Senior Legal Counsel

JOB TITLE

Senior Counsel | Holding | Legal

ROLE SUMMARY
A seasoned lawyer to join a collaborative, collegial, and innovative legal team. The ideal candidate will have 5+ years of legal experience, with a strong background in, among other practice areas, corporate and commercial law, particularly within companies that are structured as public joint stock companies, publicly listed, or have the potential to go public. The role requires a proactive and strategic legal professional who can support the company’s legal operations, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and transactional matters.

The Senior Counsel will report to the Legal Director and provide direct support to various business stakeholders on a variety of legal, compliance and risk issues, as well as coordinate and oversee deliverables of legal counsels and fresh-graduate lawyers within the team.

ROLE PROFILE

• Corporate Governance & Compliance: Analyze and advise on complex corporate and compliance issues, referencing the constitutive documents of legal entities as well as applicable UAE laws and regulations. Where relevant, extend the analysis and recommendations to include considerations for public joint stock companies.
• Regulatory & Risk Management: Provide guidance on corporate structure, risk mitigation, and regulatory obligations, including liaising with relevant authorities (Dubai Economy and Tourism, Securities and Commodities Authority, Dubai Financial Market, etc.). Support preparation and timely submission of mandated legal and regulatory filings.
• Treasury and Capital Markets: Advise on legal matters relating to debt and equity financing, capital market transactions, treasury operations, and financial instruments.
• Dispute Resolution: Support a lawyer of higher seniority in managing litigation, arbitration, and regulatory investigations in collaboration with internal stakeholders and external counsel.
• Transactional Support: Assist a lawyer of higher seniority on M&A transactions, joint ventures, financing agreements, and commercial contracts.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Legal Operations: Work closely with internal stakeholders, senior management, and external advisors to support business initiatives while ensuring legal compliance. Draft, review, and negotiate commercial transactions, legal opinions, and all documents and memoranda. Help stakeholders interpret and understand legal and compliance matters or complex language or deals. Create and deliver legal and compliance trainings and initiatives to help business stakeholders understand and stay informed of what the law requires, how to manage risks effectively, and when to ask for help.
• Create self-directed plans with articulated goals, presented to and discussed with your line manager;
• Where relevant, supervise legal counsels and fresh-graduate lawyers within the team and coordinate with your line manager in evaluating their performance;
• Seek out efficient and effective ways to improve service delivery to drive business results;
• Supervise and instruct external counsels and advisors and other suppliers retained to help the team deliver its work;
• Robust use of data and technology to drive efficiency and efficacy of legal workflow.

REQUIREMENTS

• Education: LLB or equivalent legal qualification from a recognized university; LLM or additional certificates are a plus.
• Experience: 5+ years of post-qualification legal experience, developed in a corporate (within a private or a public joint stock company) or a law firm setting serving sophisticated clients across a range of services.
• Expertise in UAE Laws: strong understanding of UAE corporate, securities, and civil and commercial laws, including the UAE Companies Law, laws regarding the regulation of labour relations, and regulations of SCA, DFM, and ADX.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to actively listen and articulate complex legal concepts clearly.
• Excellent drafting, negotiation, and analytical skills; ability to work independently and manage multiple projects.

WHAT WE OFFER

• At Majid Al Futtaim, we’re on a mission to create great moments, to spread happiness, to build experiences that stay in our memories for a lifetime. We’re proud to say that over the past 27 years, we have built a reputation as a regional market leader in what we do. Join us!
• Work in a friendly environment, where everyone shares positive vibes and is excited about our future.
• Work with over 43,000 diverse and talented colleagues, all guided by our Leadership Model.