Associate - Financial Services & Regulatory

The Role

We are looking for a mid-senior level Associate to join our growing London Financial Services & Regulatory Team focusing on a wide range of non-contentious, advisory, transactional and contentious matters. 

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Advising clients on a wide range of matters, with a particular focus on implementation of new regulatory requirements, including emerging regulation in the FinTech space and ESG, technical aspects of trading and markets regulation, payments regulation, consumer finance, compliance investigations and regulatory enforcement.  Associates work in a collegiate environment and can expect a good variety of work.  
• Associates are given regular and direct contact with clients, with a culture based on associates being given the level of responsibility they are ready for, rather than a PQE based method of work allocation.
• Developing relationships with clients including gaining a good knowledge of the client’s businesses, economic drivers, market and sector requirements in order to ensure advice is  relevant and commercial .  
• There are regular opportunities for secondments with clients.  Posting to other offices under the firm's associate transfer programme is also a possibility.
• Engaging in business development activities and being active in the promotion of the firm and seeking opportunities for new work 
• Working as part of a team including assisting with the supervision of junior lawyers’ work, and taking an active part in sharing knowledge and experience with the team
• This is an excellent opportunity for an Associate to join a recognised team and work closely with leaders within Financial Services.

The Team

The London Financial Services & Regulatory team sits within the firm's broader Banking & Finance Practice which comprises over 40 lawyers specialising in 15 distinct practice areas that best match the requirements of our global client base.  The wider Banking & Finance practice is noted for its expertise in acquisition finance, securitisation, bank lending, financial regulatory work and project finance, especially advising on bespoke complex transactions and those involving emerging markets.  

The Financial Services & Regulatory team currently comprises 3 Partners, 5 Associates, 1 Knowledge Lawyer and 2 Trainees.  The team operates in a dynamic, high-performing and friendly environment, and the practice has grown significantly over the last few years. 

Our Financial Services & Regulatory team provides integrated regulatory advice in respect of advisory, transactional and contentious regulatory matters spanning the full range of sub-sectors within the wider financial services sector in particular: payments, crypto, consumer credit, funds, retail and wholesale investments, insurers and intermediaries, and market infrastructure providers. Within these sectors, the team has an increasing focus on FinTech clients, spanning the full scope of the sub-sectors set out above.   

The team has been involved in some of the highest profile regulatory matters of recent years, including advising a number of large household name financial institutions on their Brexit plans, advising large, rapidly scaling FinTech organisations on global expansion projects, as well as representing firms and individuals in significant regulatory investigations.  The team is also at the forefront of new technological and policy developments, with an increasing focus on the use of Blockchain/DLT in financial services, advice on cryptoassets regulations, and on ESG reforms.   
A major benefit of the Baker McKenzie team is the opportunity for Associates to do a variety of work on advisory, transactional and contentious matters, with scope also to specialise within these areas or focus more on certain areas, as part of an integrated full service regulatory practice. We believe that giving our Associates a broad range of experience across the full spectrum of regulatory work is beneficial to our Associates and to the practice and firm as a whole. 

The London team is integrated into the firm's Global Financial Services Regulatory Practice and has excellent relationships with counterparts elsewhere in the Europe, Middle East & Africa region, in the United States, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.  As a member of the team, you will work closely with colleagues across the world who advise on similar issues in their jurisdictions.

The team boasts an enviable client roster which includes some of the fastest growing FinTech organisations in the UK and globally, as well as established, household name payment services firms, asset management firms, investment firms, insurance intermediaries, life insurance companies, and banks.  The practice spans wholesale and retail, as well as the entirety of the financial services and insurance sectors. This means that the work that the team does is a very broad mix, and lawyers have the opportunity to build areas of specialism and high calibre client relationships with well known players in the sector, as well as working regularly on cross-border matters with other offices in the firm's network.

Examples of current and recent matters include:

• Advising a UK headquartered FinTech group on a number of projects relating to its growth in the UK and overseas, including relating to the acquisition of new banking, payments and investment firm licences, new product rollouts, and the application of the Senior Managers & Certification Regime
• Advising a large, US-headquartered FinTech on a global regulatory compliance mapping project
• Advising an international payment services organisation on its exposure to the Wirecard collapse
• Advised a number of household name financial institutions, including Lloyd's of London (the insurance market), and a large global payments group, on their Brexit contingency plans
• Advising a large retail financial institution on an internal review into its AML systems and controls
• Advised a high profile retail stockbroking FinTech firm on its international expansion into the UK and EU
• Advising one of the UK's fastest growing FinTech companies on a number of projects relating to cryptoassets including its engagements with cryptoexchanges, and on involvement with stablecoins
• Advising a leading UK-headquartered life insurance and investment management group on various investigations overseas into potential misconduct and financial crime.
• Acting for a number of retail bank executives in relation to regulatory investigations by the PRA and FCA
• Advising an AIM-listed company in connection with an FCA investigation into suspected insider dealing by an employee
• Acting for a large global technology firm on FCA engagement relating to publication of financial promotions on its platform
• Advising a number of platforms including e-commerce and social media platforms on the application of PSD 2 to their business models
• Advising one of the largest global investment management groups with rapidly growing European operations on the launch of a new retail investment advisory service in the UK
• Acting for a large overseas bank in relation to the restructuring of its governance and reporting structures in EMEA
• Advising on and negotiating industry documentation, including general terms and conditions for brokerage, banking, payments and asset management services; investment management and outsourcing agreements
• Drafting global ESG policy for a major multinational bank
• Advising the asset management arm of one the world’s largest insurers on ESG compliance (including in relation to internal policies, offering documents, portfolio composition and adherence to the Taxonomy Regulation)
• Drafting trade association consultation responses to IOSCO consultation on sustainability-related regulatory and supervisory expectations in asset management and FCA consultation on climate-related disclosures by asset managers, life insurers, and FCA-regulated pension providers
• Applying for authorisation on behalf of a major climate change investment firm
• Advising a private equity manager with 150 billion AUM on a significant investment into one of the UK’s largest insurance firms
• Advising on the regulatory aspects of a merger between a major credit rating agency and benchmarks provider
• Advising a range of financial institutions on compliance with technical aspects of EMIR, the SFTR, the Short Selling Regulation and MiFID II
• Constructing technical implementation plans for compliance with upcoming settlement discipline rules under the CSDR for a number of buy-side firms

Key Skills and Experience Required

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate all or the majority of the following:

• A qualified lawyer with excellent academic credentials 
• Current experience in a Financial Services department at a leading city or international law firm
• First rate technical skills needed to support the client work of the department
• Commerciality and demonstrable business development experience
• Excellent written communication and drafting skills
• Strong service orientation - a "client first" culture
• Ability to develop strong relationships with clients and to take responsibility for this relationship
• Outstanding communication skills and the ability to adapt style as required
  
• Ability to work well in both a team and individually
• Respects and enjoys the diversity of cultural, social and academic backgrounds found in the Firm

Why Join Us?

Baker McKenzie is a truly global law firm.  Founded in 1949, we advise many of the world’s most dynamic and successful business organisations through our 13,200 people in 78 offices in 46 countries. Yet big does not mean impersonal. We work hard to ensure that everyone knows their role and has the support they need to perform it to the highest standard.  Our culture encourages this - how we work, think and behave in a collaborative and fulfilling way.

In London you will be part of a 950 person office, which is also our largest office globally. Originally opened in 1961, Baker McKenzie London is well established in the UK as a leading international law firm and is regularly involved in some of the country's most high-profile legal matters. We can offer you the work, pride and experience of being part of a leading law firm but in a local office environment that is hardworking, friendly and supportive.

The strength of the firm and our culture is evidenced by a number of recent awards, including:

• Thomson Reuters (formerly Acritas' Sharplegal) Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index, 2010- 2022 - ranked 1st
• The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers 2021-2022: currently ranked 52nd
• Refinitiv (formerly Thomson Reuters) ranked the Firm No. 1 for cross-border deals for the last 15 years. More than 70% of our deals are cross-border.
• Law360 ranked the Firm as one of the 400 Largest US Law Firms in in its annual survey in 2022.
• Identified as one of the Hall of Fame for best law firms for women by Working Mother magazine, 2011-2021.
• Received a Gold Award on Stonewall's 2022 Global Workplace Equality Index of Top Global Employers for LGBTQ+ people
• Ranked as one of the Top 10 Employers in the 2022 Social Mobility Employer Index.
• Received Double Certification for earning top marks in the 2022 Corporate Equality Index and Equidad MX of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
• Winner of the Europe Mentorship Programme - International Firm award in the Euromoney Women in Business Law Europe Awards 2021
• In 2022, we won Career Development International Firm, Diverse Women Lawyers International Firm, Work-Life Balance International Firm, Innovative International Firm of the Year and
• Women in Business International law firm (WIBL Asia).
  Baker McKenzie has been awarded "Women in Business Law Firm of the Year" and "Career Development Firm of the Year" at the inaugural Euromoney Women in Business Law Global Awards 2022

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To Apply

At Baker McKenzie we welcome direct applications.

Please click on the Apply icon to start the online application process for this role.  We will then be in touch with you once we have reviewed your application.  If you are unable to apply online, please contact the Recruitment Team on either 020 7919 1000 or Recruitment.London@bakermckenzie.com 

For more information about this position or to discuss any adjustments you may require during the process please contact in confidence, Vanessa Renforth, Recruitment Manager, on 020 7072 5731 or Vanessa.Renforth@bakermckenzie.com 

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Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity & Equity

As the first truly global law firm, diversity and inclusion are foundational to our culture and strategic vision. We are a Firm of individuals from across the globe with different backgrounds, ideas, and points of view who collegially work together to solve complex problems and design practical solutions for our clients. Our multiple perspectives come from many sources, including the diverse ethnicity, culture, gender, nationality, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, parental status, education, social background and life experience of our people.

Our global strategy is focused on our people, our culture, our clients and the communities where we operate. In 2019 we enacted ambitious new targets related to gender, racial and ethnic diversity at the Firm. These targets are viewed as a floor, not a ceiling, to advancing underrepresented groups, and they are backed by a variety of strategic initiatives aimed at achieving our goals. Our strategic vision is supported in London by six active employee led networks which champion diversity, lead on a number of internal campaigns and deliver a range of activity to celebrate differences in identity, inclusion, and key dates throughout the year including: LGBT+ History Month, International Women's Day, International Trans Day of Visibility, Mental Health Awareness Week, Pride, Black History Month, Social Mobility Week, International Day of Disabled Persons and many more!

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