Senior Legal Counsel - Financial Markets - AME

Standard Chartered Bank - UAE

UAE

Ref: HP048-1461

Job description / Role

Employment: Full Time

Senior Legal Counsel - Financial Markets - AME

General Financial Markets

* Provide general and transactional legal advice to FM across asset classes and documentation.
* Negotiate and complete applicable FM transaction documentation, in particular bespoke FX or rates trades, commodity and credit derivatives deals (CDS, CLN, TRCLN, TRS, repackaging), Islamic derivatives, equity linked financing (margin loans), structured funding (conventional and Islamic), structured repos, LPN issuances, finance-linked hedging and securitisations
* Review, maintain and manage documentation templates.
* Provide training on legal/documentation matters and legal policies and procedures.
* Provide legal review and sign-off required under relevant policies and procedures.
* Assist in liaison with external counsel and country legal and compliance colleagues.
* Provide advice on client disputes and potential defaults (e.g. triggering of credit events, close-out of derivative positions).
* Ability to analyse insolvency laws in key jurisdictions in AME to identify netting position and communicate to the business.

Identification and mitigation of legal risks:

* Determine adequacy, validity and enforceability of contractual and collateral documentation.
* Manage documentation templates automation.
* Legal knowledge management.
* Assist with review of and compliance with policies and procedures.
* Assist in process governance committees and operational risks committees.
* Assist in management of client dispute resolution, if any.
* Represent FM Legal in STAG meetings and co-ordinate any required approvals.
* Attend DTAG meetings and approve DTAGs relating to trades generated from AME.

New products development and roll-out to new jurisdictions:

* Review and provide legal sign-offs for product and country governance documents.
* Design, develop and approve new products documentation and country specific documentation.
* Lead and coordinate with country legal & compliance in relation to global roll-out of new products.
* Consider and analyse cross border legal and regulatory risks.

Regulatory reform:

* Monitor and advise on regulatory reform developments in AME.
* Provide support to business on trade reporting and central clearing initiatives.
* Provide support to Eclipse team on client clearing initiative.
* Update the regulatory reform team on AME developments.
* Liaise with regulatory reform team on Dodd Frank/ EMIR / MiFID II issues in order to advise business on such issues
* Understand the impact of EMIR, in particular margin reform on conventional as well as Islamic derivative documentation.

Legal costs management:

* Control, monitor and report external legal spending.
* Monitor quality of legal services provided by external law firms.

Requirements

Experience and knowledge:

* Degree qualified in Law.
* Qualified lawyer, preferably in a common law jurisdiction.
* Deep experience in derivatives across all asset classes and in particular credit.
* Experience in general commercial banking.
* Deep experience in structured finance and associated derivatives.
* Experience working in the markets of the bank's footprint.

Judgement:

* As Senior Legal Counsel, Financial Markets, AME, must be able to make judgement calls not just from a documentation perspective but also in light of the bank's policies and procedures and conduct considerations.
* Many issues which arise in the course of drafting or negotiating documentation are not legal issues but involve aspects of credit, market, event or operational risk. The Senior Legal Counsel, Financial Markets, AME must be able to understand the nature of these risks and contribute to the processes that mitigate these risks.
* Negotiation of documentation often requires a judgement decision in which a balance must be struck between the interests of doing business and of protecting the bank. Whilst the Senior Legal Counsel, Financial Markets, AME may not be the sole decision maker, he/she must be able to make a meaningful recommendation and to provide other stakeholders/decision maker's with sufficient information in order to make an informed decision.

About the Company

Standard Chartered Bank started in 1958 in UAE with its first branch in Sharjah. The Group’s business gradually increased in Dubai with the opening of several branches and today, Dubai is the administrative hub of the Middle East and South Asia Region. In its 43rd year, the Bank enjoys the position of having the most extensive branch network among foreign international banks in UAE with 10 branches emirate-wide.

Standard Chartered is an international bank, focused on the established and emerging markets of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America with an extensive global network of more than 600 offices in over 50 countries. The three principal business groups are Global Markets, Personal Banking and Corporate and Institutional Banking.

In UAE, we are one of the leading banks, offering an extensive range of products and services for personal customers, local companies, multinational corporate and financial institutions.

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Legal Counsel salaries in UAE

Average monthly compensation
AED 31,000

Breakdown available for industries, cities and years of experience