Funds Lawyer

Pinsent Masons; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading law firm is seeking a talented Funds Lawyer (NQ, 2 years PQE) to join their London office. The successful candidate will advise on private investment funds, including drafting fund documentation and providing high-level regulatory advice. Opportunities for business development and working within a dynamic, growing team are available. Applicants should possess strong academic backgrounds and enthusiasm for innovative service delivery. A competitive salary and career development programs will be offered.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Career development program

Dynamic work environment

Qualifications

• Experience advising on the establishment and investing in private investment funds.
• Ability to draft various fund documentation such as agreements and marketing materials.
• High-level advice on UK financial regulation related to investment funds.

Responsibilities

• Support the team on various matters relating to private investment funds.
• Business development to achieve growth ambitions.
• Negotiate fund documentation with investors.

Skills

Time Management

Communication skills

Legal Research

Microsoft Office

Education

Qualified lawyer

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

Brief

FUNDS LAWYER NQ 2 years PQE LONDON

We are seeking to recruit a talented commercial private investment funds lawyer. The successful candidate will be based in our London office but we work on a cross‑office basis so the candidate will have opportunities to work with colleagues in Scotland and our international offices including funds teams in Luxembourg and Dublin.

Our Investment Funds Team

Our Investment Funds team acts for fund managers on the full range of their investment funds work including fund structuring, formation and downstream investment work with a focus on key sectors including energy infrastructure, climate & sustainability, impact, real estate, debt and private equity.

Our practice encompasses a strong investor practice and we advise significant institutional investors on their investment programmes including primary commitments, secondary transactions, co‑investments, separate account mandates and consortium arrangements.

We are recognised for our work on African fund formation and also have a strong focus on impact investments and sustainable finance. The team has an excellent track record in this growing area and has been previously shortlisted for The Lawyer Funds Team of the Year and the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers award off the back of its work in impact funds.

Our team plays an important part of our firm's strategy and has seen significant investment and growth over the last three years. We now need to recruit again to service our existing work but also exciting plans which we believe will mean further significant growth particularly from impact investments which will help our clients make a positive difference around the world.

We work closely with members of our Tax team to provide the full service of legal advice for the structuring and establishment of funds. The Funds team is a part of our firm's Financial Services Group and benefits from the full support of a team of specialist lawyers to provide advice on the related regulatory aspects of fund raising (e.g. financial promotions and AIFMD).

We stand out for our innovative approach to service delivery. The firm has developed a number of in‑house legal technology and project management solutions including Datalis, a system which our Funds team built with an internal team of software developers to facilitate investor reviews, maximise efficiency and collect valuable market data. The firm also operates a hub of freelance lawyers including a dedicated group of paralegals for our Funds team.

Our Funds team provides exciting opportunities for its members to grow and develop. We are in a growth phase with backing from the firm which gives rise to fantastic opportunities for new joiners.

Recent Work Highlights

• Advising Clean Growth Investment Management LLP on its establishment and the establishment of the Clean Growth Fund and its successor fund both formed to invest in companies that are pioneering carbon emission reductions in power, energy, building, transport, industry and waste.
• Advising climate‑tech VC fund Systemiq Capital on its successful second fund‑raising for a fund seeking to back the best early‑stage climate tech entrepreneurs.
• Advising Asian Development Bank on the design and development of an innovative Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
• Advising International Finance Corporation on its commitments into several impact investment funds including a conservation and communities blended finance fund focused on ecotourism businesses in Sub‑Saharan Africa and a venture capital fund focused on the information and communications technology sector across eastern Europe.
• Sango Capital on the establishment of a dedicated vehicle to acquire secondary fund interests and advising on the first transaction of a secondary acquisition of the majority of portfolio interests in an African PE fund. The transaction was the first transaction of its kind in Africa.

The Candidate Required

The ideal candidate will be able to support our team and will have experience of advising on various matters relating to the establishment of and investing in private investment funds. It will also be essential that the candidate enjoys business development to help us achieve our ambitions for growth. For candidates with post‑qualification experience such experience should ideally include:

• Drafting constitutional documentation of funds including limited partnership agreements, shareholder agreements and unit trust deeds.
• Drafting and negotiating ancillary documentation such as management agreements and administration agreements.
• Advising on carried interest arrangements.
• Reviewing marketing material.
• High‑level advice on UK financial regulation as it relates to investment funds (specifically familiarity with AIFMD and the UK’s financial promotion regime).
• Negotiating fund documentation with investors and dealing with side‑letter requests.
• Drafting LLP agreements in relation to setting up new managers.
• Dealing with offshore law firms and administrators.
• Reviewing fund documentation for institutional investors and preparing fund review reports.
• Negotiating with fund counsel when acting for investors (either as cornerstone investor or as a minority investor).
• Discussing new funds with both start‑up and experienced managers.

Additional Attributes

As well as having the experience mentioned above the candidate should demonstrate:

• Strong academics.
• A desire to work on creating marketing material and be involved in business development; this is a growing team and we would like the candidate to take an active part in that process.
• An ability to work on a small number of mandates that don’t fit a traditional private funds role, for example this may include advising on joint‑venture agreements and working with our Corporate colleagues on M&A transactions involving asset‑management firms.
• An ability to be a team player who can work with different groups and lawyers across the firm.
• A desire to promote and drive innovative service delivery for our clients as part of the Funds team.
• An eagerness to work in a growing international firm that is often involved in headline‑making transactions.

What We’ll Offer You

• We are a market‑leading dynamic and growing global team who work together to produce outstanding results for our clients.
• We invest in our team and have a first‑class training and career development programme — monthly 1:1s, career discussions and biannual appraisals. Our training reflects our position as a market leader in communications and sourcing. Our training will assist you to develop as a specialist with valuable sector knowledge and the ability to deliver best‑of‑breed services.
• Early responsibility and opportunities to develop client relationships.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.

Awards

Pinsent Masons won the title of Europe’s Most Innovative Law Firm at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyer Awards Europe 2023 and the Best Talent and Inclusion award at The Lawyer Awards 2022. The firm has been named global Construction Law Firm of the Year 2023 in the Who’s Who Legal Awards. The firm is also named Diversity & Inclusion Firm of the Year 2023 by the Legal 500 Northern Powerhouse Awards. The firm has placed in the Top 10 Top Employers for Working Families for its 7th consecutive year.

Other Information

We are seeking to recruit a private investment funds candidate who can be based at any of our Edinburgh, Glasgow or London offices but we work on a genuine cross‑office basis and so the candidate will work with colleagues across our UK and international offices giving the candidate the exposure to a full spectrum of funds work including for City and international based clients. The ideal candidate would be a qualified lawyer with experience of funds transactions and related work.

Please note we only accept applications made via our recruitment portal. Should you require further details please contact our in‑house Lateral Recruitment Advisor Steffy Lam who can discuss the role and requirements.

Contact Details

Pinsent Masons we value diversity and inclusion. We are committed to creating a better workplace where all our talent can succeed and feel like they belong. We want to attract, retain and develop people at all levels and encourage applications from all suitably qualified candidates, whatever your ethnicity, religion, age, physical or mental disability / long‑term condition, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or any other characteristics protected by local law in the jurisdictions in which we operate.

Key Skills

• Time Management
• Microsoft Office
• Communication skills
• Computer Skills
• Microsoft Word
• Banking
• Legal Research
• Microsoft Powerpoint
• Microsoft Excel
• Underwriting
• Phone Etiquette

Employment Type: Full‑Time

Department / Functional Area: Legal

Experience: years

Vacancy: 1