Legal Counsel (Regulatory) in London

At M&G, our purpose is to give everyone real confidence to put their money to work. With a heritage dating back more than 175 years, we have a long history of innovation in savings and investments, combining asset management and insurance expertise to offer a wide range of solutions. Our two distinct operating segments, Asset Management and Life, work together to provide access to balanced, long-term investment and savings solutions.

We are recruiting a senior asset management / regulatory lawyer to join as a permanent member of the Asset Management Legal team within M&G. This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic in-house legal team which has a mixture of funds and trading legal specialists. The role will offer suitable candidates the opportunity to grow and develop their full range of buy-side asset management skills while also advising on contentious and regulatory matters as a fully embedded member of the Legal team.

Key Responsibilities

The core responsibility of the role will be to manage legal risk and support regulatory compliance and strong governance within the Asset Management business while working closely with compliance, risk and first line risk and controls teams. The role will also offer an opportunity to work on contentious issues, providing strategic legal advice and pragmatic solutions to support the business.

The Role

The role encompasses providing strategic legal advice to the asset management business, regulatory advice on compliance matters, support on litigation and contentious matters, advising on strategic and regulatory change projects. The role will also offer the opportunity to support the business on new product launches (fund launches, IMAs, IAAs).

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualified lawyer
• Strong academic background

Preferred/Desirable

• Qualification in a common law jurisdiction

Knowledge & Experience

Essential:

• 7+ years PQE working in the financial services regulatory, litigation, contentious regulatory practice of a law firm and/or in-house team with demonstrable experience handling contentious matters, regulatory engagement and providing regulatory advice
• Experience advising / working in asset management businesses in the UK and/or EU, with a strong regulatory background
• An excellent understanding of the asset management business/value chain and the relevant regulatory framework applicable to asset managers (in particular MiFID II, EMIR and SFTR)
• Ability to build and develop relationships with key internal stakeholders and experience in reporting to executive committees
• Proficiency in English essential (contract negotiation level)

Preferred/Desirable:

• Experience in fund structuring and negotiation of IMAs
• An understanding of fund structures and fund documentation, preferably across various jurisdictions (specifically UK, Luxembourg and Ireland), desirable
• Experience working with and managing external counsel in a multi-jurisdictional context

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Strong drafting and analytical skills and excellent attention to detail, sound judgement and is decisive
• A willingness to challenge/debate and offer own views
• Tenacious, willing to go beyond the job description
• Transparent and a good communicator. Works most effectively when collaborating within the team and across other functions
• Resilience and strength of character that enables effective communication across all levels of the organisation
• Strong organisational skills
• Flexible with the ability to adapt to changing priorities and fluid deadlines.

Experience Level: Manager/Expert

What we offer:

We’re dedicated to supporting your wellbeing and helping you thrive, both at work and beyond. Our benefits are designed to help you balance your professional and personal life, and financially plan for the future. Our UK benefits include:

• A valuable pension scheme of up to 18% (13% made up of employer contributions and 5% employee contributions).
• Access to our Share Save and Share Incentive Plan, alongside financial wellbeing and support services.
• Enjoy 38 days annual leave (including bank holidays), with the opportunity to purchase up to five extra days.
• Our Time Off When You Need It policy gives you the flexibility to balance work and personal commitments.
• Our market-leading Inspiring Families policy includes comprehensive support and paid parental leave covering maternity, adoption, surrogacy, and paternity leave.
• Health & Protection cover includes Private Healthcare, Critical Illness cover and Life Assurance for you, with additional family options.

At M&G we strive to have a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture, underpinned by our policies and employee-led networks that offer networking, support and development opportunities for the diverse communities our colleagues represent. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds – across gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation and more – including neurodivergent individuals, career returners and those with military service experience.

M&G is proud to be Level 3: Disability Confident Leader under the UK Government Disability Confident employer scheme, and we welcome applications from candidates with disabilities and long-term health conditions. If you would like to participate in the initiative, you will have the opportunity to indicate this on your application.

We are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process. All candidates have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments when applying. If you need any additional support at any stage, please contact us at: careers@mandg.com