Private Equity Funds and Transactional Lawyer

Morgan Stanley; Greater London; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Morgan Stanley seeks a qualified lawyer to join the EMEA Legal and Compliance team, supporting the MSIM Private Markets business with a focus on real assets platform coverage. The role offers exposure to regulatory projects, fund governance, and complex transactions across real estate and infrastructure.

The ideal candidate has 6+ years PQE in a major US/UK law firm or buy-side institution, with strong knowledge of investment management and regulatory frameworks such as MiFID, AIFMD, and SFDR.

Qualifications

• Experience representing private investment funds and companies in M&A and related control transactions.
• Experience in real estate and/or infrastructure investments.
• Knowledge of funds governance including AIFMD.

Responsibilities

• Lead legal coverage for real estate and infrastructure transactions including private M&A and restructurings.
• Advise portfolio management and transaction teams on asset management matters across real estate and infra sectors.
• Advise on tax structuring, financing, regulation, governance and disputes affecting investments.
• Support structuring and launch of private market investment products and funds.
• Advise on fund distribution and onboarding of investors.
• Provide daily legal support for funds and service providers.
• Assess impact of regulatory changes on the business and implement changes.

Skills

Real estate & infra transactions

M&A private & public takeovers

Fund governance & AIFMD

Complex commercial contracts

Regulatory knowledge (MiFID, SFDR, Vol

PQE 6+ years (UK/US firm)

Job description

Private Equity Funds and Transactional Lawyer

Location: London

JR042449

The EMEA Legal and Compliance Department oversees the Firm's compliance with regulatory, transactional, and operational requirements across Morgan Stanley's businesses in the EMEA region, including Investment Management, Institutional Securities, Investment Banking, Research, and Wealth Management.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) is a global asset management business offering investment solutions across public and private markets. In EMEA, MSIM Private Markets manages real assets, private credit, private equity, and private equity solutions strategies, while MSIM Public Markets manages listed equities, fixed income, multi-asset, portfolio solutions, and money market strategies. MSIM operates a range of pooled investment vehicles, including UCITS and AIF structures domiciled in Luxembourg, Ireland, and the UK.

MSIM Private Markets' investor base primarily includes sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, government entities, and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, investment management, and wealth management services. With offices in more than 40 countries, the Firm serves corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals worldwide.

We are seeking a qualified lawyer to join the EMEA Legal and Compliance team supporting the MSIM Private Markets business. The role will focus primarily on providing legal coverage to the Real Assets platform, with opportunities to support broader MSIM initiatives, including regulatory and strategic projects.

In the Legal & Compliance division, we assist the Firm in achieving its business objectives by facilitating and overseeing the Firm’s management of legal, regulatory and franchise risk.

Since 1935, Morgan Stanley is known as a global leader in financial services, always evolving and innovating to better serve our clients and our communities in more than 40 countries around the world.

What you'll do in the role:

• Lead legal coverage for real estate and infrastructure transactions, including private M&A, public takeovers, restructurings, refinancings, and joint ventures.
• Serve as a primary legal adviser to portfolio management and transaction teams on asset management matters across the real estate and infrastructure sectors.
• Advise on a broad range of issues affecting portfolio investments, including sector-specific regulation, financing, tax structuring, financial crime considerations, governance, and dispute resolution.
• Support the structuring and launch of private market investment products, including private equity funds, closed-ended vehicles, hybrid structures, and bespoke solutions.
• Advise on fund distribution activities and support the onboarding of new investors.
• Provide day-to-day legal support for the operation and maintenance of investment funds, including advising on legal and regulatory matters relating to service providers such as administrators and depositaries.
• Assess the impact of new legal and regulatory developments on the business and advise on implementation and structural change initiatives across the investment management platform.

What you'll bring to the role:

• Expertise in a combination (but not necessarily all) of the following areas are desirable:
  • A working knowledge or prior experience of representing private investment funds and companies in M&A control-transactions, as well as take-privates, minority investments and joint ventures;
  • Experience in real estate and/or infrastructure investments;
  • A working knowledge of funds in general and fund governance (including AIFMD);
  • Experience in advising on complex commercial contracts with clients, distributors, intermediaries or other agents within the asset management sector and knowledge of investment management agreements;
  • Affinity with financial services regulation (including understanding of current regulatory framework affecting trading and investments (e.g., MIFID, AIFMD, SFDR) and US regulation (such as the Volcker Rule);
  • At least 6 years PQE in a US or UK major law firm and/or in-house at a buy-side regulated financial institution or investment fund.

In addition, the following qualities will be expected:

• Professional maturity, confidence, presence, and initiative;
• Excellent communication and analytical skills;
• Good judgment and practical outlook in the application of law;
• Strong organizational skills;
• Ability to work well in a team;
• Aptitude for risk and controls.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM MORGAN STANLEY:

At Morgan Stanley, we raise, manage and allocate capital for our clients – helping them reach their goals. We do it in a way that’s differentiated – and we’ve done that for 90 years. Our values – putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back – aren’t just beliefs, they guide the decisions we make every day to do what's best for our clients, communities and more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you’ll find an opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest, in an environment where you are supported and empowered. Our teams are relentless collaborators and creative thinkers, fueled by their diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are proud to support our employees and their families at every point along their work-life journey, offering some of the most attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry. There’s also ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.

Certified Persons Regulatory Requirements:

If this role is deemed a Certified role and may require the role holder to hold mandatory regulatory qualifications or the minimum qualifications to meet internal company benchmarks.

Flexible work statement

Interested in flexible working opportunities? Morgan Stanley empowers employees to have greater freedom of choice through flexible working arrangements.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a workforce that is diverse in experience and background. Our recruiting efforts reflect our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion, where individuals are hired, developed, and advanced based on their skills and talents.

Our workforce reflects a broad cross-section of the global communities in which we operate, bringing a variety of backgrounds, talents, perspectives, and experiences.