Lead Counsel - Wealth Capital Markets Product - Vice President

Overview

Team/Role Overview

Working as part of the Wealth Legal department, this role will be a core member of the global Capital Markets Legal team, focusing on the UK, Europe and Middle East business. The role involves a wide range of work, including advising on general regulatory implementation, transactional Capital Markets work and Capital Markets business projects and initiatives.

This role requires a pragmatic, proactive lawyer with a general grounding of UK/EEA financial services/private bank/wealth management regulation, combined with awareness of the laws and regulations for the geographies in which we operate. We are looking for a candidate who can exercise sound legal judgement to help develop proactive, risk-appropriate, and commercially practical business-oriented solutions. As this role supports trading desks and front office personnel, timely and clear responses are critical.

This role is part of the Wealth Capital Markets Legal team and is based in Belfast. The Capital Markets Legal team covers a wide and diverse range of products and their regulation, including primary and secondary market equity/fixed income trading; multi-asset OTC derivatives and structured products, and exchange-traded derivatives.

The role sits within the wider Wealth Legal Team. A successful candidate would be familiar with UK/EEA financial services/private bank/wealth management regulation and legal principles and have an awareness of Capital Markets products, particularly securities (including structured products). This is an exciting role for a versatile and proactive candidate who is keen to learn about new products and regulations and commit to developing their technical knowledge of investment products sold to retail and professional clients.

The role will provide key legal support and execution on Capital Markets matters, participating in client trading activities and business projects/initiatives. There will be a need to provide input/analysis on interpretation of relevant laws, rules, regulations, and industry practices, draft documentation and advise on legal matters impacting the Capital Markets business. In particular, the role will focus on primary and secondary market securities, structured products / derivative securities and more complex security trading, such as strategic equity solutions.

There will be opportunity to cover the wider Capital Markets business as well as other Wealth initiatives from time to time. Familiarity with Digital Asset/Tokenised/Crypto products and related market initiatives will be advantageous too.

What we’ll need from you

• Bachelor’s degree.

• 7+ years of relevant experience.

• Previous experience working as a lawyer in a major international bank, a large law firm and/or a regulatory authority will be beneficial.

• Knowledge of financial services, either gained in-house or in private practice.

• Knowledge of Capital Markets products, particularly securities. Knowledge of exchange traded derivatives and Digital Asset/Tokenised/Crypto products would be particularly beneficial.

• Experience either in private practice or in-house with investment products and applicable UK/EU and US regulation would be beneficial (e.g. some of MiFID/MiFIR, CSDR, PRIIPs, MAR, CASS, AIFMD, ESG-rules, Benchmark Regulation, Consumer Duty, EMIR, Dodd-Frank and Volcker). Experience of retail investment products would be particularly valuable.

• Technical ability and eagerness to develop that more deeply (including drafting skills), and analytical ability.

• Ability to analyse complex legal issues, assist in developing solutions and provide sound legal advice to the business.

• Team Work:
  Ability to engage with both legal and business teams on a partnership basis as well as an ability to work independently as required.

• Able to meet the time demands of a profitable and client and market driven business.

• Ability to assimilate complex issues and communicate concisely and clearly to all levels of the organisation. Calm and confident communicator.

• Able to identify legal risk and to escalate issues on an appropriate basis.

We work hard to have a positive financial and social impact on the…