Spotlight: Risk & Compliance Voices - Ruth King, Risk & Compliance Manager, JWM Solicitors

What does a career in Risk & Compliance actually look like in practice? It’s a function that’s grown significantly in importance in law and accountancy firms.

In this Spotlight: Risk & Compliance Voices series, we speak with professionals across the market to share real insights into the role, career development and hiring expectations.

For anyone building a career in Risk & Compliance, hearing directly from those already in the role is invaluable. Each interview offers an honest and practical perspective of the profession for those looking to progress in the field.

In our latest interview, we hear from Ruth King, Risk & Compliance Manager at JMW Solicitors. She discusses the career move that took her away from what she thought was her dream job and into legal risk & compliance, why career plans don't always need to go to plan, and how she has developed her own positive and authentic leadership style. Ruth also shares her views on strategic thinking, risk-based decision-making and what sets the strongest compliance professionals apart.

What key decisions shaped your career path?

I left university with the job I’d planned for years lined up. I went straight into Whitehall on a fast-track civil service scheme and thought my future career was sorted.

However, it only took me a few years to realise that, for a variety of reasons, this was not the job for me. Though it was difficult, walking away from my ‘dream job’ was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I had never looked into legal risk & compliance before applying for a junior role at the SRA, but I gave it a go and got the position. I haven’t looked back from that decision. I’ve found a job in risk & compliance interesting, fulfilling and suited to my skills.

I hope people early in their career can take from this that you don’t need to panic if your original career plans don’t work out, as you may well find something else that suits you better.

What do you wish you’d done earlier in your career?

When I was young in my career I was often told that I had to learn to be less smiley and positive to be taken seriously as a leader. I’ve since learnt that if you get results and are confident in your own abilities, others will take you seriously. There are many different ways of being a leader – including being smiley and positive! When I left my last role, many of my colleagues commented on how my ability to remain positive in the most stressful or difficult situations was a real asset.

Similarly, the amount of books and manuals and courses on management can make it seem like a daunting and complicated prospect. I’ve learnt that if you care about your job and care about your people, then you can’t go too far wrong as a manager. Management training can be helpful, but it only supplements those two basic key points.

What skill has become more important to you as you’ve become more senior?

Thinking and planning strategically is a skill that certainly becomes more important as you progress in your career. It combines experience in the day-to-day, practical basics and experience in the general landscape of the organisation and sector. Looking at both at the same time enables you to take decisions about what changes are needed and when.

Early on in your career it might be easy to think you should focus on learning the practical basics. However, you can also develop an understanding of the sector. A good place to start is to read the legal press or attend relevant free webinars and think about how your day-to-day work fits into the trends you’re reading about.

What do the best people in your team do consistently well?

The most important skill in risk and compliance is structuring your daily tasks based on risk. Anything risky needs to be escalated and/or prioritised, both in terms of acting quickly and attention to detail. Anything that is unlikely to cause a big problem can be done unsupervised and/or deprioritised.

This skill comes from looking at all tasks and understanding why they are important and the consequences if anything went wrong. Special care, for example, needs to paid to even seemingly mundane AML tasks as this area is a real risk to firms. The best people are neither over-confident, nor afraid to take decisions that do fall within their risk remit.

What do strong candidates do differently at interview?

Strong candidates show a genuine interest in and enthusiasm for the role at interview. In my experience many candidates have done their research on the organisation they’re applying to work at and can speak about its values and mission. Candidates also can often talk well about their previous roles and the transferrable skills they have learned there. Whilst these are all good things, it is important to show an interest in the day-to-day tasks they are being asked to do. For example, if the job description says you’ll be doing file reviews, talk about how and why file reviews interest you and what you could learn from carrying out file reviews.