P&O Maritime Logistics - Senior Legal Counsel

ABOUT THE ROLE

Based at our Corporate Office in Dubai, the Senior Legal Counsel is responsible to provide support and assistance in relation to all aspects of P&O Maritime Logistics business activities with the focus on shipping transactional work (charter-parties, financing, sale & purchase, new-builds, vessel flagging, regulatory, insurance, corporate, JVs) plus disputes/litigation.

The Senior Legal Counsel will provide high quality, targeted and accessible legal advice across a range of maritime practice areas and will work as a valued business partner with colleagues across P&O in order to secure and deliver effective solutions to legal issues. The Senior Legal Counsel will need to be highly experienced and technically proficient in their areas of maritime legal specialism and also act as the senior in-house expert for a specific practice discipline e.g. arbitration, ship finance, Sale & Purchase, vessel flagging. They will be expected to work with a high degree of autonomy on complex legal matters. The Senior Legal Counsel will lead and manage their own portfolio of matters, but they will also work collegiately with rest of the legal team and Head of Legal on larger legal projects, particularly those which require input from multiple specialisms or experience. The Senior Legal Counsel will also assist in and supervise the work of the Junior Legal Counsel and Paralegals in the legal team.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• The Senior Legal Counsel will lead and manage their own portfolio of matters, with need for minimal supervision by Head of Legal
• Act as lead counsel in transactions and advise the Group in all legal issues regarding the ownership and operation of P&O Maritime Logistics vessels and vessel owning companies in the company Group to mitigate risk and align matters with P&O Maritime Logistics Group policy and capacity, in particular:
• Act as lead to Prepare, review and negotiate charter party contracts, vessel acquisition and disposal contracts, including related tax and insurance matters.
• Act as lead on legal material to and review tenders and bid proposals contracts, including drafting and reviewing NDA, LOI, MOU.
• Act as lead on Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating shipbuilding contracts including completion of delivery and registration formalities.
• Act as lead on Reviewing financial & loan agreements, including assisting on loan documentation and ensure compliance with loan covenants.
• Act as lead in preparation and review of joint venture, collaboration and alliance agreements.
• Act as lead on general contracts, including IT, procurement, and labour related contracts.
• Act as lead on maritime insurance claims with nominated insurance brokers and insurance underwriters when necessary.
• Take a lead role in administering the legal framework and compliance requirements of the organization to ensure continuity of business and appropriate company corporate structure.
• Identify strategic legal requirements and initiatives from time to time, and drive these with need for minimal supervision.
• Act as lead counsel and work with Finance/Tax team to Identify tax implications for business activities and implement structures to handle required tax implications, including preparation and review of agreements between entities within the P&O Maritime Logistics Group incorporating applicable transfer pricing principles.
• Act as lead counsel and work with Finance/Tax team to optimize and oversee the corporate structure of the P&O Group including establishment of new companies and closure of companies where determined, including taking lead role in preparing corporate documents, loan agreements, shareholder and board documents.
• Act as lead counsel to evaluate and determine whether external legal advice is required, prepare briefing material for external providers of legal services and advise relevant internal department on such matters. Act as focal point with external lawyers and the P&I Club on matters/disputes being handled externally.
• Act as lead in Drafting and revision of Company standard agreements and other legal documents as required.
• Act as lead in Drafting and revision of internal control routines and procedures.
• Act as lead to Coordinate and monitor litigation/other proceedings to which the Company is party or potentially party.
• Assist, advise and support the Head of Legal on ad hoc work as necessary.
• Delegate work to, work with and supervise Paralegals and Junior Counsels.
• Leading by example as a senior role model for P&O’s values and professional standards.
• Driving the delivery of business and corporate plans for the senior legal counsel’s own areas of responsibility.
• Driving continuous improvement within the senior legal counsel’s own areas of responsibility.
• Taking a proactive approach to risk management, ensuring risks and issues are identified, addressed and reported and, where appropriate, escalated.
• Work as lead counsel with DPW/P&O insurance and risk management team to ensure risks are adequately addressed, understood and insured.
• Being fully aware of and actively complying with P&O and DPW’s policies and procedures relevant to the senior legal counsel’s own responsibilities and to corporate policies and procedure.

QUALIFICATIION & EXPERIENCE

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in law
• Master’s degree in marine law or Contract law preferable

Minimum Experience:

• 10 (TEN) years’ experience in a related field or equivalent training or experience. Must have good knowledge of contract law and
• English /common Law and shipping law
• Dependable and able to deliver contributions with little direction.

Key attributes:

• Excellent written, drafting and oral communication skills with fluency in English.
• Detail oriented, hands‐on, driven and able to cope with demanding deadlines.
• Focus on quality and efficiency, with positive commitment to EHSQ.
• Some disputes and compliance experience (sanctions, GDPR, anti-bribery) will be considered a plus.
• Transaction and project management skills.