Senior Legal Counsel

Job Description:

Role Summary

This is a Senior Legal Counsel role, in financial services, covering a broad range of regulatory and commercial matters, supporting Russell Investments’ UK and EMEA operations. The successful candidate will work closely with business, compliance, risk, finance, HR and senior management colleagues.

Key elements of the role include:

• Advising on UK and relevant European financial services laws and regulations impacting investment management and regulated firms.
• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial agreements, including investment management, distribution, service provider and confidentiality agreements.
• Supporting regulatory authorisations, notifications and interactions with regulators.
• Supporting the development and review of policies, procedures, disclosures and other legal documentation.
• Instructing and managing external counsel, including defining the scope of advice and monitoring costs.
• Supporting group wide projects such as business reorganisations and transactions.
• Keeping up to date with relevant legal and regulatory developments and explaining their impact to the business.
• Contributing to the development of the legal team’s processes, knowledge and documentation.

The responsibilities of the individual in this position include:

Regulatory and legal advice

• Providing authoritative advice on UK financial services regulation, including FCA requirements, MiFID II, EMIR, GDPR, UCITS and AIFMD, and assessing how legal and regulatory developments affect the firm.
• Advising on legal and fiduciary matters, new legislation and regulatory change and coordinating appropriate responses with Compliance, Risk, business leaders and other legal colleagues.
• Supporting specialist lawyers on UK, Irish and Luxembourg fund ranges and related regulatory questions.

Commercial agreements and negotiation

• Review and negotiation of IMAs with clients and third-party investment managers. 
• Participating in client onboarding as required. 
• Participating in governance process eg obtaining board and investment committee approvals. 
• Negotiation of ISDAs and other trading documents. 
• Keeping precedents up to date with regulatory and business requirements.  
• Reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts, service contracts and intra-group delegation contracts. 
• Performing legal research relevant to meet the company's requirements. 

Regulatory change and projects

• Conducting legal research into changes in law, regulation and industry practice and translating them into practical guidance, documentation updates and implementation plans.
• Supporting regulatory projects involving multiple teams.

Stakeholder partnership

• Serving as a trusted adviser to business colleagues; explaining legal options, risks and trade-offs clearly and making considered recommendations.
• Supporting new products, services and business initiatives, balancing legal and fiduciary obligations with business objectives.
• Contributing to alignment across stakeholders with differing priorities and helping negotiate sound changes across functions.

Governance and external counsel

• Supporting governance processes across relevant subsidiaries and fund complexes, working with internal legal and business stakeholders to resolve complex matters.
• Managing relationships with outside counsel and other in-house legal resources, setting clear instructions and coordinating advice with the needs of the business.

The successful candidate will have extensive demonstrable skills and experiences including the following:

• Law degree, or another degree followed by a recognised legal qualification is essential.
• Qualified solicitor or barrister admitted to practise in the UK, or admitted in another common-law jurisdiction with substantial UK legal and regulatory experience required.
• Significant post-qualification experience in financial services law, including substantial UK regulatory work and experience advising an asset management business.
• Demonstrated experience handling complex commercial agreements, regulatory projects and senior stakeholder matters.
• Strong negotiation, legal drafting and project management skills.
• Private-practice training and in-house asset-management experience are valued.
• Experience mentoring or supervising colleagues is desirable.
• Knowledge of and interest in UK financial services regulation; ability to analyse complex legal issues, draft and negotiate significant agreements, and translate requirements into practical actions.
• Understanding of and interest in asset management, financial services products and fund structures, including how legal and regulatory obligations affect business decisions.
• Strong judgment and integrity.
• Executive-level communication and influence.
• Calm decision-making under pressure.
• Ability to manage competing stakeholder needs.
• Initiative, resilience, collaboration and commitment to developing others.