines and related billing policy documents, and improve processes for maintaining accuracy.
Coordinate with the Global Client Account Team and eBilling to ensure invoices meet client-specific formatting and submission requirements, resolving escalations end to end.
Partner with eBilling to onboard new clients to eBilling systems, configure client requirements, and support timely, successful invoice submission.
Set up and maintain matter plans, including client-required task and activity codes, from initial setup through ongoing maintenance.
Implement and maintain billing-system constraints for client expenses, disbursements, and other charges clients will not reimburse.
Track and communicate upcoming client billing deadlines to the Global Client Account Team and relevant billing staff.
Maintain a centralized calendar or tracking system for client billing deadlines and annual rate submission cycles, and improve its accuracy and efficiency.
Serve as the primary contact for billing compliance inquiries from the Client Account Team, Legal Executive Assistants, Legal Project Managers, and attorneys; resolve complex matters and determine when escalation is warranted.
Prepare and own reports and summaries on billing compliance activity, invoice rejection trends, and outside counsel guideline adherence; draw conclusions and recommend action.
Lead training on outside counsel guideline requirements, matter plan structures, cost constraint policies, and billing arrangement policies.
Lead billing compliance process improvement initiatives, identifying efficiency opportunities and implementing solutions with minimal oversight.