Legal Counsel

NatWest; Belfast; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial institution is seeking an experienced Legal Counsel to manage legal advice primarily for Asset & Invoice Finance businesses. The successful candidate will provide expert legal strategies, support various internal teams, and ensure comprehension of legal advice across stakeholders. Candidates should have experience in in-house legal roles or major law firms, along with a deep understanding of banking law. This role offers a significant opportunity to influence legal strategies in the financial services sector.

Qualifications

• Experience in providing legal and commercial advice either in-house or at a leading UK law firm.
• Knowledge of asset and invoice finance transactions will be beneficial.
• Strong understanding of general banking law and financial services.

Responsibilities

• Manage and coordinate delivery of legal advice supporting Asset & Invoice Finance.
• Ensure legal advice is understandable to non-lawyers and delivered on time.
• Drive continuous improvement in legal practices and processes.

Skills

Legal and commercial advice

Relationship building

Knowledge of banking law

Cost management

Education

Legally qualified

Job description

Join us as a Legal Counsel

• This is an excellent opportunity to join us as a Legal Counsel, where you’ll deliver the legal strategy and provide expert, accurate and cost-effective legal advice
• Your role will sit in the Business Banking and Commercial Mid-Market Legal team, within the Commercial & Institutional Banking business area, so we’ll need you to have an understanding of associated legal issues
• You’ll be recognised as an expert in your field, and be exposed to stakeholders across the bank and externally

What you’ll do

We’re looking for an experienced Legal Counsel to manage and coordinate the delivery of legal advice, primarily supporting our Asset & Invoice Finance businesses and providing secondary support to the Business Banking and Regulatory, Commercial Mid-Market, Customer Lending Support (restructuring), and Balance Sheet Management business areas.

You’ll work closely with stakeholders and legal colleagues to ensure the timely, effective and efficient delivery of all issues, projects and initiatives, either directly or through a team.

Additionally, you’ll be:

• Making sure that legal advice is readily understandable to non-lawyers, delivered within relevant timescales, and manages and minimises legal risks
• Delivering continuous improvement in operating practices and processes, including identifying efficiencies, improvements and opportunities to reduce costs
• Providing the communication of internal and external legal advice and helping to deliver transactions and projects to stakeholders in a commercial, user friendly and efficient manner
• Managing legal costs through the use of e-billing, auctions and other cost tools and driving a culture of disciplined cost management and controls

The skills you'll need

To be successful in this role, you’ll need experience of providing legal and commercial advice in relation to transactions and projects in-house, or in a leading UK law firm, ideally including asset and invoice finance transactions and projects. We’ll expect you to have in depth knowledge of general banking law and practice, and the financial services industry, coupled with the ability to establish and maintain strong relationships across the bank. You’ll already be legally qualified, and experience in asset and invoice finance will be beneficial.

You’ll also need:

• Knowledge of the Commercial & Institutional Banking business activities, the commercial environment within which it operates and associated legal issues
• Experience of working with leading law firms and other professional advisers and consultants
• The ability to keep up to date with and share relevant legal and market developments
• A proactive attitude to develop skills in the business areas which our team supports