At a glance

The Legal Counsel is positioned in the UK Legal Department and reports to the Head of Legal UK Corporate Affairs and Governance. 

The UK Legal Department provides legal support to businesses, support functions and senior management within ABN AMRO UK 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; labour affairs (employment); and engaging external legal counsel.

The role is responsible for advising the businesses (which in the UK includes transaction banking, clearing, markets, leasing, commercial finance, financing solutions and coverage) and support functions (technology & operations, finance, risk, HR and compliance) on a wide range of commercial contracts and privacy issues. In addition to advising on existing and new processes, senior legal counsel will assist the Head of Legal UK Corporate Affairs and 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.
 

Your job

Guidance and specialised legal advice
•    Anticipates future developments influencing the position of the bank and the financial industry. Analyses legal risks and commercial interests in a broad context and proposes creative 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, innovative 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 excellent in all circumstances. Escalates issues to the Head of Legal UK Corporate Affairs and Governance and/or business (management) (as appropriate).

Network and lobby    
•    Actively develops and expands an extensive (international) 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 key point of contact for their field of expertise. 

Project/File/Transaction Management
•    Deals with complex legal issues in a broad context (legal complexity in combination with: large files/projects/transactions, with high profile, considerable 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 optimize 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

ABN AMRO is an enterprising bank with a primary focus on Northwest Europe. We serve clients in the retail, private banking and corporate banking sectors. We are also present internationally in a number of specialist activities, such as Corporate and Commercial Banking, Asset Based Finance and Clearing.

At ABN AMRO we have a clear purpose: Banking for better, for generations to come. The shift towards sustainability is one of the most important challenges of our time. Supporting our clients at times that matter has always been our role and our responsibility. Together, we aim high and work towards lasting relationships that are relevant and responsible, both now and in the future. We want to be the bank that leads the way.

Our strategy goes far beyond financial value: we want to accelerate the transition to sustainability. We do this by supporting and advising our clients in order to facilitate their sustainability shift. Our commitment to clients, employees, investors and society calls for clear direction, focus and dedication.

We concentrate on our three strategic pillars:

• Support our clients transition to sustainability
• Reinvent the customer experience
• Build a future-proof bank

Our strategy requires a culture of working together and permanent learning. It's only with this mindset that we unleash the best in ourselves to deliver a high standard of performance. ABN AMRO's culture is the catalyst for the evolution in which we find ourselves: our people are imaginative, trust each other and do just that little bit extra to help clients.

ABN AMRO UK is part of the Corporate Banking business line and operates the following businesses in the UK:

• Corporate and Institutional Banking which includes Corporate Banking, Clearing, Global Markets - Sales & Trading and Financial Institutions 
• Commercial Banking which includes Asset Based Finance and International Desk, which provides transactional banking services

Our business lines are supported by a number of functions such as Risk, Compliance, Legal, IT, Finance (Including Tax), Business Management and Human Resources. We currently employ approx. 380 people in the UK.

Your profile

•    Experience gained at a major national or internationally recognised law firm.
•    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.
•    Knowledge of laws and regulations applicable to the financial industry. In particular, knowledge of regulatory outsourcing in the context of financial services would be advantageous.
•    Willingness and ability to advise on and develop further knowledge of a wide variety of legal topics relevant to ABN AMRO including banking, company law, commercial, data protection, disputes, employment and financial services regulatory.
•    Specialised knowledge of commercial contracts and privacy topics.

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?

Are you interested?   Please apply via the button below.

For more information please contact Niki Champion, Senior Resourcing Partner, UKrecruitment@uk.abnamro.com, +44 203 192 9342.