About the role
Morningstar DBRS is seeking a highly motivated lawyer with at least five years of transactional lending experience to support its European Corporate Ratings business.
Reporting to the Managing Director, Head of Asset Finance, the successful candidate will work closely with the broader Legal team and credit analysts across Europe to support the Global Corporate Ratings business. The role involves providing legal advice and transactional support on a wide range of corporate and infrastructure finance matters.
This position offers the opportunity to work in a collaborative environment that values rigorous critical thinking, open dialogue, and continuous professional development. The successful candidate will gain significant exposure to issuers, investors, advisors, and other key stakeholders across the European corporate and infrastructure finance markets.
The role will be based in Morningstar DBRS's Madrid office in Spain.
Job Responsibilities
- Reviewing legal documentation underlying credit rating analysis and advising analysts and rating committee of legal issues that may have an impact on credit risk and ratings.
- Communicating Morningstar DBRS’ position on legal, structural and methodology-related matters to internal and external stakeholders.
- Supporting the analytical team in evaluating legal, structural, and reputational risks relating to credit ratings.
- Providing support in the drafting, review, and implementation of Morningstar DBRS policies, procedures, methodologies, and criteria.
- Reviewing and analysing financing and transaction documentation, and summarising key legal terms and considerations for analysts and rating committees.
- Conducting legal research and analysis on issues relevant to the corporate and infrastructure finance sectors, including legislative and regulatory developments.
- Monitoring legislative, regulatory, and case law developments and advising analysts and legal colleagues on their potential impact on rating activities and methodologies.
- Contributing to the development and enhancement of rating methodologies, criteria, and legal commentaries.
- Representing Morningstar DBRS in meetings with issuers, advisors, investors, and other market participants, as appropriate.
Qualifications
- Law degree with strong academic credentials.
- Qualified lawyer with admission to practice in a relevant European jurisdiction.
- Minimum 5+ years' experience advising on secured lending, securitization, and/or sponsor-backed or leveraged finance transactions; gained in a law firm or an in-house legal role within the financial services sector.
- Excellent legal research, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with a strong attention to detail.
- Fluency in English, with outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative, and deadline-driven environment.
- Proactive, adaptable, and capable of working both independently and as part of a cross-functional team.
- Strong organizational skills, with the ability to prioritize competing demands and manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining a high level of accuracy and quality.
Bonus Target:
20% AnnualWe expect the compensation and target bonus for this role to fall within the stated range. The specific compensation offered will depend on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, and other job-related factors.
Morningstar's hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to collaborate in-person each week as we've found that we're at our best when we're purposely together on a regular basis. In most of our locations, our hybrid work model is four days in-office each week. A range of other benefits are also available to enhance flexibility as needs change. No matter where you are, you'll have tools and resources to engage meaningfully with your global colleagues.
R10_DBRSRtgsGmbHSpain DBRS Ratings GmbH Sucursal en España - Spain Legal EntitySkills Required
- Law degree with strong academic credentials
- Qualified lawyer admitted to practice in a relevant European jurisdiction
- Minimum 5+ years' experience advising on secured lending, securitization, and/or sponsor-backed or leveraged finance transactions (law firm or in-house financial services)
- Excellent legal research, analytical, and problem-solving skills with strong attention to detail
- Fluency in English with outstanding written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative, and deadline-driven environment
- Proactive, adaptable, and capable of working independently and as part of a cross-functional team
- Strong organizational skills with ability to prioritise competing demands and manage multiple projects while maintaining accuracy and quality
What the Team is Saying
Morningstar Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off policies include flexible PTO and a paid sabbatical every four years, often highlighted as a standout perk. Feedback suggests this structure supports strong work–life balance and meaningful breaks.
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Parental & Family Support — Policies advertise a global minimum of 16 weeks for primary caregivers, up to 8 weeks for secondary caregivers, and at least six weeks of paid caregiving leave. These offerings signal above-average support for family and caregiving needs.
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs feature employer 401(k) contributions/matching, with some postings citing a 75% match on up to 7% of pay. Feedback suggests these offerings are a strong pillar of the package.
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We are a global investment research and financial data company with 40-plus offices across North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Our products and services are used daily by individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, retirement plan providers, and institutional investors. We provide data, research, and analysis across managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, debt securities, and real-time global market data. The financial system can have real barriers—hidden information, friction that can slow decisions, and forces that can limit transparency and access. We work to remove them, bringing independent research, connected data, and investor-first tools to a system that needs more clarity. The people doing this work span research, technology, design, product, sales, and functional areas. We build many of our products in-house, so the work can connect directly to the tools investors use to make real financial decisions.
Why Work With Us
Morningstar’s missing is to empower investor success. We can only do that if our people feel empowered. That means finding people who think independently, bring a wide range of backgrounds with analytical rigor and genuine intellectual curiosity to the work.
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