Legal Counsel – UK, Senior Associate in London

Founded in 2001, Partners Capital is an Outsourced Investment Office acting for distinguished endowments and foundations, senior investment professionals and prominent families across the globe. With $60B in assets under management, the firm constructs customized investment portfolios for its clients, tapping into its deep network of partnerships with exceptional asset managers across all major asset classes. Clients include INSEAD Business School, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Eton College, Colorado College, several Oxford and Cambridge University Colleges and several family offices around the world.

Partners Capital is diverse and inclusive, in people and in thought. Our meritocracy is enabled by fostering a truly inclusive and collaborative culture. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer where diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences are valued.

Partners Capital have a fantastic opportunity for a mid-level Lawyer to join their leading global investment management firm as part of its UK-based legal team. The successful candidate will primarily focus on providing commercial legal support across the global business, helping to navigate the legal needs of a growing global investment firm.

This role offers a varied workload, working closely with colleagues in multiple jurisdictions to support the firm’s global operations. The candidate will be primarily responsible for reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts, ensuring the firm’s position is protected across all its counterparty relationships. The candidate will also play a key role in further developing the firm’s legal and compliance framework with respect to its compliance with applicable data protection laws and ensuring its commercial contracting arrangements are both legally compliant and consistent with the firm’s policies and procedures.

This position provides an excellent platform for developing legal expertise in the financial services sector while contributing to the overall effectiveness and professionalisation of the firm’s legal function within a fast-growing firm.

Key responsibilities will include, but not be limited to:

• Providing legal advice and support on a broad range of commercial matters across the global business, including reviewing, drafting, and negotiating commercial contracts (e.g. service agreements, vendor contracts, IT agreements, lease agreements).
• Supporting the business in designing, building and implementing governance frameworks and processes to manage and oversee third-party relationships and to ensure compliance with data protection laws (e.g., GDPR and equivalent legislation in other applicable jurisdictions) across multiple jurisdictions in which the firm operates.
• Reviewing and negotiating investment management agreements and investment advisory agreements with prospective clients and assisting with amendments to existing client agreements.
• Collaborating with the relevant teams globally, including the firm’s Compliance and Data Management Teams, to develop and refine policies and procedures related to the firm’s data licensing and processing.
• Offering ad-hoc legal support to the business on general corporate governance and other commercial matters as needed.
• Keeping abreast of developments in technology (including AI) and data protection law and advising internal stakeholders on relevant changes that may impact the firm.
• Contributing to the design and ongoing enhancement of the firm’s AI governance structures in light of rapid legal, regulatory and technological developments.
• Assisting the legal function in reviewing and procuring AI legal technology to drive efficiency and accuracy in contract review, negotiation, and in respect of general contract life-cycle management, supporting the broader legal team’s goal of streamlining workflows and enhancing the firm’s legal operations.
• Be responsible for ensuring all information security processes, policies and procedures are adhered to and any issues or concerns are raised with the Cyber Security team.
• Ensure full compliance with all local data protection regulations and privacy controls, and any related issues are raised via the appropriate channels.

Qualifications / Attributes

The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate the following qualifications and attributes:

• A mid-level lawyer (qualified in England and Wales or another common law jurisdiction) with approximately three years of post-qualification experience gained from a reputable law firm. In-house experience would be viewed favourably.
• Strong understanding of commercial contracts and experience in reviewing, drafting, and negotiating a broad range of agreements (including, amongst others, service agreements, vendor contracts, licensing agreements and technology contracts), preferably in the context of the financial services sector.
• Familiarity with data protection laws (such as GDPR) and experience in helping businesses ensure compliance with relevant legal requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
• A genuine interest in the financial services sector and an understanding of the regulatory environment impacting investment management businesses.
• Ability to work independently, managing a diverse range of matters while collaborating with the wider business across jurisdictions.
• Strong communication and inter-personal skills with the ability to engage effectively with internal stakeholders across all levels of the business and our external partners.
• Well-organised with excellent attention to detail and strong time management skills, able to prioritise competing demands in a fast-paced environment.
• A proactive, solution-oriented approach with the ability to think critically and provide practical legal advice.

Partners Capital is committed to being a great place to work. We are focused both on wellbeing and professional growth. You can expect professional development and career progression opportunities, competitive compensation, exceptional benefits and a flexible “results-focused” working model. Our benefits package includes private medical and life insurance, income protection and pension contributions. In addition, we partner with organisations to provide wellness benefits. Partners Capital supports global philanthropy via a charity program and provides a volunteer day for all employees. We also champion a variety of social events.