Junior Lawyer in City of London

Job Title: Junior Lawyer – Insurance Corporate / Commercial (1–2 PQE)

Line Manager: Head of Legal

Department: Legal

Location: London - Hybrid

Job Purpose

Reporting to the Head of Legal, the Junior Lawyer will provide day-to-day legal support across the Optio Group, working alongside the existing legal team on contract review, M&A transactions, general corporate matters and assistance with regulatory matters working closely with the Risk and Compliance, Underwriting and Finance teams. The role will involve engagement with teams across London, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Italy and other jurisdictions, with engagement with external local counsel in these jurisdictions where relevant.

Whilst an insurance background is helpful, this is not essential and the role is suitable for a candidate who wishes to develop their understanding and expertise on insurance-specific work such as coverholder agreements, binding authority agreements and broker arrangements in order to take ownership over these matters as they develop.

Key Role Accountabilities

• Provide day-to-day legal support across the Optio Group, with an initial focus on baseline tasks such as NDA administration, template drafting, board resolution preparation and maintaining contract/corporate documentation files.
• Support the wider legal team on the Group's M&A activity, including due diligence, contract review and transaction documentation.
• Assist with insurance-specific contract work, including coverholder agreements and binding authority agreements, developing subject-matter expertise over time.
• Support Group Finance and Risk and Compliance teams with legal documentation requests as needed.
• Assist with drafting, reviewing and negotiating a range of commercial contracts and templates on behalf of the Group, including software licence agreements, consultancy arrangements, employment agreements and other supplier contracts.
• Correspond with third parties in relation to legal matters concerning the Group.
• Liaise with internal stakeholders across the Group to understand legal needs and provide practical, commercially-focused advice.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement and systemisation of legal processes and templates, working closely with the Head of Legal and wider team.

Personal Specification

Essential Skills

• Strong contract drafting, review and negotiation skills.
• High accuracy and attention to detail when working with legal and commercial documentation.
• Strong organisational skills, able to manage multiple matters and deadlines across a varied workload.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain legal concepts clearly to non-legal stakeholders.
• Proactive, self-motivated approach with a willingness to develop subject-matter expertise in insurance regulation, contracts and other relevant areas of law.
• Sound commercial judgement and a practical, solutions-focused approach to legal issues.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a small team.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, AI tools and document management tools.

Experience & Professional Qualifications

• Qualified solicitor in England & Wales or an equivalent alternate jurisdiction, with c. 1–2 years' post-qualification experience in house or in private practice.
• Experience of contract drafting and review, ideally including either M&A and corporate work or insurance contracts.
• Prior exposure to the insurance, MGA, broking or Lloyd's market is helpful but not essential.
• Experience working across multiple jurisdictions or with international stakeholders is an advantage.
• Training contract or equivalent qualifying legal experience at a recognised law firm or in-house team.
• Degree level education or equivalent professional qualification.