VP, Senior Legal Counsel - Markets

Santander•New York, NY

1d•$195,000 - $255,000

About The Position

The Vice President, Senior Legal Counsel - Markets is part of Santander’s Corporate & Investment Banking Legal Team and supports the global markets business. The role works closely with lawyers, documentation professionals, front-office teams, Credit, Risk and other stakeholders to negotiate and advise on documentation that enables sophisticated financial markets transactions while providing appropriate legal and risk protections. It offers exposure to a broad range of markets products and counterparties, including structured and non-structured transactions, with opportunities to develop expertise in derivatives, securities financing and related markets documentation. The role involves negotiating, drafting and advising on a broad range of markets documentation; providing practical, commercially focused legal advice; partnering with relevant business and control functions to facilitate transactions while managing legal and reputational risk; and supporting documentation processes, templates, playbooks, negotiation standards and technology initiatives. It also monitors relevant legal, regulatory and market developments and contributes to broader legal and firmwide projects as needed.

Requirements

Juris Doctor or law degree.
At least 5 years of experience practicing law in financial services, a bank or a law firm.
Active license to practice law in New York State.
Entrepreneurial mindset to support a dynamic and growing investment bank.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including briefing skills.
Ability to build relationships quickly and establish trust and respect.
Excellent interpersonal, people and collaboration skills, including the ability to interact effectively at all organizational levels and stand firm on issues when necessary.
Sound judgment, gravitas and self-confidence, respect for others regardless of position, and a desire to work as part of a team with all levels of management.
Strong attention to detail.
Ability to manage multiple time-sensitive projects effectively, efficiently and calmly.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States full-time without requiring employer sponsorship to commence employment.

Nice To Haves

Established work history or equivalent demonstrated through a combination of work experience, training, military service or education.

Responsibilities

Negotiate, draft and advise on markets documentation, including ISDA Master Agreements, Credit Support Annexes and other collateral documentation, MRAs, GMRAs, MSFTAs, MSLAs and related agreements.
Provide practical, commercially focused legal advice on documentation terms, counterparty negotiations, and legal and regulatory considerations affecting markets transactions.
Partner with Markets, Credit, Risk, Operations and other Legal colleagues to facilitate transaction execution while appropriately managing legal and reputational risk.
Advise on documentation for a range of markets products and transaction structures, adapting documentation and negotiation strategies to Santander’s evolving business needs.
Identify, analyze and escalate significant legal and documentation issues and help develop pragmatic solutions.
Support improvements to documentation processes, templates, playbooks and negotiation standards, including opportunities to leverage technology and automation.
Monitor relevant legal, regulatory and market developments and assess their impact on Santander’s markets documentation and practices.
Contribute to broader Markets Legal, Legal Department and firmwide projects and strategic initiatives as needed.
Take a proactive and responsible approach to risk management.