Senior Legal Counsel

HSBC Holdings plc; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private healthcare

Contributory pension scheme

Job summary

HSBC Holdings plc in the United Kingdom seeks an experienced Senior Legal Counsel to advise on UK/EU regulatory matters for Markets and Securities Services. You will shape guidance on tokenisation, digital assets and currencies, and support risk-led decision making with senior management.

The role requires 4–6 years PQE, strong drafting and negotiation skills, and the ability to manage high-volume regulatory issues across multiple business lines within a global legal network.

Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer with 4–6 years’ post-qualification experience.

Responsibilities

• Act as the senior/lead regulatory lawyer for HSBC Bank plc’s Markets and Securities Services (MSS) division.
• Provide lead UK and EU law regulatory advice, including interpretation and application to MSS activities.
• Support delivery of the bank’s Tokenisation, Digital Assets and Currencies strategy with clear, practical legal guidance.
• Advise on complex legal, conduct, reputational and regulatory matters, ensuring risks are identified, escalated, reported and mitigated.
• Partner strategically with the business on regulatory engagement and conduct topics, acting as a trusted, pragmatic adviser.
• Draft, review and negotiate contracts and transaction documentation relevant to MSS, balancing commercial needs with risk controls.
• Track and respond to new legal/regulatory/market developments, briefing senior legal management and educating business teams on implications.
• Execute Legal’s second line of defence responsibilities by operating within relevant policies/procedures, promoting best practice and managing external counsel/industry engagement where needed.

Skills

Regulatory law

Contract drafting

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Regulatory updates

AI in legal work

Education

Qualified lawyer (England & Wales)

Tools

Generative AI for legal

Job description

If you’re looking for a career that will help you stand out, join HSBC, and fulfil your potential - whether you want a career that could take you to the top, or an exciting new direction, we offer opportunities, support and rewards that will take you further.

We’re one of the largest banking and financial services organisations in the world, with a network that covers more than 50 countries and territories. We aim to be where the growth is, enabling businesses to thrive and economies to prosper, and, ultimately, helping people fulfil their hopes and realise their ambitions.

We’re currently seeking an experienced professional to join our team in the role of Senior Legal Counsel.

This Senior Legal Counsel role is a high-impact opportunity within Global Legal to protect HSBC’s reputation and help safeguard the organisation by providing trusted, expert advice to senior management and the Global Businesses and Functions. You’ll operate close to decision-making, identifying, escalating and mitigating legal and reputational risks across your area of coverage, with the backing of a global legal network that brings deep jurisdictional and practice expertise across HSBC’s footprint. Reporting into senior legal leadership, the role offers meaningful influence, breadth of stakeholder engagement, and the chance to shape outcomes by enabling the business to move at pace while staying within a robust risk and control framework.

As an HSBC employee in the UK, you’ll have access to tailored professional development opportunities and a competitive pay and benefits package. This includes private healthcare for all UK-based employees, enhanced maternity and adoption pay and support when you return to work, and a contributory pension scheme with a generous employer contribution.

In this role you’ll:

• Act as the senior/lead regulatory lawyer for HSBC Bank plc’s Markets and Securities Services (MSS) division
• Provide lead UK and EU law regulatory advice, including interpretation and application to MSS activities
• Support delivery of the bank’s Tokenisation, Digital Assets and Currencies strategy with clear, practical legal guidance
• Advise on complex legal, conduct, reputational and regulatory matters, ensuring risks are identified, escalated, reported and mitigated
• Partner strategically with the business on regulatory engagement and conduct topics, acting as a trusted, pragmatic adviser
• Draft, review and negotiate contracts and transaction documentation relevant to MSS, balancing commercial needs with risk controls
• Track and respond to new legal/regulatory/market developments, briefing senior legal management and educating business teams on implications
• Execute Legal’s second line of defence responsibilities by operating within relevant policies/procedures, promoting best practice and managing external counsel/industry engagement where needed.

To be successful in this role you should meet the following requirements:

• Qualified lawyer (England & Wales or equivalent) with 4-6 years’ post-qualification experience
• Deep regulatory legal experience, ideally covering Markets and Securities Services and related UK/EU regulatory frameworks
• Proven track record as a confident senior practitioner handling complex, non-standard legal, conduct and reputational risk issues
• Strong drafting and negotiation experience on commercial contracts and transaction documentation, applying sound commercial judgement
• Demonstrable ability to stay current on industry and regulatory developments and translate them into practical guidance for the business
• Experience managing a high-volume, fast-paced workload across multiple business lines, including urgent and unexpected issues under pressure
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills—able to distil core risks, influence stakeholders and build strong working relationships
• Hands-on experience using legal generative AI platforms to improve efficiency/quality in legal work, alongside strong problem-solving and ownership mindset.

Opening up a world of opportunity.

Being open to different points of view is important for our business and the communities we serve. At HSBC, we’re dedicated to creating diverse and inclusive workplaces. Our recruitment processes are accessible to everyone - no matter their gender, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or age.

We take pride in being a Disability Confident Leader and will offer an interview to people with disabilities, long term conditions or neurodivergent candidates who meet the minimum criteria for the role.