Senior Legal Counsel

Job description / Role

Role Purpose

The role holder is responsible for ensuring the provision of legal advice and services in a time saving and cost-efficient manner; adherence to corporate governance and compliance measures; and adherence to procurement best practices. The role holder is also responsible for managing all Retail and Residential Leasing legal service requests and acting in the best interests of these business functions.

Key Responsibilities/Accountabilities

Legal Advice, Correspondence and Documentation

* Act as a senior legal counsel to the groups business units / subsidiaries in relation to all retail and residential leasing matters raised with Legal and provide timely and accurate legal advice to protect the business' legal rights, ensure compliance, raise legal awareness and mitigate against risk.
* Act as the main point of contact for the retail and residential business sectors where legal advice and direction is requested, including on complex and specialized matters.
* Draft review and negotiate contracts so that the business objectives can be achieved without unacceptable exposure to legal or commercial risk.
* Negotiate and enter discussions on behalf of the group with external parties on different types of transactions and in doing so protect the organization's interests at all times, including provision of support to negotiate settlements with a view to avoiding litigation.
* Ensure consistency of approach and style within the standard documentation across relevant business units of the group as directed by the Executive Director of Legal.
* Proactively standardize template contracts to promote certainty and internal efficacy and implementation of business policy.
* Ensure that all business unit of the group are compliant with all relevant local and regional laws and regulations through providing advice and guidance on policy, process, and documentation.
* Assess and create risk profiles for the group and develop appropriate measures to address and mitigate identified risks.
* Provide on-going strategic and tactical advice and support on leasing and land bank related matters.

Inter and Intra Department Support

* Provide technical assistance and quality assurance to the Legal Department.
* Manage a team of paralegals, managers, and support staff, as required and supervise the progress and quality of their work and ensure adherence to timelines.
* Provide and / or coordinate training for the business units of the group to address legal issues that maybe of significance or concern.
* Assist in liaising with head office to report to the groups management on all litigious issues and disputes and on progress and on judgments / verdicts given.
* Coordinate with the Executive Director - Legal on work strategy and approach, response timelines, assignment of the legal work and responsibilities, and outsourcing of legal work to external law firms.

Auditing Support & Service Provider Management

* Assist internal audit and government audit and provide all necessary information and documents as required.
* Assist the Executive Director of Legal in preparing the scope of work, selection of external legal service providers and monitoring of their performance with respect to quality / delivery of services and costs when required.

Reporting

* Report to the Executive Director - Legal on transactions progress and material work assignments, on legal work progress of the supervised team, and on any feedback received from the business units of the group.
* Prepare, in coordination with the Executive Director - Legal, monthly, and quarterly reports as may be required to report on the legal function and services to the group management.
* Report to the Executive Director on all matters which may materially affect the creditworthiness or goodwill of the group, or its parent company and on such other matters as would in the opinion of a prudent in-house legal counsel warrant the attention of the management.

Requirements

Knowledge & Experience

* Bachelor's degree in Law.
* Qualified Lawyer
* Minimum 8 to 10 years of post-qualification experience as in house legal counsel or with a Law Firm, specializing in real estate or commercial property with at least 3 years in a senior / managerial role.

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About the Company

Founded in 1948, Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE symbol: RHI) is the world\'s first and largest specialized staffing firm and a member of the S&P 500 index. We are a global leader in professional staffing and consulting services and the parent company of Protiviti, a leading independent internal audit and business and technology risk consulting firm. For 2006, Robert Half International reported revenues of $4 billion and now has staffing and consulting operations in more than 400 locations worldwide.