Legal Counsel, SPG Ratings

About The Role

Grade Level (for internal use):

12

SP Global Corporate

The Role: Legal Counsel, SPG Ratings

We are seeking a dynamic Legal Counsel to work in Melbourne, Australia. In coordination with your colleagues, you will be responsible for advising our business on a broad range of legal issues with a primary focus on advising our analytical teams working on analyzing Debt Capital Market (DCM) transactions across APAC region. Our business is engaged in the provision of Credit Ratings and related analytical services.

The Impact: You will serve as one of the primary advisors to our Ratings analytical teams in APAC in connection with their analysis of specific debt capital markets issues and the impact of corporate and insolvency laws. Your secondary role will be to serve as a privacy specialist for the Global Ratings organization in APAC, and to provide regulatory / commercial legal support. You will be working autonomously, but as part of a well-connected, global team providing advice to our business on regulatory, governance, analytical and commercial matters.

The Career Opportunity: You will get a chance to develop and apply skills at both a technical and a strategic level, and gain experience across the Asia-Pacific region.

The Team / The Business: You will be part of the Global Ratings Legal team, working in close contact with colleagues regionally and globally. The team operates on lean principles and is focused on providing efficient and effective legal advice to our analytical teams, as well as advice on regulatory and governance issues affecting our business and in support of our business strategies.

Your Skills: Ideally you would have demonstrated experience working on debt capital market transactions, especially structured finance and/or experience advising on banking and insolvency law matters. In addition, experience advising on privacy and data management matters would be valuable. You should be comfortable in monitoring and providing advice on legal developments and/or regulatory requirements in APAC. Importantly, you should be comfortable working on your own with your direct manager and colleagues located in different countries.

Essential Experience

A minimum of four (4) years of experience as a qualified lawyer reviewing and/or drafting Debt Capital Markets (DCM) transaction documents, in particular, structured finance and/or project finance transaction documents and legal opinions.
Understanding core concepts of structured finance and/or project finance, including asset isolation, non-consolidation, security interests, special purpose entities and an understanding of key legal opinions in structured finance and/or project finance
Experience drafting and/or reviewing ISDA derivative documentation
Experience advising on cross border/conflicts of law issues inherent in DCM transactions
An understanding of the varied role of key participants in DCM transactions
Familiarity with applicable Privacy Laws would be an advantage.

Key Accountabilities

Conducting review of transaction level legal structures and related legal opinions and counseling analysts about adherence of structures to SP Global Ratings’ structured finance legal criteria and/or legal aspects of SP Global Ratings’ project finance criteria
Counseling ratings analysts on developing legal issues in DCM, especially structured finance and/or project finance
Analyzing and interpreting relevant laws and regulations to keep analysts up to date on legal developments affecting their analysis
Counseling of Compliance, Risk and other control functions on issues related to compliance with and changes to laws, regulations, and the application of internal policies and procedures
Preparing and conducting internal trainings for ratings analysts on legal issues
On request, reviewing and revising legal related criteria used by analysts
Providing general legal counseling / participation in ad-hoc projects in support of SP Global Ratings business activities across analytical practices
Counseling SP Global Ratings’ personnel regarding external speaking engagements, presentations, publications and other outreach efforts
On request counseling SP Global Ratings’ commercial team on legal issues relevant to a particular ratings engagement

Qualifications

Admitted to practice law in a Australia or other relevant APAC jurisdiction.
At least four (4) years’ post qualification experience in DCM, structured finance and/or project finance as a lawyer in either a major law firm or corporation, where you have gained an understanding of DCM, structured finance and/or project finance and capital markets principles
Ability to grasp legal and analytical concepts quickly and apply sound legal judgment with little supervision
Well-developed emotional intelligence; superior interpersonal and negotiation skills
Excellent presentation, writing and analytical skills
Excellent communication and listening skills with internal/external audiences
Self-motivated and well-organized with the ability to handle multiple, high-priority projects while attending to details; able to prioritize tasks and work well under pressure
Hands-on, energetic, intellectually curious
Professional and collegial demeanor, a team player, ability to work effectively and collaboratively with in-house colleagues, internal stakeholders and external parties
Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint); comfortable using web-based connectivity platforms (e.g. Skype, Zoom, Teams etc.)
Comfortable working on your own with your direct manager and colleagues located in different countries
Amenable to work in Hybrid Work Setup
Amenable to work on normal Australian work hours but with flexibility to adjust for meeting calls that happen outside these hours.

About SP Global Ratings

At SP Global Ratings, our analyst-driven credit ratings, research, and sustainable finance opinions provide critical insights that are essential to translating complexity into clarity so market participants can uncover opportunities and make decisions with conviction. By bringing Read more