Financial Services Principal Associate/ Legal Director in Manchester

We are looking for a Principal Associate or Legal Director to join our dynamic, market leading Financial Services team. This is a fantastic opportunity to join a specialist group working in retail financial services; one of the few teams ranked for Consumer Finance UK wide in Chambers and Partners.

Financial Services is a broad area, but this is a strategic role for a regulatory specialist who will be responsible for growing and shaping a regulatory practice focusing on asset management and investments. You will be the go-to advisor on a wide range of regulatory issues affecting asset managers, investment firms, and retail investment products, including MiFID II, UCITS, AIFMD, ESG regulations, and FCA conduct rules.

We are looking for a candidate who has a strong understanding of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and the Financial Conduct Authority Handbook and is able to advise clients on the regulatory perimeter, authorisation applications, being an FCA authorised firm, the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, Appointed Representatives, outsourcing arrangements and general compliance. Knowledge of other areas of financial services such as payments, e-money, insurance and capital markets is an advantage but not essential.

In addition, we are looking for a candidate with:

• a proven ability to lead client relationships and manage complex projects independently;
• a collaborative approach to working with our Corporate and Funds teams on structuring and regulatory aspects of transactions, fund launches, and cross-border investment strategies;
• experience in supervising and mentoring junior lawyers and associates, providing clear direction and quality control;
• experience of engaging with regulators (e.g., FCA, PRA) and industry bodies on behalf of clients;
• a proven ability to develop and deliver training to clients and internal teams on regulatory topics independently;
• ambition to build a practice and to contribute to business development, including client pitches, thought leadership, and expanding the firm's regulatory offering.

We are looking for someone to work with us in implementing our strategy to be a leading professional service provider of retail financial services advice. We work with household name clients on complex legal issues to find innovative solutions. We are looking for a creative individual and a self-starter who can work autonomously with the support of a team behind you. We'd like to see demonstrable experience of supervising juniors and managing clients. Given the nature of the work we expect the successful candidate to have excellent drafting skills and attention to detail and to have a genuine interest in the Financial Services sector.

In this role you will work as part of a collaborative national team based across Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Milton Keynes and London. We have some flexibility in where we recruit across these regional hubs so we'd be pleased to hear from you if you're in any of these locations. Our current team includes Suzanne Taylor, Wayne Gibbard and Thomas Morrison who are well known industry experts.

We place a lot of belief in culture and community, and genuinely think we have something different to offer you at Shoosmiths. This is reflected in everything we say and do from our use of technology to enable effective cross-office working, to our team spirit and culture. We strive to create an inclusive and supportive workplace where employees can be themselves at work. We are proud of our active employee networks, the establishment of our Shadow Board and initiatives such as reciprocal mentoring and inclusive leadership training to bring diverse perspectives and recommendations to the firm as a whole.

Our national Commercial Group is a 25 Partner-strong practice consisting of over 90 lawyers. In addition to our Financial Services team, the expertise spans IT and Technology, IP, Privacy & Data, Complex contracts and outsourcing and Energy & Infrastructure. We are a top 40 law firm with over 200 partners and around 1,500 staff in total.

Shoosmiths is the law firm clients choose for excellent service, incisive thinking and above all for our ability to focus on what matters. From offices across the UK and Brussels, we support some of the world's most exciting and ambitious businesses; amazing clients making an impact. We empower our people to be their authentic selves and deliver together in supportive teams committed to excellence and innovation. The first top 50 law firm to achieve 'Platinum Standard' Investors in People, our values and culture are not just words on our website but are the heartbeat of the firm.

We have an outstanding benefits package to complement our competitive remuneration system. In addition to the competitive salaries, great working environment and high-quality work, we believe that all staff should be rewarded for their commitment to the continued success of the firm through a comprehensive and flexible range of benefits.

Our approach to our people is underpinned by our approach to diversity, inclusion and well-being. Our ambition is to build a diverse and ambitious workforce that reflects all backgrounds and talents, and a workplace that is supportive and inclusive, recognises and nurtures talent, and has a strong sense of community between colleagues. This means that everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, whatever their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, disability, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.