Legal Counsel - Disputes in London

We’re on the lookout for an experienced and motivated dispute resolution solicitor with experience in a regulatory environment to be part of our Legal team here at Nucleus. This role is a great opportunity to join an ambitious and diligent team who advocate for and promote a strong legal risk management and compliance culture throughout the group. As we continue through an exciting phase of organisational growth and evolution, there is no better time to join our journey in a role that adds true value to our business and our customers.

Our new Legal Counsel will have the opportunity to make a real difference by supporting our business through a wide variety of commercial and disputes‑related matters in a highly regulated environment. By working collaboratively across various teams, you’ll have the opportunity to build relationships and work in partnership with colleagues and third parties to promote engagement and embed a culture of continuous process improvement and better risk management.

It’s a varied role with lots of interesting and value‑add work to keep you busy, and here are some of the ways you’ll spend your time:

• Acting as the Group’s litigation SME, leading on all aspects of the life cycle of litigation relating to the Group’s business and products (including SIPPs and underlying investments), analysing and responding to pre‑action correspondence;
• Advising the business on legal and commercial strategy, aligning with regulatory expectations and conduct risk frameworks;
• Overseeing and supporting the conduct of litigation, including managing routine litigation and instructing and managing external counsel where appropriate;
• Liaising with our Insurance Manager, including drafting and managing notifications, securing coverage, providing updates and assisting with settlement discussions;
• Building and maintaining effective relationships with the Group’s external legal advisers;
• Maintaining heatmaps showing the status and progress of the Group’s active litigation.

Supporting and advising our Customer Resolutions Team on material complaints, including shaping strategy and drafting submissions to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Preparing reports for board and executive committees on material matters and the Group’s evolving litigation landscape. Supporting the Finance team on material matters requiring provisioning. Providing broader contentious and risk‑based legal advice in relation to the Group’s financial services products and operations. Developing and maintaining precedents, playbooks and tools to enhance consistency, efficiency and best practice across the Legal team. Identifying opportunities to improve processes (within Legal and across the business) and implementing solutions to enhance risk management, efficiency and outcomes. Building strong relationships with key stakeholders across the business to ensure effective management of disputes and complaints. Providing input into governance forums and risk committees on litigation and dispute trends.

A bit about you: Your friends would probably describe you as a ‘problem‑solver’ who is motivated by doing the right thing and supporting others to do the same. You’ll love researching and absorbing new information on a range of subjects and explaining it to stakeholders in a straightforward way. You’re the type of person who takes time to really understand an issue and who is aware that each person or team has their own unique needs and requirements. You’re thorough, with an eye for detail and ask great questions to help solve problems and get the best outcome possible. You’re a pro at understanding how the little things influence the big picture. You’ll demonstrate an open and honest approach and be able to build relationships and communicate confidently across the business. You'll encourage the right behaviours, support our core values and lead by example. You’ll set the bar high and help engender a team environment which is both supportive and rewarding, where high performance is the norm.

We’ve always placed more importance on cultural contribution above technical ability, but we’d really like you to have:

• Solicitor qualified in England & Wales with at least 4 years’ experience in dispute resolution in a financial services setting and entitled to work in the UK
• Understanding of the FCA and PRA regulatory landscape
• Understanding of trust law
• Understanding of SIPP and platform structures and associated products (e.g., ISA, GIA and access to off-platform products) (desirable but not essential)
• Excellent PowerPoint/Word/Excel skills
• Excellent relationship building skills
• Great written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present to groups, engage with a diverse workforce and communicate complex concepts in an easy to understand manner
• Strong negotiation and conflict resolution skills
• Ability to work on own initiative, independently and to prioritise effectively in accordance with business strategy
• Ability to manage conflicting priorities and evolving work demands without sacrificing quality or accuracy

A little about us: Our purpose at Nucleus is to help make retirement more rewarding, with a vision to build the most loved retirement-focused platform in the UK. It is this purpose that drives everything we do. Whether you are working in a role that is customer‑facing or not, you’ll need to be service‑obsessed to work here. It’s a fast‑paced and exciting environment, and one where we believe you will get the chance to fulfil your potential and do work that really matters, to you and our customers. We believe in you having your own chunk of responsibility and being trusted to make things happen.

Nucleus’ culture is something our people believe sets us apart from other places they’ve worked. We think big, know our stuff and move at pace, but always empowering others along the way and breaking new ground to find better ways of doing things. We know that sometimes the right choice is not the easy one, so empowering each other and celebrating others' successes, as well as our own, is part of what makes us Nucleus #WeAreNucleus Inclusion and diversity at Nucleus. As with most things in life, who cares, wins. We really care about inclusion. For us this is not a box‑ticking thing, it’s a commercial imperative. It isn’t about being PC. It’s about being future‑relevant and durable.

We offer a generous blend of benefits for the things that really matter to our people, including pension, bonus, enhanced parental leave, paid time off for emergencies, health and wellbeing initiatives and flexible working options. If you’d like to find out more about us or the role, you can get in touch with our people team.