Senior Legal Advisor

Profile Personnel; East London; On-site; ZAR 200 000 - 300 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading legal firm is seeking an experienced legal advisor to provide in-house legal services related to project finance, corporate law, and legal risk mitigation. The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's Degree in Law and a minimum of 8 years of legal practice experience, with a focus on corporate law and legal recoveries. Responsibilities include drafting legal opinions, conducting legal research, and managing relationships with stakeholders. This position is based in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 8 years legal practice or advisory experience.
• 5 years post admission as an attorney or advocate.
• Knowledge of Corporate Law and/or Legal Recoveries is essential.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice and draft legal opinions.
• Conduct legal research and prepare memoranda.
• Manage relationships with various stakeholders.

Skills

Legal advisory

Project finance

Strategic planning

Risk management

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Law (LLB/B. Com Law)

Job description

The role shall be responsible for rendering inhouse legal services relating to:

• project finance (i.e. drafting, review, negotiations and re-negotiations of project finance),
• commercial and corporate finance transactions for the corporation and its subsidiaries;
• providing legal advice relating to designated area of work to mitigate the legal risks that the corporation and its subsidiaries may be exposed to in their daily activities;
• providing legal services relating to drafting, custody and perfection of securities for loans, and
• legal support for collection of outstanding loans; and provision of legal services support to the Company.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

The Key Performance Areas will encompass:

Strategic Planning and Governance

• Provide input to the organisational strategy and Corporate Plan, as well as, reviewing organisational activities and recommend corrective actions if necessary.
• Contribute to corporate strategy by identifying data that can be used to support, influence and leverage results.
• Enhance and implement treasury systems, processes, procedures, tools, and control systems.
• Implement controls within the organisation which minimize potential risk to stakeholders.
• Oversee that monthly, quarterly, and annual reports are prepared accurately, maintained, and submitted timeously to all stakeholders.
• Participate in management forums within Company, contributing expertise to enable sound decision making.
• Facilitate inter-departmental communication through appropriate structures and systems.
• Develop and manage relationships with all internal and external stakeholders.

Provision of Legal Support and Opinion to Business Units and Subsidiaries

• Provide strategic support to Company business units and subsidiaries on any legal related issues/matters to reach an amicable solution.
• Provide legal advice and draft legal opinions / legal documents to ensure that business units operate within the legal framework.
• Conduct factual problem and dispute analysis through consultations.
• Assess contingency and reliability of available evidence and burden of proof.
• Conduct legal research on legal aspects of disputes or problem areas and provide legal opinion where necessary.
• Prepare memoranda to external attorneys and counsel as and when required.
• Analyse costs of litigation matters and report on the overall expenditure.
• Track progress of implementation of outcomes of legal opinions analyse costs of litigation matters and report on the overall expenditure.

Legal Risk Mitigation

• Provide legal support by establishing, communicating and facilitating the use of appropriate risk management methodologies, tools and techniques to mitigate risk.
• Support business units and subsidiaries in establishing, maintaining and continuously improving risk management capabilities.
• Conduct risk analysis and advise Line Management of direct and indirect risks of the impact involved for decision making.
• Provide legal guidance and proactively identify any associated legal risks that business units may encounter.

Perfection of securities for loans recoveries

• Develop frameworks and techniques to deal with the perfection of securities for loans recoveries as they have direct effect on economic growth and business development.
• Analyse major commercial proposals in development finance and property development.

Provision of legal support to Company

• Prepare and submit monthly reports to the attention of debt collections unit.
• Develop a business unit plan to provide guidance and direction of the operations of debt collection unit.

Stakeholder Management

• Manage relationships with different stakeholders, such as attorneys, counsel, business units, Company tenants and clients.
• Ad hoc liaison and meetings with Company tenants, prospective tenants, institutional tenants and organised business structures.
• Liaison and hold meetings with various stakeholders, as well as, managing relations with property developers and funders.
• Liaison and hold meetings with institutional clients and organised business structures to articulate Company's strategic objectives.
• Network with key stakeholders, business formations, and other development bodies.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in the legal field, e.g. LLB/B. Com Law and admission as a practicing Attorney.
• Minimum of 8 years legal practice or advisory experience in a professional service environment, 5 years of which should be post admission as an attorney or advocate with relevant work experience at middle management or senior consultant level. Knowledge of Corporate Law and/or Legal Recoveries is essential.