Looking for a new gig? There may be a job opening over at Trump Tower.

Our ears perked upon hearing comments made at President Donald Trump’s last pre-inauguration press conference.

In the words of Sheri Dillon, a partner with law firm Morgan Lewis retained to structure new agreements pursuant to Trump’s business arrangements:

“He created a new position at the Trump Organization, the position of chief compliance counsel, whose responsibility will be to ensure that the Trump businesses are operating at the highest levels of integrity and not taking any actions that could be perceived as exploiting the office of the presidency.”

That job, for whoever gets hired, might very well be the toughest and most visible in all of the compliance world.

At the media availability, intended to address potential conflicts of interest inherent to the new President’s business holdings and dealings, Dillon also announced that an ethics adviser will be appointed to the management team of the Trump Organization. The written approval of this adviser will be required for new deals, actions, and transactions that could potentially raise ethics or conflicts of interest concerns.

A disclaimer before we go any further: This column is intended to be free of politically motivated commentary. That clarification is needed because, apparently, any ink spilled regarding the Trump Administration is immediately parsed into polarized interpretations. Are his efforts to combat conflicts of interests sufficient or a smokescreen? We leave that to you to decide. That said, the offered plan prompted us to look at it through a compliance lens.

Some background on what that plan entails. Dillon said its pieces—complete relinquishment of management, no foreign deals, ethics adviser approval of deals, sharply limited information rights—will “sever” President Trump from the Trump Organization.

Through a trust agreement, Trump has relinquished leadership and management of the Trump Organization to his sons, Don and Eric, and a longtime Trump executive, Allen Weisselberg. They will “have the authority to manage the Trump Organization and will make decisions for the duration of the presidency without any involvement whatsoever by [the President].” Trump will also resign from all officer and other positions he holds with the Trump Organization entities.

Trump, according to Dillon, has also disposed of all investments in publicly traded or easily liquidated investments. The trust will continue to hold preexisting illiquid, but valuable business assets, including Trump-owned, -operated, and -branded golf clubs, commercial rental properties, resorts, hotels, and the rights to royalties from preexisting licenses. Signature properties—Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago, 40 Wall Street—will all remain in the trust.

What should CCOs take away from the plan? What advice might we have for the Trump Organization’s incoming compliance counsel? A few suggestions.

Lesson #1: You can’t move a mountain, but try to crush as many rocks as you can. It is folly not to concede that the valuable advice of a compliance officer won’t sometimes fall upon deaf ears. Be prepared for that inevitability.

For Trump, his reluctance to sell off businesses he spent a lifetime building is completely understandable, at least on a personal, if not political, level. CCOs should fully expect to see variations of this standoff from the CEO and C-suite.

An example: You recommend severing ties with a problematic vendor, only to hit a wall of opposition from business unit managers with strong ties to that supplier; they argue that there is no other adequate source in terms of availability, reliability, or price.

The strategy? Persistence, persistence, persistence.

Your job as a CCO isn’t to win friends; it is to influence people. Arm yourself with any regulations, laws, or legal interpretations needed to make your case. Focus on the travails of industry peers. If a competitor was tripped up on a similar matter with a third party, use their bad press, regulatory settlements, and perhaps even Congressional admonishments to your advantage. The message: “We can, and must, do better or there will be consequences.” Don’t forget that you work for the company, and by extension investors, not necessarily any given executive—even if they sign the checks.

Given the new President’s love/hate relationship with Twitter, other problems will inevitably arise. Good things rarely happen when a CEO (or President, in this case) hunts and pecks their way through Facebook and Twitter. Among the side effects: Regulation FD violations and reputational harm, for example.

Lesson #2: Don’t assume the law is on your side. In Trump’s own words, he may not have actually had to worry about conflicts of interest anyway.

“I have a no-conflict situation because I'm president … I could actually run my business. I could actually run my business and run government at the same time. I don't like the way that looks, but I would be able to do that, if I wanted to.”

Translation: Existing conflicts of interest laws, notably U.S. code section 18 U.S.C. 208(a), do not apply to the president or the vice president; they are not required to separate themselves from their financial assets.

If legal conundrums cause headaches, however, don’t just take the CEO or GC’s word. Be prepared to seek outside counsel and other external experts as needed to ensure independence and objectivity.

Lesson #3: For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. If you inherit a potential hornet’s nest of problems, as the Trump Organization’s new compliance counsel will, it is daunting to think about where to start. A risk-based assessment will help prioritize which fires to put out first. When doing that risk inventory, consider any and all unintended consequences.

Dillon, for example (accept the assessment or not), explained why Trump was ill-advised to merely sell off his business or place them in a blind trust. “Selling would not eliminate possibilities of conflicts of interest,” she said. “In fact, it would exacerbate them ... If President-elect Trump sold his brand, he would be entitled to royalties for the use of it, and this would result in the trust retaining an interest in the brand without the ability to assure that it does not exploit the office of the presidency.”

Another problem: Whatever price was paid would be subject to criticism and scrutiny. Was the price too high? Is there pay-for-play? Was there an effort to curry favor?

Similarly, selling the business to Trump’s adult children “would require massive third-party debt sourced with multiple lenders, whose motives and willingness to participate would be questioned and undoubtedly investigated,” Dillon said. If the President were to finance the sale himself, he would merely retain the financial interests in the assets that he owns now.

Lesson #4: Keep the boss away from social media; acknowledge that you will fail in that task. “[Trump] has directed that no communications of the Trump Organization, including social media accounts, will reference or be tied to President Trump’s role as President of the United States or the office of the presidency,” Dillon said at the press conference.

Given the new President’s love/hate relationship with Twitter, other problems will inevitably arise. Good things rarely happen when a CEO (or President, in this case) hunts and pecks their way through Facebook and Twitter. Among the side effects: Regulation FD violations and reputational harm, for example.

Good luck trying to nip it in the bud. Even the most buttoned-down executive may have a secret soft spot for finding out the answer to “Which ‘Friends’ Character Are You?” as they scroll past fake news and baby pictures.

Lesson #5: C.Y.A. No matter what situation you step into as a CCO or compliance adviser—especially when working for a flamboyant or obstinate boss, make sure you document your efforts. In an age of personal liability, never attest to information or claims you cannot certify to the best of your knowledge. If there is a disagreement and management goes against your recommendation, document that impasse. Whether your office is in Trump Tower or the basement of a startup, never put your career and reputation on the line in order to be a “team player.”

A CCO, especially in a volatile situation, must always demand the necessary staff, resources, independence, and executive accede need to do their job. Don’t let it ever become a paper program.

On his “MoreSoftMoneyHardLaw” blog, Bob Bauer—a partner with Perkins Coie’s political law group and senior lecturer at the New York University School of Law—raises important questions for the Trump Organization’s new compliance and ethics team (and the public) to consider. “How exactly will it work, and with what degree of transparency allowing for an evaluation of the seriousness and effectiveness of the controls the Trump Organization plans to put in place?” he asks of the plan. How is a deal presented for review? “Will the ethics adviser be able to seek without restriction any information, either documents or through interviews, to supplement what is provided in the initial request?”

Because the adviser is not described as “independent,” on what terms would the adviser be hired, paid, and subject to dismissal?

Questions like these are exactly what any compliance hire must ask upfront before blindly wandering through a corporate mine field, especially when a larger-than-life boss casts both a shadow and a spotlight upon them.

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