Senior Legal Counsel - Regulatory

ABN AMRO Bank N.V.; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial institution is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel - Regulatory to advise UK businesses on legal and regulatory matters. The role requires strong qualifications in common law, experience in a major law firm, and excellent negotiation skills. The position supports business objectives while managing legal risks and compliance. Flexible working options are available.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Training and development opportunities

Inclusive work environment

Qualifications

• Common law qualified lawyer.
• Ability to prepare clear, concise, and complete legal documents.
• Proactive team player with negotiation skills.

Responsibilities

• Advise on regulatory issues for UK businesses.
• Manage external lawyers and legal risks.
• Conduct training on legal topics for staff.

Skills

Common law qualification

Strong research skills

Strong writing skills

Excellent negotiation skills

Strong communication skills

Attention to detail

Proactive solutions-driven approach

Education

Experience at major law firm

In-house legal experience with financial institutions

Job description

At a glance

The Senior Legal Counsel - Regulatory is positioned in the Legal department and reports to the Head of Legal UK Corporate Affairs & Governance and has an Information & Cooperation line to the Head of Legal, Clearing UK.

The UK Legal Department provides legal support to businesses, support functions and senior management within ABN AMRO UK Group and, in doing so, supports the effective management and control of legal risks taking into account the objectives of the UK Group, relevant commercial issues and in proportion to the risks and value of the UK Group.

The Legal Department supports ABN AMRO and its businesses in realising their objectives taking into due consideration the legal risks. Legal is the exclusive and independent provider of legal services for ABN AMRO and part of the 2nd Line of Defence. The Legal Mandate requires that the business involves Legal in product development; standard legal documentation; transactions where non-standard legal documentation is used, and in certain cases where standard documentation is used; corporate matters; incidents, claim handling and litigation; and engaging external legal counsel.

Your job

The role is responsible for advising the businesses (which in the UK includes transactional banking, clearing, markets, financing solutions and coverage) and support functions (technology & operations, finance, risk, HR and compliance) on a wide range of primarily regulatory issues. In addition to advising on existing and new products, the Senior Legal Counsel – Regulatory will assist the Head of Legal UK Corporate Affairs & Governance to identify, monitor and mitigate legal risks.

To provide legal advice to proactively support the UK businesses and support functions in realising their plans, whilst contributing to the management of legal and reputational risk.

Key Results and Core Activities

• Guidance and specialised legal advice – Follows future developments influencing the position of the bank and the financial industry. Analyses legal risks and commercial interests in context and proposes solutions/approaches to meet the business needs and opportunities. Steers solutions for the business by analysing the context, facts and information given. Gives verbal or written practical, independent, solution‑driven legal advice in transactions and projects and assists with the implementation when agreed that will help the client to make a commercial decision. Handles incidents, claims and litigation. Makes sure that the client relationships and the quality of the legal advice remain good in all circumstances. Escalates issues to the UK Head of Legal UK Corporate Affairs & Governance and/or business (management) (as appropriate).
• Network and lobby – Actively develops and expands a network of contacts in and outside the bank to influence decisions and build up trusted relationships. Participates on behalf of the bank in lobbying and consultations related to new laws and regulations and in professional dialogue with internal and external stakeholders.
• Training and knowledge – Gives internal presentations/training to businesses and support functions on specific legal topics to increase legal risk awareness and knowledge. Internally and externally acts as point of contact for their field of specialism.
• Project/File/Transaction Management – Deals with legal issues in a broad context (legal complexity in combination with large files/projects/transactions, with high profile, strategic impact, risk and reputation exposure, secrecy and sensitivity, time constraints, number of internal and external stakeholders/parties involved, including matters with a cross‑border dimension). Maintains contact with parties involved and seeks guidance when necessary. Manages expectations of clients and provides after sales/feedback.
• Management of external lawyers – Engages external lawyers/law firms for incidents, claims, litigation and specific legal questions. Manages the strategy, arguments and confers closely about content.
• Advice and coordination in projects – Coordinates multidisciplinary (project) teams within business line(s), within the organization and/or internationally. Manages deadlines, informs the project team/leader/client or next level management about progress, next steps, issues, impact, timelines and deals with problems to optimise the continuity.
• Policies, guidelines and standards – Prevents legal risk for the bank/business by drafting policies, guidelines and standards. Translates laws and regulations to business requirements, policies and procedures.

Your working environment

At ABN AMRO, we believe in "Banking for better, for generations to come." Equal opportunities for everyone are a crucial foundation, as we strive for an inclusive culture where all employees feel seen, heard, and valued. Our vision of being a personal bank in the digital age aligns perfectly with the demand for surprising insights and innovative solutions, born from a diverse interplay of cultures and experiences. We focus on customer experience, sustainability, and building a future‑proof bank, conducting annual reviews to ensure equal pay for equal work. Join a bank that embraces ingenuity and ambition, and make an impact with us for a better future.

Your profile

• Common law qualified lawyer.
• Experience gained at a major national or internationally recognised law firm, plus in‑house legal experience with a financial institution strongly preferred.
• Strong research, writing and drafting skills. Ability to prepare clear, concise and complete documents, reports, correspondence and other communications on legal issues.
• Strong communication skills, both written and oral.
• Proven experience in balancing legal risks with commercial needs.
• Ability to manage competing priorities effectively.
• Ability to analyse the impact of the law on new products and services.
• Proactive and solutions driven team player who is at ease liaising with internal stakeholders of varying seniority.
• Excellent negotiation skills and the ability to drive results in a collaborative environment.
• Attention to detail and excellent legal research and analysis skills, with demonstrable ability to apply these skills to produce pragmatic solutions.
• Specialised knowledge of financial services regulatory law (both UK and assimilated EU law) and a good understanding of a range of topics including FSMA, regulated activities and the regulatory perimeter, investment services, payment services, the PRA Rulebook and FCA Handbook, financial crime and AML.

We have identified that the following types of flexible working may be suitable for this role in principle. Any requests will be determined in line with our Flexible Working Policy.

Type of Flexible Working

• Job Sharing – Yes
• Remote Working – Yes
• Part time – Yes
• Flexitime – Yes
• Unpaid leave – Yes
• Staggered hours – Yes
• Other – Yes

What we offer

Joining ABN AMRO means working on meaningful projects. Projects that have an impact on our clients. Working with a wide range of people with different backgrounds, opinions and ideas. In the UK, in the Netherlands or elsewhere in our international network. We offer an environment where you will be challenged on a daily basis – professionally as well as on a personal level – so that you can grow to become the professional you want to be.

Interested?

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