Financial Regulation Professional Support Lawyer (PSL) - Leeds

The Firm We stand out for being consistently excellent in advice: we not only provide technical excellence and experience but crucially, we also demonstrate real insight into our clients and what really matters to them. Our knowledge of our chosen sectors and markets, and our investment in our client relationships set us apart. We are a natural choice for FTSE100 and other "bold and beautiful" clients. We are a natural choice for talent - a firm where people fulfil their potential in an environment where they are developed and valued. We do fantastic work: exciting, challenging, fulfilling work that adds significant value to our clients, our people and our business. We are also known for our uncompromising quality. Everything we do - large and small, with our colleagues and our clients - stands up alongside the best. We are recognised for our extraordinary effort that creates sustainable value and a consistently positive experience for our clients, people and communities. The Group Addleshaw Goddard's Financial Regulation Team is one of largest in UK with a mix of over 25 lawyers and compliance professionals split over Leeds and London. The Team has a very strong reputation for regulated lending and banking and is ranked in Band 1 of Chambers and Partners 2015 for Consumer Finance. In addition to its consumer finance practice, the Team has a strong and growing wider financial regulation practice. The Team is a driving force behind the firm's payments practice, which is also considered to be one of the leading Payments practices in the UK. The Team is also establishing itself with a strong wholesale / financial markets regulatory practice, assisting clients to implement MIFID II, EMIR, Senior Persons Regime, as well as supporting transactional, banking and funds structuring work. The team is unstuffy and down to earth, but also highly ambitious and hardworking. Its approach to service delivery is highly commercial and innovative with an uncompromising approach to quality. Our Requirements We are looking for someone who can assist the team and our clients to keep on top of legislative changes, to help us to manage knowledge internally and externally, as well as help us to look out for new market opportunities, while making sure our clients get the support they need to keep abreast of regulatory change. Ideally, you will have had some reasonable experience of advising on financial regulation issues. Although the team is well known for its retail regulatory work, we having a growing need to support our wholesale regulation team. Experience of either areas is, therefore, of interest. You may have been a contentious or non-contentious regulatory lawyer or you may have been exposed to areas of regulation. You will need to have a good understanding of the framework of financial regulation and be interested in the detailed technical aspects of regulatory requirements. You will need to have a real interest in financial services and be used to working with applicable legislation and regulation. Previous PSL experience is not essential, although we would equally be interested in CVs from those who have either worked in a knowledge management role or in a regulatory affairs role. We are also interested in CVs from lawyers, with any PQE level. Drive, discipline and a real interest in the area, with some relevant knowledge will be the determining factors. You will not have fee earning responsibilities and chargeable hours targets, but you will have an important client and market facing role. The role will incorporate all of the following elements: Staying on top of regulatory developments ?? You will be required to analyse new legislation, guidance and consultations and understand and be able to summarise the key points quickly. ?? You will assist the team to effectively stay on top of regulatory developments. Business development and client services ?? You will draft client briefings and publications. ?? You will have engagement with clients, providing knowledge support to them. ?? You will assist in the management of client mailing lists and the organisation of client events. Precedents and practice notes ?? You will assist in drafting and maintaining precedents and practice notes on legal and regulatory topics. ?? You will assist in the gathering, retention and use of internally developed know how. Training and client seminars ?? You will assist in the organisation and running of client seminars. ?? You will speak at client seminars and help to pull together necessary content. ?? You will train new associates Research and thought leadership ?? You will assist the team to research novel areas of law and will input into client notes. ?? You will draft articles and draft and review content for our horizon spotting tool ?? You will follow new areas of law and be prepared to lead discussions on the impacts of regulatory changes. ?? You will contribute to thought leadership discussions and internal knowledge meetings. ?? You will lead discussion with clients on discrete topics. Effective networking ?? You will develop and grow a profile in the industry and actively ensure you develop contacts across the market. General ?? You will need to demonstrate and support the firm's values - business focus, openness and honesty, dynamism, team player, determination to succeed - through the approach to knowledge management and training activity ?? You will need to contribute to firmwide knowledge management through our wider PSL group, looking for opportunities to cross sell service lines and making sure we do not operate in silos. Knowledge, skills and experience required The candidate need not already be a PSL and we would welcome applications from lawyers seeking a change of direction. Our ideal candidate will need the following skills: ??? Be a self-starter, with a real interest in this practice area and an enquiring mind ??? Able to set and work to self-imposed deadlines ??? Have excellent interpersonal, drafting and writing skills ??? Be both proactive and very well organised ??? Have excellent presentation and communication skills ??? Be prepared to work as part of a highly-motivated and hard-working team often working to tight deadlines ??? Excellent academic achievement with a minimum 2:1 degree