Investment Management Legal Counsel, VP

State Street Corp; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 203,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401K with company match

Comprehensive insurance options

Paid time off including vacation and S

Employee Assistance Program

Incentive compensation eligibility

Job summary

State Street Corp is seeking an experienced Legal Counsel for Investment Services, Vice President in Boston. The role involves advising senior business leaders on legal, regulatory, and commercial matters across investment servicing for institutional clients.

You will draft and negotiate complex agreements, monitor regulatory developments, and collaborate with Compliance, Risk, and Operations to manage risk and support strategic initiatives.

Qualifications

• JD degree and admission to practice law.
• 6+ years of experience in law within financial services.
• Strong knowledge of investment-management and financial-services laws.
• Ability to translate complex legal and regulatory issues into practical guidance.
• Experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements.
• Experience advising funds and institutional clients.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted legal advisor to Investment Services leadership and client-facing teams.
• Advise on matters involving investment funds, managers, and institutional clients.
• Draft, review, interpret, and negotiate complex client and commercial agreements.
• Provide practical legal guidance on client relationships, negotiations, and product changes.
• Advise on securities and investment-management laws and regulatory developments.
• Partner with Compliance, Risk, Audit, Operations, Product, and Technology.
• Identify and evaluate risks and provide commercially informed recommendations.
• Support interactions with clients, regulators, fund boards, and outside counsel.

Skills

Strong communication

Legal drafting

Analytical thinking

Regulatory knowledge

Business-oriented advice

Client advisory

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Admission to practice law

Job description

Legal Counsel, Investment Services, Vice President

About the Role

State Street is one of the world's leading providers of financial services to institutional investors. Investment Services is a core State Street business, delivering servicing, operational, and technology solutions to asset managers, asset owners, insurance companies, and other institutional clients globally.

Joining State Street means working at the center of a sophisticated and highly regulated financial services ecosystem. Our Legal team partners with business and control leaders to address complex legal and regulatory matters, support strategic growth, strengthen client relationships, and help the business navigate an evolving investment services landscape.

We are seeking an experienced attorney to join the Investment Services Legal team supporting the Americas business. This role provides the opportunity to advise business leaders and client-facing teams on significant legal, regulatory, commercial, operational, and reputational matters across a broad range of institutional client relationships and investment servicing activities.

The successful candidate will bring strong legal judgment, commercial awareness, and the ability to translate complex legal and regulatory considerations into practical advice that supports the business while appropriately managing risk.

What You Will Be Responsible For

As Legal Counsel, Investment Services, Vice President, you will:

• Serve as a trusted legal advisor to Investment Services business leaders, client-facing teams, and control functions on legal, regulatory, commercial, operational, and governance matters.
• Advise on matters involving investment funds, investment managers, institutional asset owners, and other sophisticated financial-services clients.
• Draft, review, interpret, and negotiate complex client and commercial agreements.
• Provide practical legal guidance on significant client relationships, negotiations, new products, service enhancements, and changes to business or operating models.
• Advise on applicable securities and investment-management laws and regulations, including relevant SEC rules and regulatory developments.
• Partner with Compliance, Risk, Audit, Operations, Product, Technology, and other functions on regulatory change, governance, remediation, and strategic initiatives.
• Identify and evaluate legal, regulatory, operational, financial, and reputational risks and provide clear, commercially informed recommendations.
• Support interactions with clients, regulators, fund boards, outside counsel, and other external stakeholders, as appropriate.
• Monitor relevant legal and regulatory developments and advise business partners on potential client, product, and operational impacts.
• Contribute to the continued development of legal processes, standards, knowledge management, and risk-management practices.

What We Value

We are looking for a commercially minded attorney who can operate effectively at the intersection of law, regulation, business strategy, and client service.

• Sound judgment and a practical, solutions-oriented approach to legal advice.
• The ability to identify the issues that matter most and provide clear, actionable guidance.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• The confidence and credibility to advise and appropriately challenge business partners.
• Intellectual curiosity and the ability to understand sophisticated products, clients, and operating models.
• A collaborative approach to working across Legal, business, and control functions.
• A commitment to integrity, accountability, and disciplined risk management.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (JD) degree and admission to practice law.
• 6+ experience practicing law within a law firm, financial institution, investment manager, asset manager, or other relevant financial-services environment.
• Strong knowledge of laws and regulations relevant to the investment-management and/or financial-services industry.
• Demonstrated ability to advise business partners on complex legal, regulatory, commercial, or client matters.
• Strong legal drafting, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to translate complex legal and regulatory issues into practical, business-oriented advice.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to build credibility and effectively advise business leaders, clients, control functions, and other stakeholders.
• Experience advising registered investment funds, including mutual funds, ETFs, money market funds, or other registered investment products, preferred.
• Experience with private and alternative investment funds, including private markets, hedge funds, real estate funds, or similar structures, preferred.
• Experience advising institutional asset owners, insurance companies, or other sophisticated institutional investors, preferred.
• Experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements, particularly within investment management or financial services, preferred.
• Familiarity with custody and asset servicing, including custody, fund administration, fund accounting, transfer agency, trustee services, securities lending, collateral, or related services, a plus.
• Prior law firm experience advising investment-management, institutional-investor, or financial-services clients a plus.

Why This Role Is Distinctive

This role combines the reach of a global financial institution with the opportunity to provide high-level legal advice across a sophisticated Investment Services business. You will partner with business and control leaders on complex legal, regulatory, commercial, and client matters, providing practical guidance that supports business objectives while appropriately managing risk.

For an experienced attorney seeking broader business exposure, sophisticated client relationships, and the opportunity to advise a core State Street business, this role offers a compelling next step.

Salary Range

$120,000 - $202,500 Annual

The range quoted above applies to the role in the primary location specified. If the candidate would ultimately work outside of the primary location above, the applicable range could differ.

Benefits

Employees are eligible to participate in State Street's comprehensive benefits program, which includes:

• our retirement savings plan (401K) with company match
• insurance coverage including basic life, medical, dental, vision, long-term disability, and other optional additional coverages
• paid-time off including vacation, sick leave, short term disability, and family care responsibilities
• access to our Employee Assistance Program
• incentive compensation including eligibility for annual performance-based awards (excluding certain sales roles subject to sales incentive plans)
• eligibility for certain tax advantaged savings plans

For a full overview, visit https://hrportal.ehr.com/statestreet/Home.

About State Street

Across the globe, institutional investors rely on us to help them manage risk, respond to challenges, and drive performance and profitability. We keep our clients at the heart of everything we do, and smart, engaged employees are essential to our continued success.

We are committed to fostering an environment where every employee feels valued and empowered to reach their full potential. As an essential partner in our shared success, you’ll benefit from inclusive development opportunities, flexible work-life support, paid volunteer days, and vibrant employee networks that keep you connected to what matters most. Join us in shaping the future.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we consider all qualified applicants for all positions without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, age, disability, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, citizenship, marital status, domestic partnership or civil union status, familial status, military and veteran status, and other characteristics protected by applicable law.

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Job Application Disclosure:

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.