Audit Response & Intake Systems Analyst (Multiple Offices)

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, a global Am Law 50 firm, has an immediate opening for an Audit Response & Intake Systems Analyst. We are considering candidates in any of our U.S. offices including Century City, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, San Diego (Del Mar), San Diego (Downtown), San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Washington DC. There is only one opening. Job Summary The Audit Response & Intake Systems Analyst's primary duty is to manage and direct the firm’s client audit response function, exercising independent judgment and discretion to ensure audit letter requests are processed accurately, consistently, and timely in accordance with firm procedures, Office of the General Counsel guidance, and client/auditor deadlines. This position directs, supervises, and evaluates the work of team members involved in audit response intake, workflow administration, client scope review, timekeeper polling coordination, draft preparation support, status tracking, quality control, escalation management, and related compliance functions, and regularly exercises discretion in resolving scope ambiguities, prioritizing competing deadlines, and determining when matters require escalation to attorneys or OGC stakeholders. The role serves as a key operational liaison among Business Intake, Conflicts, Compliance, paralegal teams, attorneys, billing partners, practice assistants, and OGC stakeholders, and is relied upon to exercise independent judgment on matters significant to the firm's risk management, client relationships, and regulatory compliance.

Essential Functions

• Direct and prioritize the centralized Audit Response mailbox and workflow queue, exercising judgment to triage, assign, and advance requests based on risk, complexity, and deadline sensitivity.
• Evaluate and resolve ambiguities in key intake details, including requesting entity, client/matter information, audit period, response due date, effective date, responding partner, scope of search, billing instructions, and required attachments, determining appropriate follow-up or escalation where information is incomplete or inconsistent.
• Lead and exercise independent judgment in quality-control review of audit response workflow entries, determining whether prior audit letters, auditor correspondence, client scope reports, workflow notes, and executed response documents are properly named, attached, tracked, and stored, and resolving any deficiencies identified.
• Coordinate the timekeeper polling process and related follow-up to ensure matter descriptions, prior-year responses, attorney input, and required updates are obtained and escalated appropriately.
• Serve as a first-level escalation point for audit response questions, workflow issues, assignment concerns, deadline conflicts, and requests requiring OGC or audit attorney review.
• Develop and maintain process documentation, job aids, tracking reports, and refresher training materials for audit response procedures and workflow best practices.

Required Qualifications

• Five or more years of experience in a law firm, legal operations, compliance, conflicts, business intake, audit response, risk management, or similar legal administrative function.
• Prior experience supervising, leading, training, or mentoring legal support professionals, analysts, paralegals, or intake/compliance staff.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise independent judgment and discretion in interpreting and resolving ambiguous or conflicting audit response workflows, client/matter data, legal billing records, matter descriptions, timekeeper polling issues, attorney review processes, and document execution/storage matters, including situations without clearly established procedures.
• Ability to review complex information for completeness, accuracy, consistency, and risk-sensitive issues under strict deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate professionally with partners, attorneys, paralegals, assistants, management, auditors, and internal stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities, assign work effectively, follow up on pending items, and meet urgent deadlines in a high-volume environment.
• Strong judgment, discretion, confidentiality, problem-solving skills, and customer-service orientation.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, workflow systems, document management systems, and database/search tools.

Education Preferred: Bachelor’s degree

Required: Associate degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience

Computer/Software Knowledge Preferred: Experience with audit response workflow tools, NetDocuments, iManage, DocuSign/SignatureBridge, Elite/Aderant, Capital IQ, Dun & Bradstreet, and similar legal, billing, document management, or research platforms.

Required: Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, SharePoint, workflow/task tracking systems, document management systems, and database search tools.

Work Environment

• Indoor office work environment in an office, cubicle, or similar workstation; hybrid or remote work may be available in accordance with firm policy and business needs.
• Occasional after-hours, weekend, or holiday work may be required to address urgent audit response deadlines, workflow issues, attorney review needs, or client/auditor response requirements.

Travel Requirements Willing to travel occasionally, approximately 1-2 times per year, for department trainings, meetings, seminars, or firm business needs.

California: The salary range for this position is $100,000 - $115,000 per year.

Illinois: The salary range for this position is: $100,000 - $115,000 per year. This position is eligible for bonuses. This position is also eligible for medical, vision, and dental insurance. Please note that the foregoing compensation and benefit information is a good-faith assessment associated with this position only and is provided pursuant to Illinois Equal Pay Act.

Washington DC: The pay range for this position is: $100,000 - $115,000 per year. Medical, vision, and dental coverage is available, including coverage for dependents and domestic partners. Please note that the foregoing compensation and benefit information is a good-faith assessment associated with this position as of the time of this posting and is provided pursuant to the District of Columbia Wage Transparency Omnibus Amendment Act of 2023.

New York: The pay range for this position is: $100,000 - $115,000 per year. Please note that the foregoing compensation information is a good-faith assessment associated with this position only and is provided pursuant to the New York City Salary Transparency Law.

We will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

Sheppard is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, protected medical condition, physical or mental disability, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by law.