A Day in the Life of a Senior Associate – Risk & Compliance, Eloise Butterworth, Foot Anstey

Welcome to our blog series – A Day in the Life – where we demystify risk and compliance careers by sharing the insights and experiences of professionals to offer a behind-the-scenes look at their workday.

Navigating a career in risk and compliance can be confusing - a title at one firm may have a very different set of responsibilities than at another. By pulling back the curtain, we hope to shed light on what different professionals in different environments do and the challenges they face, and to show how diverse and rewarding a career in risk and compliance can be.

In this blog, we hear from Eloise Butterworth, a Senior Associate - Risk & Compliance at Foot Anstey, a national law firm. She offers a glimpse into her responsibilities and experiences within the field.

How did you get into law firm risk and compliance? How did you first find out about this career path? Why did you choose to work in this space?

I entered the legal sector straight after my A-levels having absolutely zero legal experience or expectation as to what the future might look like. To be honest – out of the jobs I applied for, it was the only one I got an interview for! If things had turned out differently I could be working in floristry or car sales right now!

After working my way up the ranks from Office Junior (hello – lots of photocopying and shredding) I settled into Family Law, eventually qualifying as a Chartered Legal Executive in 2018 (10 years after that accidental first job). During my time in Family Law, I dealt with everything from Legal Aid work to high-net-worth matrimonial finance work and it was a rollercoaster of a time – working full-time and studying distance learning to qualify. 

Sadly – despite the monumental amount of hard work I put in, it all came crashing down in early 2020 when I finally admitted to myself that a career in family law just wasn’t for me. It wasn't sustainable emotionally for me – as someone who is hugely empathetic. Burying myself in extra commitments to distract myself from my unrest eventually caught up with me and I made the decision to step away from family law. I was fortunate that the pandemic provided me with some much-needed thinking time during which I wrestled with leaving the profession altogether. 

Rather than making such a big decision at a time when everything felt so uncertain – I convinced my then firm to let me have a go at the Compliance Officer role that had recently become available following a staff departure. It afforded me the opportunity to try something new in an environment I was familiar with – and within a matter of weeks I knew I'd really found "my thing". So really it was nothing more than a happy accident and giant leap of faith at a really difficult time. 

Tell us about your career journey so far and how it led you to your current role. What were the key roles and experiences that prepared you to get your current position?

Starting at the absolute bottom of the law firm food chain has given me a solid grounding as to the operational side of a law firm, something which I really reap the rewards of now. 

My background as a fee earner, and specifically in family law, has given me so many transferrable skills. I spent my early career dealing with highly emotive situations, so I learned early on the value in staying calm in a crisis.  The analytical requirements of dealing with high value matrimonial work helped me to adapt the analytical side of financial crime, especially source of funds and wealth. I'm naturally curious (nosey!) which is essential when working in risk. But most of all – I'm a people person. That's what drew me to family law in the first place and it is the same thing I love about risk and compliance. I like talking to our fee earners, management, other professionals, tech providers to really understand their struggles. For me, it isn't about being the smartest or most technical, but instead about being able to have a positive impact on those I work with. 

What does a typical day look like in your role? Tell us about your responsibilities and what you get up to on a day-to-day basis.

I'm not sure there is such a thing!

Having only recently moved firms to Foot Anstey, I am lucky at the moment to have a bit more time than I usually would as I'm thankfully being afford the opportunity to find my feet. When moving firms there is a lot to get your head around, even more so when you move somewhere bigger to what you are used to. This has been a whole new experience for me.  

Generally speaking, though, you are spinning quite a lot of plates. You need to be on top of the reactive jobs, but not lose momentum of the proactive jobs. It can sometimes feel like a difficult balancing act but one thing for sure is that you will never be bored! My previous role was as a complete generalist – so I dealt with everything from claims, complaints, AML, accreditations and anything else which didn’t have a home! My recent move has allowed me to focus more on my areas of interest – financial crime, ethics and code of conduct. So that could be anything from advising on a complex CDD matter, source of funds, reviewing our firm wide risk assessment or reviewing data from file reviews for patterns and trends.

An important part of my day-to-day is to bring on any juniors who I work alongside, ensuring that we are developing the next generation of experts in this field. It is a great time to be involved in compliance which is no doubt a respected career in its own right now. 

If someone shadowed you for a day, what do you think would surprise them the most?

The variety of issues which come across your desk and the depth of knowledge you need to have in relation to the various practice areas and their associated risk. That's what I love – I am continuously learning about different practice areas.

I think they'd also be surprised about how much I laugh during the day! I honestly can find humour in most situations. I'm a whirlwind fueled by black coffee and chocolate with a genuine enthusiasm for my day job and I hope I never lose that. 

What are the most rewarding aspects of your job?

The risk team in any firm play an integral part in the business – we keep people safe! Safe from fines, safe from prison (worst case scenario!) and safe from the regulator. Whilst people might not always be queuing up to admit it – wherever I've worked I've always felt that fee earners value the role we play and what we bring to the table. My colleagues are like my clients and I still want to help them and add value wherever possible. They know that in a time of crisis, or where they feel stuck, I'm on the other end of the phone to help them. 

More widely – the people within the risk and compliance space are some of the most incredible people you could hope to connect with. The professional community is supportive and inspirational and I feel very lucky to have found my tribe. 

What are the biggest challenges you face in your job?

Keeping up to date with the never-ending changes and developments in regulations. Everything is always evolving and it is a lot to keep up with. Thankfully I work in a well-resourced function in a large firm – but for those that do this role in much smaller firms and with a lot fewer people or alongside a fee earning role, it can be a real struggle. 

Internally – a key challenge for all compliance professionals is winning over the hearts and minds of colleagues. Building relationships within the business is imperative. I'm not here to put obstacles in their way, say no or block business and it is important they know that. 

What are the most valuable lessons you’ve learned while working in law firm risk and compliance?

It's all about the carrot not the stick! As a family lawyer, it could be difficult to get clients to take your advice. They were emotive and the issues at play were deeply personal. Moving to risk and compliance and trying to get colleagues onboard with risk management plans, AML etc was a whole new experience. I soon learnt that I needed to change tactics! Ultimately compliance is a journey – and I need them to come on that journey with me. I accept they aren't going to be wild about it, but I need them to understand why it is important and the protection that it provides to them, the firm and their clients. What is needed to achieve this varies depending on the person or sector. Sometimes it is easy – sometimes it is like walking through treacle! But it's all part of the job. You can have the best policies in place, supported by the best compliance function, but if nobody follows the policies or engages with the compliance team you are going to have problems! 

What skills and attributes do you think are needed to excel in a law firm risk and compliance career?

My top 3 would be:

• Curiosity – you need an unwavering appetite to pick things apart, ask the difficult questions and really get to the bottom of things. 
• Resilience – this job is not for the faint hearted. 
• Being a people person – yes, a large part of this job relies on technical knowledge but to be successful in practice, and to be a true asset to your firm, you need to be all about the people. 

What are your future plans for your career? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

5 years ago, I had all but decided to leave law and look how that worked out! So I've learned not to plan too far ahead. I'll continue to follow my gut and take some big swings and see where I end up!

How do you think the risk and compliance space will change over the next 10 years? What challenges do you think law firm risk and compliance professionals will face in the future?

In all honesty, I think that in 10 years' time the risk and compliance space will be unrecognisable from today. So much can happen in 10 years – globally, politically, technologically. The sector clearly needs for there to be some fairly big changes when it comes to regulation.  I think the key is always trying to stay ahead of the curve but that's easier said than done.

Thank you for taking the time to read this day in the life of a compliance professional!

We hope these pieces can offer useful insights, as there’s a lot to learn from each professional’s perspective, so make sure to explore the rest of the series to gain even more insights. 

If you’re curious to learn more - or you just want to chat about your next step in compliance - don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to discuss opportunities, provide support, and help you navigate your journey in compliance. 

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