Legal Counsel - Lending & Finance - Corporate Banking - Financial Services

Legal Counsel - Lending & Finance - Corporate Banking - Financial Services

Legal Counsel/ Qualified practising solicitor to join an International Bank in a critical legal advisory role. You will be one of two lawyers tasked with specifically advising and managing legal risk in relation to lending and finance transactions across the Branch, but predominantly involving the Corporate Banking, Transaction Banking and Financial Institutions teams.

Products include investment grade lending, real estate finance, structured project and infrastructure finance, trade finance, and related FX and interest rate hedging, together with de-risking including sub-participations. Additional responsibility and involvement in the wider remit of the Legal team including reviewing and advising on commercial contracts, property and facilities management, horizon scanning, regulatory and policy interpretation.

Key Responsibilities (but not limited to)

• Transactional advice and execution: Working closely with business teams on their transaction portfolios by advising on a wide variety of transactional legal work; identifying legal and regulatory risks/issues in transactions, advising on potential solutions/mitigants to identified issues, assisting in negotiations, coordinating and reviewing documentation (including related legal opinions and conditions precedent), with appropriate supervision and involving external counsel where appropriate.
• Documentation: Drafting term sheets, facility agreements, trade finance documentation, secondary trading documentation and related amendments based on internal precedents, negotiating and managing bilateral transactions; preparing and updating templates as required.
• New Product Approval: Reviewing and providing input from a legal perspective into new product approval requests.
• Commercial & Property: Advising upon and reviewing a range of additional contracts, including commercial contracts and property and facilities management-related leases and related agreements.
• Legal research and training: Researching and preparing internal notes and training on legal and regulatory developments, engaging with law firms and industry bodies to arrange training to internal stakeholders.
• Responsibilities as employee under Risk Management Framework: (i) Digest the Enterprise-Wide Risk Management framework, familiarize with the End-to-End Process Maps (as relevant), Tax Risk Policy and all Legal Department policies and plans, reporting and escalating material risk events, (ii) Familiarise with bank policies (such as IT Security Policy and the Data Protection Policy) and especially those for which Legal is the second line of defence (e.g. Legal Risk Framework, Statutory Risk, Modern Slavery and Copyright), (iii) Ensuring the timely completion of training required by the Bank.
• Conduct risks and controls: Responsibility for the day-to-day identification, ownership and management of risk, including conduct risk and controls through the continuing development and implementation of the Bank’s risk framework processes (including compliance, conduct and financial crime risk framework processes). This includes the internal control processes designed to identify, assess and manage conduct risk, the execution of activities as intended and the identification, reporting and escalation/remediation of inadequate processes and control breaks.

Skills, Experience and Qualifications

• Qualified practising solicitor (or equivalent) with experience in general lending and financial services with experience gained at a UK or international law firm.
• Some knowledge/experience of project finance and/or trade finance is also advantageous (but not essential). Familiarity with ISDA documentation would also be welcomed (but not required).
• Role will suit candidates with approximately 6 years PQE but applications will be welcomed from more senior PQE levels.
• In-depth knowledge of the legal and regulatory framework relevant to bank lending in the UK advantageous.
• Need to be able to work independently, leading and managing transactions, together with external counsel as appropriate.
• Familiarity with LMA standard documentation, standard financing structures, and conditions precedent documentation.
• Outstanding communication skills and ability to manage and prioritise competing demands.

Bank Banking Financial Services Legal Counsel Lawyer Solicitor PQE LMA Trade Finance Finance General Banking Wholesale Banking Corporate Banking Lending Loan Loans Loan Finance

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