Legal Counsel

Job description

Job Title: Legal Counsel
Primary Location/s: One Churchill Place, London
Corporate Grade: Vice President
Business Area: e.g. Personal & Corporate Bank
Department/Function: Legal
IAR/Regulated Role: No
Reports to: Mortgage Lead, Legal Counsel
No' of Direct Reports (if applicable):

About Barclays

Barclays is an international financial services provider engaged in personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management with an extensive presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Barclays' purpose is to help people achieve their ambitions – in the right way.

With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs approximately 140,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.
At Barclays, we recruit based on merit and are committed to promoting diversity throughout our organisation.

Personal & Corporate Bank Legal – Regulated
Managing Barclays' legal risk, regulatory change engagements and regulatory relations are the fundamental responsibilities of the Legal function.

Overall purpose of role:
· To provide expert legal advice in relation to the laws and regulations governing lending products including, but not limited to, mortgages, personal loans and overdrafts, working closely with other control functions (particularly Compliance), the product and marketing teams, and the wider Legal Function.
· To identify and advise on emerging legal and regulatory risks including on the implementation of new legislation and regulatory requirements.

Key Accountabilities and Skills required:

General Legal Risk Management
· Provide legal advice to business managers to ensure that legal issues are identified and resolved and that legal risk is managed appropriately
· Ensure that all aspects of legal risk are identified, covered and controlled in the implementation of new projects, systems, procedures and products.
· Develop and deliver strategic legal risk management initiatives in conjunction with the Heads of Legal and/or the General Counsel.
· Identify and meet management information requirements for the measurement of legal risk exposure, performance (both of internal and external legal resources) and productivity.
· Assist in the organisation of internal/external reviews to share best practice across relevant parts of the business.
· Ensure all changes to legislation, regulations, guidelines and practices affecting the markets in which the relevant parts of the business operate are analysed, evaluated and reported as required.
· Contribute towards overall best practices and legal risk management in the new products and services environment, ensuring that all activities comply with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
· Provide education, training and support to the businesses on relevant legal risk issues and developments.
· Ensure the legal service and support (both internal and external) provided to the business is of the highest standard, in so doing, establishing a “client satisfaction” process in relation to the delivery of legal services.
· Ensure an up to date and relevant knowledge of principal areas of law and practice in all relevant jurisdictions.
· Manage and control external legal resources in terms of cost and performance, including negotiation and settlement of external lawyers' fees. Act as liaison between banking personnel and external legal advisers as appropriate.
· Attend appropriate internal conferences to understand the strategy and vision of UK Banking

Regulatory Advice / Product Development and Maintenance
· Product development, from initial scoping documents to launch of a product. The role holder may have to review and advise the business on the legal and regulatory risks associated with the type of product in question and ensure that the final product is legally compliant.
· Changes to existing products, for legal or regulatory purposes. The role holder may be asked to review changes to products requested by regulators, third party underwriters and others. This will involve reviewing and advising on the changes requesting or advising on what changes are required, and signing off final versions and associated materials.
· Proposed regulation / changes to regulation. The role holder may be asked to review consultation and other papers produced by regulators and legislators proposing new regulation and consider how this might affect the bank's business.
· Implementation of new or amended regulation. The work involves interpreting regulation and advising the business on its obligations, in particular reviewing business requirements and proposed product specifications and bank processes and advising on the impact of the new regulation. The role holder will need to be aware of the various requirements and constraints of other functions of the bank.
· Financial promotions. The role holder may be asked to review financial promotions relating to our products.
· Legal / regulatory updates. The role holder will be asked to provide regular updates on laws and regulations that relate to the banking products

Risk and Control: All Barclays colleagues have to ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with regulatory requirements, Enterprise Wide Risk Management Framework and internal Barclays Policies and Policy Standards

Your Skills and Qualifications will include
· Excellent communication skills.
· Qualified Solicitor, Barrister or Legal Executive.
· Legal drafting.
· Ability to assimilate information quickly. The role holder will need to quickly gain a basic understanding of how Barclays Retail Lending and Transactional Banking businesses operate, including the different distribution channels (online, branch network and telephony).
· Legal knowledge. Preferred but not essential: knowledge and expertise of the following:
· Consumer credit law / regulation
· Mortgage law/ regulation (including but not limited to MCOBs)
· Financial Services / retail banking / payments regulation
· Consumer Protection law (e.g. Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations, Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, Data Protection Act)
· Strong drivers around Personal Excellence, Professional Discipline and Personal Development.
The Benefits: Our customers deserve the best. The same goes for our employees. That's why at Barclays you'll receive a range of benefits that include a competitive salary and all the tools, technology and support you need to succeed.
Our Culture: Everything we do is shaped by the five values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship. The values inform the foundations of our relationships with customers and clients, but they also shape how we measure and reward the performance of our employees. Simply put, success is not just about what you achieve, but about how you achieve it.
Dynamic working gives everyone at Barclays the opportunity to integrate professional and personal lives, if you have a need for flexibility then please discuss this with the hiring manager.
Barclays is an equal opportunity employer and are opposed to discrimination on any grounds. For more detailed information, please visit our dedicated Diversity and Inclusion site.

Barclays Values & Diversity

Our common purpose is to help people achieve their ambitions – in the right way. We'll measure and reward our people, not just on commercial results, but on how they live our Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship and bring them to life every day. To find out more about working at Barclays and the development opportunities we offer please visit our website www.barclays.com

We are an equal opportunity employer and we are opposed to discrimination on any grounds.