Legal Counsel at Smart Partners

Job Summary

• Responsible for the day to day provision of legal advisory services to the Fund Manager Teams and the Firm.

Key Responsibilities
Transaction Support to all Deal Areas:

• Working with core investment teams on required deal structuring input
• Reviewing all related draft memoranda and agreements
• Support with negotiating agreements
• Providing needed legal input along the Investment Making process at the Firm’s operating companies
• Analysis and development of key legal learning on past and current deals to serve as precedents to the firm.

Management of External Counsel and Advisors:

• Briefing of external counsel on a need basis
• Interfacing with external counsel as may be required
• Oversight and quality control of work done by external counsel
• Managing the value received from external counsel engagements.

Internal Legal Advisory Function:

• Supporting with on-going legal input to internal functions and projects
• Developing and codifying L&C’s Operating Policies and Manuals
• Developing and maintaining L&C’s legal resource centre (hard & electronic)
• Supporting the Firm’s pro bono/charitable initiatives, including Structuring, start-up, and running of the Firm’s Foundation.

Other functions:

• Where possible encouraging in-sourcing of appropriate legal work to ensure enhanced financial returns/ savings from the team
• Team leading and management responsibilities
• Discharging specific responsibilities that may be assigned by management from time to time
• Business development support: information/relationships leverage, etc to pursue/convert opportunities.

Skills and Attributes

• 8 to 10 years’ full time relevant corporate experience as a transaction lawyer (advisory, structuring, contract drafting and negotiations)
• In-house and/ or law firm practice experience primarily in M&A and private equity/ venture capital or investment transactions
• Excellent negotiation and drafting skills
• Ability to be the primary in-house attorney on certain projects, including handling multiple simultaneous transactions or projects
• Superior interpersonal skills and team-first attitude
• Sound and practical business judgment
• Excellent communication and business writing skills
• Strong decision-making abilities, attention to detail, and ability to give guidance in a timely manner
• Initiative, creativity, proactive and solution driven thinking.
• Models/maintains unwavering standards of ethics, conduct and organizational policies.
• Experience in investment banking.
• Able to interface effectively with all levels of the organization and stakeholders; ability to build excellent working relationships within a matrix environment (both cross-functionally and externally).onment (both cross-functionally and externally).