Legal Counsel - Capital Markets- London / Manchester / Edinburgh- Banking

Our client is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 35 countries and serving more than 100 markets. It is  is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing and collateral management services, and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team.

The EMEA Markets Team

EMEA Markets Legal supports seven key areas: (i) Clearance & Collateral Management; (ii) Liquidity; (iii) Segregation; (iv) FX, Derivatives and Capital Markets; (v) Securities Financing; (vi) Treasury; and (vii) Cross Markets.

The Role

VP Legal counsel within EMEA Capital Markets Legal. The role is primarily delivering effective Legal support in relation to revenue-generating activity, and the implementation of strategic and regulatory change in the EMEA Capital Markets business.
You will work with other lawyers in the EMEA Legal department (and other jurisdictions where appropriate), and jurisdiction-specific lawyers, delivering a high standard of legal advice that is tailored to the firm’s business models.

Key Responsibilities

• providing timely advice and assistance to EMEA Capital Markets business, risk and compliance partners, and to EMEA Treasury function in respect of its securities trading activities;
• providing legal advice and assistance on new legislation and regulation, new markets, new products and product development;
• negotiating documents to ensure compliance with all policies and procedures promulgated by the Legal Department;
• attendance at business acceptance committees;
• considering proposed amendments to existing service terms, deal documents/structures and informal/formal knowledge-sharing within the EMEA Legal department;
• building relationships with all Business Managers and Control Functions (Compliance, Risk, Legal) to ensure understanding with the Bank's regulatory and contractual obligations, identifying areas of improvement for documents policies and standards, and advising on the documentation for new services or markets;
• considering regulatory issues, including maintaining an understanding of existing and proposed regulatory requirements, trends and best practices for EMEA, and providing coverage for any regulatory implementation or remediation initiatives;
• maintaining understanding of US regulatory issues impacting the business through engagement US Legal department;
• supporting the instruction and management of external counsel, both in the UK and overseas (including assistance with analysis and collation of advice from such counsel); and
• providing assistance with the development of formal training sessions for business colleagues on relevant topics (e.g., documentary standards/policies/market industry issues/legal issues).

Qualifications

Requirements:

The successful candidate will have at least 7 years PQE with a legal and regulatory background in institutional/wholesale banking and specifically fixed income securities trading, brokerage and capital markets-related disciplines. Custody bank related experience is potentially an advantage but not vital. Experience of the following is highly desirable:

• fixed income securities trading, brokerage and capital markets legal and regulatory issues;
• markets-related regulatory frameworks, in particular implementation and advisory role on MIFID, FCA Rules; and
• in-house legal and transactional advice at a global financial services institution.

The successful candidate should also demonstrate:

• excellent interpersonal and communication skills;
• strong drafting and negotiation skills;
• good organisation skills;
• problem solving aptitude and an ability to identify practical solutions;
• flexible and adaptable working style able to handle a demanding workload and changing priorities;
• self-motivation;
• client-orientation and a willingness to cultivate good working relationships with colleagues;
• experience in appropriately balancing commercial flexibility and legal risk management; and
• strong team ethos.