Legal Counsel – Trading | ED&F Man Corporate | London, UK Featured in City of London

We are seeking a qualified lawyer with four to eight years of post‑qualification experience to join our high‑performing legal team as Legal Counsel – Trading. Reporting to the Senior Legal Counsel – Trading, you will partner daily with specialist subject‑matter experts and work closely with trading, operations, logistics, credit and risk, compliance, treasury, tax, and finance colleagues. This role is hands‑on, commercial, and transaction‑focused, supporting the full trade lifecycle across origination, execution, logistics, risk and finance. You will be a trusted advisor to the trading desks and functional partners, balancing speed and commerciality with prudent risk management and regulatory compliance.

Established in 1783, ED&F Man is an agricultural commodities merchant with 2,800 people in 43 countries and annual revenue in excess of $8 bn. We trade sugar, coffee, molasses, animal feed and fish oils. Corporate responsibility is ingrained in our culture. We are passionate about sustainable production, limit environmental impact of our operations and actively support the communities in which we work.

Key Accountabilities

• You will provide end‑to‑end legal support for physical trading in agricultural commodities, including sugar, coffee, animal feed and cotton.
• Core responsibilities include drafting, negotiating and advising on:

• Physical trading contracts using in‑house and other industry‑standard templates, including bespoke terms, Incoterms, quality and weight determinations, title and risk transfer, force majeure, price and hedge mechanics, quality claims, and default remedies.
• Shipping, storage and logistics arrangements, including charterparties, bills of lading, letters of indemnity, laytime/demurrage claims, warehouse agreements, transport and collateral management agreements.
• Disputes, investigations and claims management, including trade arbitration procedures, settlement strategy, and oversight of external counsel in arbitration and litigation.
• Trade finance, including letters of credit (UCP 600) and documentary collections (URC 522).
• Compliance with sanctions, export controls, anti‑bribery and anti‑corruption, anti‑money laundering (AML) and know‑your‑customer (KYC), competition and antitrust, market conduct rules in relevant jurisdictions, working closely with compliance and risk.
• Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and supply chain obligations, including traceability, sustainability certifications, responsible sourcing and compliance with evolving deforestation regulations.
• Internal governance, policies and training, including targeted training for traders, operations and functions.

ESSENTIAL Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• English qualified lawyer with an LLB (or equivalent) and current admission to practice.
• 4–8 years’ post‑qualification experience gained in a top‑tier law firm and/or in‑house at a commodities trading house, merchant or agribusiness.
• Demonstrable experience advising on physical commodities trading contracts and related shipping and logistics documentation.
• Experience managing or supporting arbitration and litigation, ideally including agri‑trade arbitration bodies.
• Strong drafting and negotiation skills with precise attention to detail and a pragmatic, solutions‑oriented approach.
• Sound understanding of Incoterms, quality and weight regimes, laytime and demurrage and trade operations.
• Commercial acumen and the ability to weigh legal risk against trading objectives in time‑pressured environments.
• Risk management mindset, including counterparty, credit, performance and operational risk; ability to structure mitigants.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to explain complex issues clearly to non‑lawyers and influence outcomes at the desk level.
• High integrity, sound judgment, resilience and the ability to operate autonomously while collaborating within a global matrix.

PREFERRED Skills and Attributes

• Knowledge of sanctions, anti‑bribery and anti‑corruption, AML/KYC and competition and antitrust compliance frameworks as they apply to cross‑border commodities trading.
• Familiarity with global regulatory regimes affecting commodity trading.

We recognise that talent comes in many forms, and we value potential as much as experience. If this role excites you but you don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply.

Our Offer

We provide a fast‑paced, stimulating and truly global environment, which will stretch your abilities and channel your talents. We also offer competitive salary and benefits combined with outstanding career development opportunities in one of the global leaders in soft commodity trading.

Our Values

Our values define who we are. They are the fundamental beliefs that determine our actions and guide our behaviour. They influence the way we communicate and collaborate, and define the way we engage with our clients, partners and communities. Our values are underpinned by a set of essential behaviours, which form part of our performance management approach. Delivering on our objectives is very much about ‘what’ we do, but these essential behaviours also provide a guide and measure for ‘how’ we do things. Our performance essentials are Take Initiative, Self‑Management, Deliver Results and Collaboration.

Our Commitment

We are committed to creating and sustaining an inclusive and diverse work environment where all employees are treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to promoting equal opportunities in employment and are focussed on actively building and developing diverse teams. All qualified applicants will receive equal treatment without regard to race, colour, sex, gender, age, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, marital or civil partner status, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment (identity, gender expression), genetic information or any characteristic protected by local law. We are willing to make any reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

To apply you must have the right to work for the provided location.