Position Summary
Leading financial guarantee insurance company is seeking a Counsel to provide legal advice and assistance on international structured finance and infrastructure finance transactions, including identifying potential legal issues and risks in new deals and formulating appropriate solutions within AGUK’s legal risk tolerance and providing legal advice in connection with amendments, waivers and consents to existing transactions.
Position Description
- Support the deal origination teams responsible for international structured finance and infrastructure transactions in the structuring, negotiation and documentation of such transactions including reviewing documents and legal advice provided by third parties to AGUK and attending meetings and constructively contributing to the identification, assessment and mitigation of legal risk in the design of an AGUK guarantee.
- Work closely with the credit team responsible for vetting the transactions in identifying and potentially structuring around credit-related and other issues including reviewing the credit memorandum for new deals and participating in the credit committees.
- Assist the surveillance team with the ongoing monitoring of closed transactions (including assisting with transaction amendments, waivers and consents).
- Manage and ensure the effectiveness of external legal support where appropriate.
- Liasing with AG Services Head of Legal Transaction Services for review on key legal conclusions before being finalized for use by AGUK.
- Attending and providing general or specific legal transactions advice to AGUK executive committees, senior managers and Board committees as required.
- Answer any legal concerns or questions that AGUK have as early as practical and within a reasonable time.
Candidate Background
- Qualified lawyer in England and Wales with at least 8 years of experience in a leading financial services law firm
- Strong experience with complex transactions, with a focus on infrastructure or structured finance
- Sensitive to legal and commercial risks, including bankruptcy issues
- Excellent academic qualifications
- Excellent oral and written communications skills
- Organized self-starter who is able to work independently but seeks out views of legal and credit colleagues when required
- Ability to prioritize issues and manage outside counsel is critical
- Ability to challenge commercial thinking and deliver effective solution
- Strong presentation and negotiation skills
- Willingness to take on varied tasks
Compensation
Compensation will depend on various factors, including but not limited to a candidate’s experience and credentials, salary expectations of applicable candidates, and other applicable market conditions. This position also provides applicable employee benefits, as well as eligibility for an annual discretionary bonus and long-term incentive awards.
Skills Required
- Qualified lawyer in England and Wales
- At least 8 years of experience in a leading financial services law firm
- Strong experience with complex transactions focused on infrastructure or structured finance
- Experience assessing legal and commercial risks, including bankruptcy issues
- Excellent academic qualifications
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Ability to work independently and collaborate with legal and credit colleagues
- Ability to prioritize issues and manage external counsel
- Ability to challenge commercial thinking and deliver effective solutions
- Strong presentation and negotiation skills
- Willingness to take on varied tasks
What We Do
Assured Guaranty is the leading provider of financial guaranty insurance. We guarantee timely payment of scheduled principal and interest when due on municipal, public infrastructure and structured financings. Issuers use our financial guarantees to lower their cost of funds, broaden distribution and diversify funding sources. For more than three decades, our insurance subsidiaries have helped to lower the cost of borrowing for municipalities and other issuers across the United States by guaranteeing a wide range of tax-exempt and taxable, investment-grade, municipal bonds that are supported by either tax revenues or revenues from essential public projects or services. From schools to clean water, from transportation projects to hospitals and more, we help municipalities build sustainable public infrastructure and better serve their residents, including their underserved and at-risk communities. We are also active in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and other developed countries, where we guarantee public-private partnership, local authority and regulated utility financings. In structured finance, globally, we guarantee asset securitizations and craft custom applications of our guarantees to assist our institutional clients in managing their portfolio risk and capital. For investors, our value proposition includes not only the security of our unconditional, irrevocable guaranty but also our experienced credit selection, underwriting and surveillance. Our business model has proven its resilience through multiple business cycles, and we have demonstrated our commitment to maintaining the financial strength to protect our policyholders for the life of their insured investments. In addition, our subsidiary Assured Investment Management LLC provides alternative investment management and advisory services to institutional and other qualified investors through our investment arm and offers a variety of credit-focused strategies and structured finance solutions.
