Finance Practice Development Lawyer (PDL)

Finance Practice Development Lawyer (PDL) – 5+ years PQE Birmingham/Manchester/Leeds/Edinburgh/Glasgow/Aberdeen/Belfast

Contract Type : Permanent Part Time (Ideally 2-3 days a week)

Brief

We are currently looking to recruit a Practice Development Lawyer with 5+ years PQE to join our Finance team. We are happy to consider applicants for any of our regional UK offices.

The ideal candidate will have a background in real estate finance or social housing; however, candidates with a general Finance background are also encouraged to apply.  Knowledge of LMA drafting is essential.

Background to the Role

The Pinsent Masons Finance practice is a large and varied global finance team working on a broad range of finance transactions including structured finance, securitisation, debt capital markets, asset-based lending, receivables finance, project finance, corporate lending and acquisition finance, real estate finance, social housing and education finance, sustainable finance, Islamic finance and more.  We have Finance lawyers working across a network of offices across the UK in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, London and internationally in Ireland, Luxembourg, Spain, Germany, France, Netherlands, Dubai, South Africa, across Asia and Australia. 

The Finance PDL team is integral to the success of the firm’s global Finance practice and to many of the firm’s key client relationships in the Financial Services sector. The PDL team leads from the front not only internally but also with clients and in the market generally on legal and non-legal issues, best practice, and innovative thinking.  The pace of regulatory change in recent years has been phenomenal and shows no sign of slowing. 

The PDL team’s work is varied, comprised on a daily basis of both internally facing traditional knowledge lawyer work (such as working on precedents, providing internal training, and guidance) and externally focused thought leadership, horizon scanning, advice, training, and guidance. Clients come to the team directly as experts on technical legal issues, and to help them formalise their thinking on internal policies and panel firm requirements.  They look to our PDL team for training and thought leadership, because they are excellent at relating it specifically to the client’s business and needs.  Members of the PDL team are on legal and financial market working parties on broad ranging issues from eSignatures to Sustainability.  They work with Partners from all Practice Groups and specialisms within the firm and across the globe on firmwide knowledge initiatives involving Finance.  The PDL team is at the pinnacle of legal knowledge and practice and are exceptional conduits for the firm, constantly looking for ways to improve the way Pinsent Masons delivers its services including prioritising the increased use of technology to maximise consistency and ease of delivery, leveraging Pinsent Masons’ significant firm-wide investment in ground-breaking innovation in the delivery of legal services. 

We are looking to expand our high functioning Finance PDL team by the addition of an additional PDL.  That PDL would, together with our existing PDL team, play an integral part of supporting our lawyers and clients globally through best practice in knowhow, precedents, tracking and disseminating developments, high quality training and engagement with clients.

Background to the Role: the Team

We have a very experienced Legal Director PDL, Pippa Whitmore, who has been with the firm for 21 years. Pippa’s specialisms are corporate lending, leveraged finance and education finance.  Pippa is a very strong technical lawyer but is well balanced with a commercial approach.  Pippa leads the PDL team with warmth, honesty, dedication and a passion for excellence. 

We have an experienced Senior PDL in Kathryn Seward, who focuses on structured finance and complex products. Within the team we also have a PDL, Emma-Louise Beadie, who comes from a project finance and international trade background. 

The PDL team is supported by a dedicated Senior Training and Knowhow Coordinator Leanne Gilling, who has been with the firm for 20 years.  We are currently also recruiting for a junior Training and Knowhow Coordinator to support our growing Finance PDL team. 

The firmwide PDL team is a close-knit community across all practice areas and locations, ensuring that knowledge and best practice is shared across the firm’s international network.

Purpose of the Role:

To work as an integral member of the Finance PDL team, delivering high quality knowhow, guidance, and training, internally and externally, and continue to build on the PDL team’s expertise and reputation, enabling our lawyers and clients, developing our finance practice, and building client relationships through:

(1) developing and maintaining technical and commercial resources (including drafting and maintaining legal (including automated) precedents and guidance notes) to enable our lawyers to provide the best possible service to clients; 

(2) providing training and working on training programmes for internal lawyers and external clients; 

(3) tracking, creating, managing and disseminating technical and commercial intelligence to clients and lawyers; 

(4) spotting opportunities and shaping new and innovative practices, products and resources for external clients and lawyers; 

(5) delivering strategic knowledge and client initiatives, working closely with the firm’s client relationship teams and lawyers across the firm’s international network; 

(6) developing relationships with our key clients including through liaison in relation to client policies and precedents, horizon watching, training, briefings and other activities.

Detail of the Role:

We are looking for an enthusiastic, highly technical, commercially astute, well organised, and self-motived practice development lawyer. 

Ideally, the candidate would have experience in one or more of real estate finance and social housing finance.  

Working with our existing Finance PDL team, responsibilities of the role will include:

• producing, as well as maintaining our existing bank of: precedents, standard forms and practice notes, publications and team content and materials, including online materials and intranet knowledge pages and automated precedents;
• working with the PDL team and the partners and lawyers in our practice, predominantly in the real estate and social housing sections, on both transactional queries and wider practice development initiatives; 
• horizon scanning and tracking key legal and market developments for clients and lawyers (both at the firm, within clients and with other law firms); 
• organising training programmes for the group; 
• drafting publications (newsletters, briefings, current awareness alerts, etc.) and writing articles for publication, including news, analysis, and thought leadership pieces; 
• researching and providing information, analysis, and expertise on legal and policy developments to the lawyers within the group globally and our clients; 
• maintaining the group's knowledge databases; 
• working with the firm's Central Knowledge and Research teams to ensure best use of resources and technology;
• delivery of training to key clients, including suggesting topics, developing materials and delivering presentations; 
• attending client and sector events, briefings and presentations, co-ordinating Pinsent Masons events, seminars, articles and client updates; 
• identifying and sourcing appropriate external training for lawyers; 
• working with the PDL, partner and lawyer teams to develop and implement strategic and practical knowledge and innovation projects: proactively identifying and prioritising key activities. 

Relevant Experience

• Previous experience working as a lawyer in a law firm in the UK and in the Finance law arena for at least five years.  All finance specialisms would be considered but the preference is for detailed knowledge of real estate finance and/or social housing finance transactions. 
• The person need not have existing knowledge lawyer experience. 
• The person needs to have had client facing experience and must wish to continue developing client relationships.

Key Skills

• Enthusiasm and a desire to drive positive change
• Practical and flexible approach, with an ability to think and act strategically
• Self-starter – innovative, takes the initiative and follows through
• Highly collaborative and able to work among a group of high-performing peers
• Creates confidence with partners and forges co-operative working relationships with colleagues
• Strong communication and influencing skills and the ability to work effectively at all levels with clients, lawyers and support services
• An interest in the future of legal services and innovative products
• Good time and task management skills to ensure efficient and timely delivery of work and strategic initiatives
• Experience of, and a passion for, training
• Exhibits approach and behaviours consistent with the firm’s purpose-led approach and core values of being 'approachable', 'bold' and 'connected'.

About the Firm

Pinsent Masons is a global 100 law firm, with over 3,400 employees operating out of 26 locations across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.  We have a long-standing reputation for delivering high-quality legal advice rooted in a deep understanding of the sectors and geographies in which our clients operate. Our global reach ensures that we are well-placed to advise on complex multi-jurisdictional matters across a full range of legal disciplines. 

We champion change and promote progress to make business work better for people. Pinsent Masons has embedded a range of diversity and inclusion initiatives to create an environment in which its people can flourish. We operate an agile working scheme, which offers our employees flexibility in terms of where, and how, they work.

We stand out for our innovative approach to service delivery. For example, the firm has developed a number of in-house legal technology and project management solutions, operates a hub of freelance lawyers, called Vario, and a global Diversity and Inclusion consultancy, Brook Graham. Put simply, we offer a range of professional disciplines to our clients, enabled by our people, process and technology.

Awards

Pinsent Masons won the ‘Europe’s Most Innovative Law Firm’ at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyer Awards Europe 2023 and the ‘Best Talent and Inclusion’ award at The Lawyer Awards 2022. The firm is also named Diversity & Inclusion Firm of the Year 2023 by the Legal 500 Northern Powerhouse Awards. The firm has placed in the Top 10 Top Employers for Working Families for its 7th consecutive year. Go to www.pinsentmasons.com/accolades to view all of our global awards and nominations.

Should you require further details, please contact our in-house Lateral Recruitment Advisor Steffy Lam who can discuss the role and requirements.

Contact details:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steffy-lam-715241238/

steffy.lam@pinsentmasons.com

At Pinsent Masons we value diversity and inclusion. We are committed to creating a better workplace where all our talent can succeed and feel like they belong. We want to attract, retain and develop people at all levels and encourage applications from all suitably qualified candidates whatever your ethnicity, religion, age, physical or mental disability/ long term condition, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or any other characteristics protected by local law in the jurisdictions in which we operate. 

As an inclusive employer, we are willing to consider any flexible working requests.

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