In-House Advisor (Junior Level) - Client Terms

Bird & Bird LLP; City of London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading international law firm is seeking an In-House Advisor at the junior level to work within the Office of the General Counsel. This role involves advising on client engagement terms, maintaining legal standards, and supervising junior members within the team. The ideal candidate will have experience in commercial matters and a commitment to high standards of client care. Furthermore, a background in private practice is preferred, along with relevant legal qualifications.

Benefits

Private medical cover

Life assurance

Cycle to work scheme

Discounted gym memberships

Qualifications

• Experience in working with commercial matters.
• Attention to detail and high standards of client care.
• Confident and diplomatic communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Advise on client engagement terms and agreements.
• Maintain and manage the firm's engagement terms globally.
• Supervise junior team members and support their development.

Skills

Team player

Persuasive skills

Problem-solving approach

Understanding of client care

Delegation skills

Education

Newly Qualified Solicitor

Tools

AI tools

Job description

Job Title In-House Advisor (Junior Level) - Client Terms

Role Support Functions

Expertise Support - Risk & Compliance

Job Location London

Description

An excellent opportunity has arisen for an in-house professional to join the central Office of the General Counsel (OGC) team as a Commercial (Client's terms) specialist. The position would be ideally suited to an individual with experience of working within the in-house team of a comparable business or someone looking for their first in-house legal role.

The OGC team is the firm's in-house legal team, which reports to the General Counsel, working alongside the Risk and Compliance team. The OGC at Bird & Bird is committed to providing a consistently high level of service for the firm and its partners and staff. Under the leadership of the team's Legal Director, it is aligned with and supports the firm's strategy, always promoting a One Firm culture. The function currently comprises a central team in London, with a team of 8 staff, consisting of a mixture of lawyers and non-lawyers.

Key Responsibilities

Reporting to the Legal Director of the OGC, the successful candidate will:

• Advise on Client's own engagement terms (e.g. Framework Agreements, Outside Counsel Guidelines amendments to the Firm's own terms), RFP's, Engagement Terms with professional third parties and associated queries and other related documents;
• Maintain the firm's own Engagement terms (globally) and deal with client and internal queries in relation to these;
• Advise on, draft and negotiate secondment arrangements, agreements with third parties and alternative business offerings;
• Supervise the work of more junior members of the OGC team working in the workstream;
• Draw together input from subject matter experts, including on information security, conflicts, SRA regulations, insurance, tax and privacy;
• Deal with ad hoc risk queries, being a trusted advisor on a wide range of risk issues;
• Work with the Client Engagement workstream lead, to develop and run any appropriate training for internal stakeholders and upskill more junior team members;
• Present to stakeholder groups, to promote the team and position it as trusted advisor to the Firm; and
• Initiate change where appropriate, build internal and external networks to expand and improve the service offered to the Firm by the team, and raise team profile.

What you'll bring

• Proven prior experience in working with commercial matters
• Excellent team player
• Newly Qualified Solicitor (or overseas equivalent), or equivalent workplace experience for non-qualified candidates
• Private practice experience preferred
• Proven experience in client's terms (or industry equivalent) work
• A clear understanding of the importance of high standards of client care and attention to detail
• A confident yet diplomatic manner - be adept at explaining new concepts to a group of people and tactfully challenging the status quo, both orally and in writing
• Ability and enthusiasm to handle complex workflow and team pressures by prioritising work effectively and identifying level of detail needed for each task
• Conscientious and methodical approach to problem solving
• Respecting need for discretion
• Excellent persuasive and reasoning skills and the ability to recognise when to escalate an issue and to whom
• Knowledge of key areas of the law by providing clear, precise, practical advice
• The ability to use initiative and a confidence built upon solid success and achievements
• The ability to liaise effectively with internal stakeholders as required
• Delegation and supervisory skills where appropriate
• A commitment regularly to update your own technical expertise and to achieve continuous improvement and development
• Experience in working with AI preferred

What's in it for you

We provide comprehensive support for our colleagues' health and wellbeing, including private medical cover, life assurance, critical illness cover, and regular health assessments. In addition, we offer a range of lifestyle benefits designed to help our team live their best lives, such as a cycle to work scheme, access to online GP appointments, discounted gym memberships, and an electric vehicle scheme.

The main responsibilities of this role are outlined above; however, this description is not exhaustive, and the job holder may be required to undertake additional duties from time to time to ensure the smooth running of the department. The role may require some working outside our normal working hours of 9:30am-5:30pm.

To apply, click on the 'apply' button to submit your details.

Bird & Bird opens up a world of possible for lawyers and professionals everywhere. Working for a leading international law firm like Bird & Bird means working alongside people who are truly collegiate in the way they work with everyone. We work as one global team, with over 70% of work involving people from across the firm. And that's only increasing! It's this common purpose and shared approach that makes for a more productive and collaborative place to work. Your firm. Your future.

As a disability and neurodiversity inclusive employer we want to ensure that you have a barrier-free recruitment experience at Bird & Bird. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please provide details to your recruitment contact who will be in touch to discuss any details provided and understand more about your individual adjustment needs.