This is a full-time hybrid role for a Legal Counsel based in the London Area, United Kingdom, with some work-from-home flexibility.
The Legal Counsel will be the sole inhouse legal specialist for GBM Securities, supporting our prime brokerage, securities lending and trading businesses across multiple products and counterparties. The role will focus on drafting, negotiating and maintaining core trading and financing documentation, ensuring the firm’s activities are conducted within an appropriate legal and regulatory framework while enabling commercial growth.
- Draft, review and negotiate trading and financing documentation, including ISDA Master Agreements and CSAs, GMRAs, GMSLAs, MSLAs, Terms of Business, prime brokerage agreements and trade confirmations with a range of institutional counterparties.
- Maintain and update the firm’s documentation suite to reflect new products, counterparties, regulatory changes and evolving commercial terms.
- Provide clear, pragmatic legal advice to front office, operations, credit/risk and senior management on trading, collateral, margin, netting, closeout and default provisions.
- Lead negotiations with external counsel and counterparties’ legal teams, balancing legal risk with commercial objectives, and escalating key issues to senior management where appropriate.
- Support client and counterparty onboarding, including due diligence, legal capacity checks, KY related documentation, and standard terms of business.
- Advise on regulatory and market infrastructure issues impacting trading and financing documentation (e.g. EMIR, MiFID II, margin rules, SFTR, CSDR) in coordination with compliance and risk teams.
- Provide training and guidance to business and operations teams on the practical implications of key contractual terms (e.g. events of default, margin calls, rehypothecation, termination).
- Contribute to firmwide projects including new product launches, entry into new jurisdictions, and operating model changes, proactively identifying and mitigating legal risk.
- Qualified solicitor (England & Wales or equivalent common-law jurisdiction) with a strong academic legal background.
- 3–5 years’ experience in derivatives, securities lending, repo and/or prime brokerage within a bank, broker, asset manager or top tier law firm.
- Proven ability to draft and negotiate ISDA/CSA, GMRA, GMSLA, MSLA, Terms of Business and prime brokerage agreements with institutional counterparties.
- Solid understanding of the legal and commercial frameworks governing OTC derivatives, securities lending, repo and prime brokerage — including netting, collateral, and closeout mechanics.
- Working knowledge of relevant UK/EU regulations such as EMIR, MiFID II, margin rules and SFTR, and how they apply to trading documentation.
- Strong analytical, drafting and negotiation skills, with the confidence to engage directly with counterparties’ legal teams.
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication abilities, capable of translating complex legal concepts for nonlawyers and influencing decision-making.
- Highly organised and detail oriented, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams in a lean, fast paced environment.
- Additional regulatory or financial services qualifications (e.g., CISI, postgraduate legal/finance studies).
- Experience acting as the sole or primary inhouse counsel in a smaller or growing financial services organisation.
- Exposure to a broader range of trading documentation such as futures/clearing agreements, custody agreements, or master netting agreements.
- Experience creating negotiation playbooks, clause libraries or documentation templates for legal or trading teams.
Compensation
- Compensation range is commensurate with experience.
- Private health insurance
- Cycle to Work scheme
- 25 days holiday (increasing with tenure up to 30 days) plus bank holidays
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Life insurance
How to Apply
To apply, please send your CV and a brief note outlining your relevant experience and interest in the role to hr@gbmsecurites.com
GBM Securities is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN 586463.
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