Interim Legal Counsel, Director – Trade Finance | Leading International Bank | London
Our client, a leading international bank, is looking for an experienced trade finance lawyer to join its Corporate Banking Legal team in London on an interim basis.
You’ll be the go-to legal adviser for a growing Trade Finance business across EMEA. You’ll also lead a major project to refresh the bank’s trade finance templates and minimum standards.
The role
- Provide end-to-end legal support to the Trade Finance business, making sure transactions, structures and documents meet the bank’s risk appetite, market practice and regulatory requirements.
- Review, draft and negotiate a wide range of trade finance documents, including letters of credit, guarantees, supply chain finance, receivables purchase agreements, risk participations, commodities finance, facility agreements and security documents.
- Advise on structuring, due diligence and execution, working closely with Front Office, operations and back-office teams across EMEA, including the Middle East and continental Europe.
- Lead the templating and minimum-standards project, instructing and overseeing external counsel where needed.
- Keep the business informed about regulatory and market developments in trade finance.
- Support and train junior colleagues, and help integrate AI tools into the legal team.
What you’ll bring
- A qualified lawyer with 5+ years’ PQE in trade finance and general banking, gained at a top-tier law firm and/or a financial institution.
- A strong track record on complex, multi-jurisdictional trade finance deals.
- Solid working knowledge of market-standard documentation and rules (BAFT, LMA, ICC rules, SWIFT formats), and the ability to structure bespoke trade transactions.
- Confidence using AI legal tools such as Copilot or CoCounsel.
- Excellent communication skills, including explaining complex legal issues to non-native English speakers.
- The ability to juggle 10–20 live matters, prioritise well and work with a high degree of autonomy.
- In-house experience and transaction banking expertise would be a real advantage.
The details
- Location: London (hybrid)
- Contract: 10 months
- Day Rate
Interim Legal Counsel, Director (Trade Finance focus), Corporate Banking in London employer: Investigo
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