Legal Counsel - Assistant Director - Litigation - Permanent - London | London, UK

Ernst & Young.; London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company is seeking a Legal Counsel - Litigation to join their in-house legal team in London. The role involves managing legal issues, providing commercial legal advice, and supporting business transformation. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience from a reputable law firm or in-house department, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to thrive under pressure.

Qualifications

• Approximately 5 or more years of post-qualification experience.
• Significant experience from a reputable City law firm or in-house legal department.

Responsibilities

• Managing contentious and non-contentious legal matters.
• Advising on claims and overseeing external lawyers.
• Providing general legal support to various internal functions.

Skills

Negotiation

Communication

Leadership

Commercial awareness

Job description

Legal Counsel - Assistant Director - Litigation - Permanent - London

At EY, we're committed to shaping your future with confidence.

We aim to help you succeed within a globally connected, diverse team and to advance your career wherever you want it to go.

Join EY and contribute to building a better working world.

EY is a global network of professional services firms providing consulting, transaction, assurance, and tax services with member firms in over 170 countries. The UK firm of Ernst & Young LLP has over 900 partners and 20,000 employees.

The UK Legal team, led by General Counsel Lisa Cameron, is well-established and highly regarded, comprising 32 lawyers supported by 4 paralegals. It is also part of a global legal function.

The opportunity

We are seeking a Legal Counsel - Litigation within our high-performing, ambitious in-house legal team. This role involves supporting business transformation and innovation, handling a varied and challenging workload, and providing pragmatic, commercial legal advice at all levels within the organization.

Your key responsibilities

The UK Legal team handles a wide range of legal issues related to operating a professional services business, often at the forefront of business practice. Responsibilities include:

• Regulatory: Managing contentious and non-contentious matters, providing legal input on compliance and regulatory issues (including UK's FRC, FCA, ICAEW), and responding to regulatory inquiries;
• Litigation: Advising on and managing claims, including settlement negotiations and overseeing large claims handled by external lawyers;
• Internal investigations;
• General legal support to service lines and internal functions such as real estate, procurement, finance, HR, IT, knowledge management, and marketing, with opportunities to lead firm-wide projects.

Skills and attributes for success

• Strong team player with excellent negotiation and communication skills;
• Committed to high performance, results-oriented, accountable, trustworthy, and able to embrace healthy conflict;
• Calm under pressure with the ability to meet changing deadlines;
• Leadership qualities, ownership of issues, and sound decision-making skills;
• Commercial awareness and a proactive approach to supporting the business with legal insights.

To qualify for the role, you must have

• Approximately 5 or more years of post-qualification experience;
• Significant experience from a reputable City law firm or in-house legal department;
• Ability to deliver practical legal advice in a fast-paced environment and establish credibility and trust at all levels.

Ideally, you'll also have

• Proven ability to build trust and respect across all organizational levels, including with senior stakeholders familiar with legal matters.

What we look for

A proactive self-starter, responsive to deadlines, and skilled at building trust and confidence within teams.

Boost your career

Find thousands of job opportunities by signing up to eFinancialCareers today.