In-House Counsel- Dispute Resolution - Edinburgh

Exceptional in-house role for a dispute resolution/ commercial litigation lawyer to join a leading financial services organisation- this role can be based in Edinburgh or Glasgow. 

Role Profile:

Working alongside the Senior Legal Counsel to deal with matters where input from the Legal team would be beneficial and with support from the Assistant Legal Counsel. As part of the legal team, your day-to-day responsibilities will include:

• Providing pragmatic legal advice on any dispute/potential dispute and related issues escalated to the legal team (whether in relation to the services provided or disputes with suppliers or other third parties).
• Working closely with business stakeholders to understand the background to issues, directing investigations as required and providing clear recommendations for resolution.
• Where required, legal drafting and working with client legal teams.
• Where required, instructing and managing external legal advisors, building strong working relationships.
• Providing legal input where required on any complaints or potential complaints going through pension scheme Internal Dispute Resolution Procedures and/or involving the Pensions Ombudsman and/or Financial Ombudsman Service.
• Providing legal advice on any data breaches- working with the Data Protection Officer, other members of the legal team and Data Breach Response Team as required.
• Providing responses relevant to dispute resolution to client due diligence queries and tenders.
• Liaising with internal governance groups as required to highlight themes and trends, provide advice, recommend resolution and build consensus.
• Liaising with our brokers and insurers, including supporting insurance renewals and providing notifications, updates and reports.
• Keeping abreast of legal developments (e.g. in relation to legal privilege, Pensions Ombudsman or Financial Services Ombudsman guidance) and recommend and implement change to reflect such developments.
• Drafting best practice notes on topical issues for use across the firm, developing and maintaining processes, policies, guidance, and templates and assisting with training.
• Identifying and implementing efficiencies in ways of working.
• Supporting and helping drive legal team initiatives.
• Positively contributing to the legal team, creating a professional, effective, high quality and approachable resource for the business.
• You won’t be required to attend court however, the same research, drafting and litigation skills will be useful here; investigating what has happened, why, what might be done differently and supporting client and operations teams with an approach and communications, with the aim of achieving a good outcome for our clients, the firm, and ultimately pension scheme members.
• You will act as an internal consultant- advising and working with people at all levels of the business. For that reason, it’s important that you are able to quickly build relationships and consensus, gain credibility and influence/constructively challenge others.

Candidate Requirements: 

To succeed in the role, you will be:

• Pragmatic and solutions driven- with a focus on using your judgment and initiative (whether working individually or as part of a team) to problem solve and come up with workable solutions.
• Flexible and adaptable.
• Logical and organised, good attention to detail and a focus on producing accurate work.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Able to effectively prioritise.
• Able to take on responsibility and to quickly gain credibility.
• Able to take a pro-active approach and present new ideas and ways of working.
• Able to constructively challenge stakeholders at all levels of the business.
• Able to work under pressure and to sometimes tight timescales/deadlines.

Qualifications and Experience

Essential:

• A qualified Solicitor in Scotland or England.
• Relevant material practice based and/or in-house experience in dispute resolution and/or pensions, ideally in an FCA regulated environment or financial services or professional services firm.

Preferred:

• Exposure to the pensions or wider financial services industry.
• Experience of the Pensions Ombudsman/Financial Ombudsman Service.
• Experience/knowledge of actuarial professional standards.
• Experience/knowledge of FCA rules and requirements.

On Offer:

On offer is a competitive salary and benefits package. 

To Apply:

For a confidential discussion about this position or to apply, please contact:

David Thomson- Director

Telephone: 0131 450 7164

Email: david@thomsonlrc.com