Legal Counsel - Dispute Resolution

This is a Permanent, Full Time vacancy that will close in a month at 23:59 BST. Hymans Robertson has a fantastic track record of resolving any issues which arise as a normal part of doing business and strive to maintain that. We currently have an exciting opportunity to join our in-house legal team as Legal Counsel with a strong dispute resolution and/or pensions background within either our Glasgow or Edinburgh Office. You would join a team of 14 other lawyers, two of which are in Dispute Resolution.

What will your role look like? Our services are varied and interesting, and you will support the whole group, covering pensions (including actuarial, investment and administration), financial services and financial planning for individuals. You won’t be required to attend court however, the same research, drafting and litigation skills will be useful here; investigating what has happened, why, what might be done differently and supporting client and operations teams with an approach and communications, with the aim of achieving a good outcome for our clients, the firm, and ultimately pension scheme members. You will act as an internal consultant- advising and working with people at all levels of our business. For that reason, it’s important that you are able to quickly build relationships and consensus, gain credibility and influence/constructively challenge others.

Though this is a varied role, your key tasks will include:

• Working alongside our Head of Dispute Resolution to deal with matters where input from the Dispute Resolution team would be beneficial and with support from our Legal Counsel.
• Providing pragmatic legal advice on any dispute/potential dispute and related issues escalated to the legal team (whether in relation to the services we provide or disputes with suppliers or other third parties).
• Working closely with business stakeholders to understand the background to issues, directing investigations as required and providing clear recommendations for resolution.
• Where required, legal drafting and working with client legal teams.
• Where required, instructing and managing external legal advisors, building strong working relationships and managing outsourcing budgets.
• Providing legal input where required on any complaints or potential complaints going through pension scheme Internal Dispute Resolution Procedures and/or involving the Pensions Ombudsman and/or Financial Ombudsman Service.
• Providing legal advice on any data breaches- working with our Data Protection Officer, other members of the legal team and Data Breach Response Team as required.
• Providing responses relevant to dispute resolution to client due diligence queries and tenders.
• Liaising and confidently presenting to our internal governance groups as required to seek consent on matters and to highlight themes and trends, provide advice, recommend resolution and build consensus.
• Liaising with our brokers, insurers, including supporting insurance renewals and providing notifications, updates and reports.
• Liaising with our Finance department and assisting with monthly finance meetings (where required) and annual audit work.
• Keeping abreast of legal developments (e.g. in relation to legal privilege, Pensions Ombudsman or Financial Ombudsman guidance) and recommend and implement change to reflect such developments.
• Drafting best practice notes on topical issues for use across the firm, developing and maintaining processes, policies, guidance, and templates and assisting with training.

To enjoy and succeed in this role, you will be/have:

• Qualified as a Solicitor in Scotland or England.
• Relevant material practice based and/or in-house experience in dispute resolution and/or pensions, ideally in an FCA regulated environment or financial services or professional services firm.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• A flexible, adaptable and confident approach.
• Experience constructively challenging stakeholders at all levels of the business.
• Good attention to detail and a focus on producing accurate work.
• Pragmatic and solutions driven- with a focus on using your judgment and initiative (whether working individually or as part of a team) to problem solve and come up with workable solutions.
• Excellent time management skills and a strong ability to manage competing priorities.

Preferred:

• Exposure to the pensions or wider financial services industry.
• Experience of the Pensions Ombudsman/Financial Ombudsman Service.
• Experience/knowledge of actuarial professional standards.
• Experience/knowledge of FCA rules and requirements.

In addition to a competitive salary and access to our profit share scheme, we offer:

• A flexible selection of employee benefits, so you can choose a package that best matches your lifestyle and needs.
• A collaborative and encouraging work environment where your thinking and ideas are encouraged.
• On site mental health and wellbeing assistance.
• A commitment to helping you develop both personally and professionally, with mentoring opportunities and access to our award-winning learning portal, Aspire.
• Regular social activities, in addition to three days paid volunteering leave each year and a day’s leave to celebrate your birthday.
• Hybrid working so you can enjoy the positive wellbeing of working from home as well as the benefits of meeting colleagues in our sociable, modern office environments – with the expectation of 40% of your working week ‘in-office’ days.
• A flexible working window, allowing colleagues the freedom to work flexibly between the hours of 7am and 7pm.

Please note, we recruit on a rolling basis so early applications are recommended to avoid disappointment.

About Us Together, we’ve been building better futures for over 100 years. For our people, our clients and their people, our communities and the environment. We thrive on tackling complex problems. And we believe those problems are best solved by diverse teams – diverse in skills, approaches and backgrounds. Our independence lets our people be themselves and think freely, while working in a collaborative, supportive environment. We love innovative, independent thinking and want everyone to share their ideas. Working alongside employers, trustees and financial services institutions, we offer pensions, investments, benefits and risk consulting services, as well as data and technology solutions. With over 1000 employees and counting, we’re one of the leading consultancies in our field and are proud to be recognised by numerous industry awards. We’re committed to developing our people and encourage everyone to carve out their own career path. We’ve many colleagues who started out in one team in the business and have ended up somewhere completely different, having had the chance to develop new skills and explore new passions. We are continually working to improve our inclusive culture and employ diverse talent. We therefore welcome applications from people from all backgrounds, which includes but isn’t limited to: age, disability, ethnic heritage, gender, marital or civil partnership status, neurodiversity, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic background.

Our hybrid working model offers the best of both worlds – home working as well as a fun, collaborative office environment - meaning flexible working patterns to accommodate individual needs.

If you need any assistance in relation to a personal requirement, medical condition or neurological difference during our selection process then please let us know. Together, we can make this the best job you’ll ever have.

We Offer Our culture Our culture We live and breathe our four values – friendly, confident, partnering and straightforward – and genuinely care about our people, clients, community and the environment. Job satisfaction Job satisfaction Every employee can genuinely make a difference and contribute towards achieving our purpose – together, building better futures. Whether that’s helping our clients build more secure financial futures, using your 3 days volunteering or helping us reduce our carbon footprint. Reward and wellbeing Reward and wellbeing We offer competitive salaries, a share of company profits and an award-winning benefits package. We also take your mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing seriously, both in and outside of work. Flexible working We trust our people to work in a pattern that suits their circumstances with a healthy balance of home and office working. Latest technology Latest technology We use the most up-to-date technology and software to match our ground-breaking business solutions that make life easier for us and our clients. Career development There is no linear path – learning opportunities are plentiful and empower you to carve out your own career.