Senior Legal Counsel

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Job Summary

To develop legal, risk and compliance tactical strategy plans, integrate practice formulation and to ensure operational implementation and adoption across multiple practices for methodology, governance and delivery objectives.

Job Description

Key accountabilities

Business Partnering & General Legal Risk Management

The job holder is responsible for providing support to the Head of Legal (Indian Ocean) in the provision of legal advice and legal risk management to Business Units in Mauritius and Seychelles, primarily the Corporate and Investment Banking business unit as well as leading on key strategic projects and inorganic growth transactions. This role also involves identifying and managing legal risks across Absa Mauritius and Seychelles by:

• Planning, managing and monitoring the implementation of legal activities and processes in order to deliver on approved operational plans in an effective and efficient manner.
• Managing the reporting of legal risks within Business Units
• Providing training to Business Units in key areas of law affecting the operations of Business Units.
• Managing responsibilities in support of the Legal Function and team members.
• Establishing key relationships with business stakeholders and ensuring effective stakeholder management.
• Leading on various strategic legal projects and initiatives that support the growth of the Legal Team and the execution of the Banks strategy.
• Understand and articulate the strategy/goals for the team and broader department.
• Understand needs of specific Business Units, with a focus on Corporate and Investment Banking, and provide legal advice and/or opinion, research and support to business in area of specialization to enable the provision of legal risk management and identify which legal risks are commercial in nature.
• Provide proactive legal advice in the drafting, review and/or execution of Corporate and Investment Banking transaction documentation including offshore finance and lending.
• Ensure that legal advice and/or opinions are accurate, current and commercially relevant by remaining up to date with the latest legal developments.
• Provide tailored, commercial advice and recommendations on legality, the lawfulness and enforceability of agreements and documents as well as concisely explaining legal risks, concepts and clauses to Business Units.
• Have a good understanding of relevant products and services across AGL and assist in structuring, negotiating and drafting legal agreements and documentation.
• Provide legal support to Business Units at meetings with other banks and/or clients and assist them to negotiate the terms of legal agreements, security documents and other documents especially where deadlocks are reached in negotiations between the bank other banks and/or clients.
• Provide comments on existing agreements and/or agreements drafted by other banks, clients or their attorneys.
• Ensure that legal agreements, security documents and other documents contain adequate provisions to manage and mitigate legal risks.
• Ensure effective and appropriate verbal and written communication of the legal risk control framework policies to Business Units.
• Monitor compliance of the legal risk control framework and immediately report any breach of the legal risk control framework to the Head of Legal & Company Secretariat (Indian Ocean) and accurately record legal risks on the legal risk reporting forms.
• Act on legal risks notified in the legal risk reports to ensure the successful mitigation of the risks.
• Provide legal input on draft bills, regulatory documents and regulations issued by governmental departments and/or regulatory body.
• Manage any litigation or claims by or against the bank including negotiating settlement agreements in relation to relevant Business Units.
• Exercise sound risk judgement based on practice, previous experience and ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with regulatory requirements, the Absa Group.
• Enterprise-Wide Risk Management Framework and internal Absa Policies and Policy Standards.
• Have a broad understanding of key risks in other areas and partners with others to manage and address them.

Reporting Management and Information

• Identify and meet management information requirements for the measurement of legal risk exposure, key legal issues and trends.
• Provide input into legal risk report submissions and ensure timely submission
• Ensure that any changes to the legal or regulatory environment are correctly reflected in the documents contained in the Standard Legal Documents Databases for Mauritius and Seychelles and in all other agreements drafted.

Legal Operations, and Training of the Central Functions

• Participate in the development of training on legal risk issues.
• Provide training to Business Units on legal documentation, developments and issues including the production of legal bulletins and seminars.
• Maintain up to date knowledge of relevant Absa governance requirements and policies.
• Ensure that any changes to the legal or regulatory environment are correctly reflected in the documents contained in the Standard Legal Documents Databases for Mauritius and Seychelles and in all other agreements drafted.
• Sharing know-how and experience with the business team and within the Absa Legal function
• Assist to develop working structures and best practice guides for use within business

Role/person specification

Preferred Education

• Law Degree with at least 10 years relevant work experience

Preferred Experience

Essential

• Admitted attorney or barrister with at least 10 years’ post qualifying experience as an in-house legal counsel in a financial institution or at least 10 years working experience in a reputable law firm.
• Extensive knowledge of Banking and finance law.
• Extensive knowledge of Commercial law Extensive knowledge of law of the law of Contract

Preferred

• Qualified Lawyer – Admitted Attorney or Barrister in Mauritius, Seychelles or another recognised jurisdiction.
• Banking law experience gained in a reputable law firm or an in-house banking environment.
• Expert working knowledge of finance and security documentation, both domestic and cross-border.
• Previous experience in leading teams and/or strategic legal projects and managing senior stakeholders Project finance (including public private partnerships).
• Corporate and structured finance
• Good knowledge of Property law
• Good knowledge of Insolvency law
• Good knowledge of Public Sector Finance
• Good knowledge of Trade (import and export) laws
• Good knowledge of mergers and acquisition
• Good knowledge of competition law

Knowledge and Skills

Technical Skills

• Communications skills
• Ability to work under pressure Level
• PC Literate Level
• People skills Level
• Coaching Level
• Relationship Management Level
• Negotiation skills Level
• Analytical skills Level
• Presentation skills Level
• Report writing Level
• Risk management Level

Education

Bachelor Honours Degree: Law, Military Science and Security (Required)

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