Associate General Counsel

Description:

OPTrust, a major Canadian public pension plan and institutional investor based in Toronto, Canada, is looking for an exceptional transaction lawyer to lead our legal function in our London office.

This is a unique opportunity to work closely with a small but exceptional investment team in support of our private investments mandate in Europe, which invests and manages part of our more than C$26 billion pool of assets.

In this highly collaborative role, you will be directly advising and partnering with the London-based investment team, supporting and providing them with pro-active, solutions-based legal and risk management advice on a wide range of domestic and international transactional and corporate matters. A motivated self-starter with a partnering focused mindset, you will find yourself exposed to a broad range of investment transactions with a focus on both direct and indirect private equity, fund, and infrastructure investments. Additionally, you will assist in the management of local regulatory requirements applicable to OPTrust and its UK-based subsidiaries as well as advise on day-to-day operational matters in London.

What You’ll Do

• Support and advise the investment team with sound counsel on transactional matters
• Participate as an active partner with the investment team and business units across the organization, using the opportunity to guide and support decision making and mitigate risk
• Work directly with internal Legal, Tax, Compliance, Investment Finance, Communications, and others to provide business friendly and creative legal and investment solutions
• Advise on committee matters and support the development of internal investment, governance and risk management policies for the London office
• Provide corporate governance and regulatory compliance advice and support the operations of the London office
• Partner with your Toronto and Sydney based legal colleagues on a variety of innovative initiatives
• Instruct and manage external counsel

What You Bring

• LLB (or equivalent) and qualified to practice law in the U.K.
• 8+ years of experience in private equity, mergers & acquisitions, and/or infrastructure at a top-tier law firm or in-house legal department
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, adaptable and flexible
• Ability to work with minimal supervision
• Enjoys working collaboratively with many different stakeholders
• Client-oriented approach and a demonstrated ability to build trust
• Strong legal and business judgment
• Exceptional organizational and analytical skills with the ability to project manage critical work to completion
• Willingness to travel, as occasionally required
• Exemplify OPTrust’s values: collaboration and teamwork, integrity, respect, flexibility, excellence, and continuous improvement.