Profile: Bob Clark

Tell us about your career so far?

Aimlessly unaware of what I wanted to do for a job or career, I started with Halifax Bank of Scotland, as it was known in 2007 before it was acquired by Lloyds TSB in 2009 and became The Lloyds Banking Group. Like so many others I met during my time at the group, I joined with the attitude of “I'll work here until I figure out what I want to do.” Only after 14 years would I leave for the Law Society of Scotland.

I started out as a customer service adviser for commercial banking, where I worked for some time in various roles and teams, learning as much each day about working in general as I did banking!

In 2011 a manager and mentor of mine moved to a rapidly expanding area of the group which covered all areas of compliance and money laundering prevention, specifically settling in a team who were responsible for undertaking transaction monitoring reviews and reporting any findings of potential money laundering to the National Crime Agency.

That same mentor encouraged me to join the team, and having done so I quickly identified that the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Compliance teams within the group were not only an area growing in importance but also a place where I enjoyed the work and could forge a career path through obtaining experience and knowledge.

After nearly four years in the transaction monitoring unit and having worked my way up the ladder, I looked to gain further promotion and experience in the wider compliance areas of the group and took up a new role in what would eventually be called Financial Crime Technologies.
In this role, I was responsible for undertaking impact assessments and managing projects that created change across the group and had the potential to impact the AML/Compliance teams.

It was also during my time in this role that I obtained my Diploma in Anti-Money Laundering from the International Compliance Association.

Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many people might have thought it a good idea to stay put in situations where they were fortunate enough to continue working. For me though, I saw the changes as an opportunity to make one myself and seek out a new challenge, in a kind of now or never moment!

By doing so, I looked outwith Lloyds Banking Group and the financial sector for the first time in my career, seeking a new and interesting challenge that would help me develop my own skills and knowledge.
This ultimately led me to the Society, which I joined in May 2021 as AML risk manager.

What motivated you to get involved with the work of the Society?

Starting to look outwith not only Lloyds Banking Group but also the financial sector was daunting at first, but I knew I wanted a new challenge and experience. I started to think of other sectors where my AML experience could be utilised, which included the legal sector, and I discovered the Law Society of Scotland.

One of the most interesting aspects to me of the Society was that the role would allow me to operate across the entire Scottish legal landscape, applying my knowledge to the sector while also developing and learning.

The fact that the Society is a much smaller organisation than the likes of Lloyds Banking Group also appealed to me. I felt that the nature of the Society would allow me to see more clearly the benefit and impact of the work I do, and this has been evident since joining.

Initial conversations with the existing members of the AML team at the Society throughout the interview process also reassured that belief. It was made instantly clear to me that the team are very proud of the work they do, and also showed me how much they have been able to achieve. This was also a great motivator. 

What have you found most interesting so far in your work at the Law Society?

Hard to pinpoint this one.

In my own role, it’s got to be the experience of simply talking with practices and solicitors.

Engaging with individuals around AML and compliance, and hearing from them about their experiences and providing guidance, has been as interesting as it has eyeopening. No two members are the same in circumstances, so there is a large breadth of experience and knowledge across the membership.

In general, it’s just seeing the amount and variation of work the Society does as a whole for the Scottish legal sector and those in the profession. Having come from outside the sector I find it interesting to engage with others across the Society and find out what they are doing day-to-day.  

What are the main issues that you think the Society/the profession has to address at the moment? 

From my own role’s perspective, I think it’s fair to say that the financial sector is much further on in the journey to combating money laundering/financial crime, and also has more spending power across the board to do so compared to the legal sector.

That’s not to say that improvements can’t be and aren’t being made, and I feel the AML team at the Society have a massive role to play in doing so.

The work which started prior to me joining the Society involving an annual AML certificate for in-scope members looks to have gone a long way to enabling our supervised population to take a risk-based approach to AML controls, and this continues to be our number one tool to help us understand specific risks, trends, or issues across individual practices.

The use of this tool combined with ongoing engagement, support and training, along with a willingness for participation from practices and individuals in the profession, will always in my mind drive forward progression and improvements which everyone involved can be proud of. 

What keeps you busy outside of work?

Outside of work I'm generally kept ridiculously busy as full-time entertainer to my two-year-old son Ben!

I have a love of both playing (badly) and watching football, and I am a long time season ticket holder at Ibrox where I love watching Rangers. In terms of playing, unfortunately, five a side is my level.

I also love music and attending as many live performances as I can. I am attempting to make my way through my bucket list of my must-see favourite artistes, or at least those that are still alive and playing!

Pre-pandemic I enjoyed travelling when possible to varying destinations, my wife being much more of a sun worshipper than I am. I usually just enjoy finding and testing the local beer!

Hopefully that is something we can get back to soon. and Ben can enjoy his first ever ride in an aeroplane.

The Law Society of Scotland's AML certificate portal will be open for submissions until 30 April 2022. Find out more.