In-House Counsel Jobs

Our client within the financial services industry is seeking to add a VP of Legal Counsel to their team. In this role, your focus will be to support the Canadian Branch on Canadian law matters. You will focus on Regulatory Change Management, Transactions as well as Procurement and Sourcing. This will be the first legal in-house position for the Canadian branch and it will report into the Chief Compliance Officer for local employee matters.

Perks: Base plus bonus, hybrid work model, RRSP matching, flexible hours, vacation, sick days, personal days, full benefits and more!

Role & Responsibilities

• Participate in relevant industry groups (ie: LSTA) to remain current on legislation and market practices
• Identify and analyze cross-border legal, regulatory and market issues affecting the commercial lending businesses
• Identify legal risks associate with products and activities
• Escalate issues and developments to senior attorneys and management
• Work closely with third-party risk management and various stakeholders
• Collaborate with attorneys in the legal department and other internal stakeholders to ensure adherence to policies
• Review, draft and negotiate vendor contracts
• Review and determine the applicability of Canadian laws and regulations to the Canadian branch
• Assist the Canadian branch's commercial banking transactions
• Ensure the work product is consistent with risk tolerance and broader practice
• Work closely with the office and other stakeholders to assist with structuring of credit transactions
• Engage external counsel to assist with legal workstreams
• Advise departments and other branches on matters of Canadian law and market practice
• Act as point of contact to the legal department and liaise with other SME's on legal issues (ie: cybersecurity, litigation, employment, governance, law firm billing, etc)
• Participate in legal education seminars related to commercial lending
• Supervise and manage external counsel engaged to assist with third party contracts
• Supervise and manage external counsel
• Reviewing, drafting and negotiating documentation for credit transaction (ie: credit agreements, reimbursement agreements, guarantees, security agreements, engagement letters, fee letters, term sheets, NDA's, etc)
• Provide legal advise and support regulatory change management
• Maintain and update form documents

Qualifications & Experience

• Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced and demanding environment
• Ability to articulate complex concepts and apply them at a practical level to real-world situations
• 4+ years of experience at a law firm or in-house legal department advising financial institutions on commercial lending transactions.
• Ability to provide sound legal advise with good judgement
• Excellent communication skills, technical drafting skills, and issue-spotting skills.
• Admission to the Ontario bar (or clear qualification of eligibility for waiving in from another jurisdiction) and a member in good standing of the bar
• Experience with general credit transactions and cross-border financing considered an asset
• Must have skills in legal risk management
• Must have a Degree in Law
• Excellent legal and analytical skills