Corporate - Legal - Employment Lawyer - Vice President

JPMorgan Chase & Co.; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

A global financial services leader seeks a Vice President in London to oversee employment law matters across EMEA. The role involves providing legal guidance to HR professionals, managing a portfolio of litigation, and advising on diverse employment issues. Candidates should possess solid experience in employment law, particularly within financial institutions. Strong relationship management skills are essential, as well as the ability to operate effectively across multiple jurisdictions. This position is integral to ensuring compliance and supporting strategic HR objectives.

Benefits

Inclusive culture

Career growth opportunities

Qualifications

• Solid employment law experience preferably from a law firm acting for banks.
• Knowledge of employment law aspects, including discrimination and grievance procedures.
• Ability to drive matters forward with urgency under deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal support across EMEA in employment law.
• Manage employment litigation and liaise with outside counsel.
• Advise HR and ER on various employee-related matters.

Skills

Strong relationship management

Employment law expertise

Managing relationships

Time management

Education

Strong academic qualifications

Job description

As a Vice President in the EMEA HR Law Practice Group you will work as part of a team of seven employment lawyers in London within the EMEA Legal Department with significant responsibility for handling and advising on your matters. As part of your role, you will work with HR professionals, legal colleagues, control partners, business stakeholders and outside counsel on HR strategies and products, litigation, risks, and challenges for the firm.

Responsibilities

• Working closely with Human Resources to provide legal support across EMEA, including HR and other stakeholders in locations outside the UK, working with outside counsel as necessary and directly delivering employment law advice.
• Managing a portfolio of employment litigation in EMEA; instructing and liaising with outside counsel, determining and discussing strategy, supervising disclosure, proofing witnesses, reviewing draft documents and advising stakeholders, including Legal, the business, Employee Relations (ER) and HR.
• Supporting HR and ER with advice on investigations, grievances, disciplinaries, dismissals, appeals, redundancies, recruitment, contracts of employment, termination agreements, restrictive covenants, matters relating to diversity, opportunity and inclusion, and employee data protection issues.
• Providing advice and support on legal developments across the region and firm initiatives, including reviewing, drafting and updating related materials.
• Advising on regulatory issues in the context of conduct and remuneration matters and assisting in the handling of regulatory inquiries.
• Advising generally in relation to non-contentious employment issues, including outsourcings and transactions involving TUPE/ARD and share acquisitions, which often involve more than one jurisdiction, either in EMEA or on a global basis.

Qualifications

• Managing relationships with outside employment counsel across EMEA.
• Strong academic qualifications.
• Solid employment law experience from either the employment department of a law firm, preferably with experience of acting for banks, or equivalent experience within a legal department of a large financial institution.
• Sound knowledge of all aspects of employment law, including discrimination, whistleblowing, grievance procedures, disciplinaries, changes to terms and conditions, redundancies, TUPE/ARD and reorganisations, drafting and negotiating settlement agreements and experience in employment litigation.
• Strong relationship management and people skills with an ability to build and maintain effective partnerships with HR, control partners, business stakeholders and legal colleagues.
• Ability to demonstrate ownership of matters and drive them forward, act with urgency as appropriate and, when needed, respond to issues under time critical deadlines.
• Lawyer must be licensed to practise law and a member in good standing in the state/jurisdiction in which the position is based or otherwise in compliance with the in‑house counsel registration rules of that state/jurisdiction and successfully complete a conflicts of interest clearance review prior to commencement of employment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous in‑house experience, whether on secondment or in employment.
• Familiarity with the regulatory requirements applicable to a firm like JPMorgan Chase.
• Experience in dealing with multi‑jurisdictional matters and/or advising on local employment law requirements across EMEA.

The Legal Department at JPMorgan Chase manages legal and other risks, advises on products and services, interprets laws and regulations that impact the firm, and advises the firm on other matters. Our global team is made up of 2,000 lawyers and legal professionals with a reputation as thought leaders who deliver best‑in‑class services. As trusted advisors, we help the firm's clients while also safeguarding the integrity of the firm. We are committed to a culture of inclusivity and belonging, where people can grow and succeed throughout their careers while working for a first‑in‑class financial institution doing cutting‑edge work. If these values resonate with you, we would like to hear from you.

J.P. Morgan is a global leader in financial services, providing strategic advice and products to the world's most prominent corporations, governments, wealthy individuals and institutional investors. Our first‑class business in a first‑class way approach to serving clients drives everything we do. We strive to build trusted, long‑term partnerships to help our clients achieve their business objectives.

Our professionals in our Corporate Functions cover a diverse range of areas from finance and risk to human resources and marketing. Our corporate teams are an essential part of our company, ensuring that we're setting our businesses, clients, customers and employees up for success.