Legal Counsel - Associate Director - Litigation - Permanent - London

Ernst & Young Advisory Services Sdn Bhd; London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 100,000

Job description

Location: London

Other locations: Primary Location Only

Date: Mar 14, 2025

Requisition ID: 1590739

EY is a global network of professional services firms engaged in consulting, transaction, assurance and tax services with member firms in over 170 countries worldwide. The UK firm of Ernst & Young LLP has over 900 partners and 20,000 employees.

The UK Legal team is well established and highly regarded. Led by our General Counsel, Lisa Cameron, we comprise 32 lawyers supported by 4 paralegals. The UK Legal team also forms part of a Global legal function.

The opportunity

We have a vacancy for a Legal Counsel – Litigation lawyer within our high performing and ambitious in-house legal team. We respond to business transformation and innovation, enjoying a varied and challenging workload, and support the new EY All in Strategy by showing curiosity, intelligence and energy to deliver prompt, pragmatic, adaptable and commercial legal advice to all levels within our business.

Your key responsibilities

The work within the UK Legal team is highly varied and covers all legal issues arising from the running of a professional services business. Much of the legal work is at the cutting edge of business practice as the firm constantly finds innovative ways to help our clients’ businesses.
This in-house role includes:

• Regulatory: Contentious and non-contentious, such as providing legal input on compliance and regulatory matters (including the UK’s FRC, FCA and ICAEW) and responding to regulatory inquiries;
• Litigation: advising and handling claims including amicable settlement of disputes, actively managing the handling of large claims by external lawyers;
• Undertaking internal investigations;
• General: providing legal advice to the firm’s service lines and its other internal support functions such as real estate and facilities, procurement, finance, HR, IT, knowledge and marketing and the opportunity to be the legal lead on firm-wide projects.

Skills and attributes for success

• Strong team player with excellent negotiation and communication skills.
• Demonstrable commitment to the attributes of our highest performing teams – focus on results, accepting of accountability, committed, embraces healthy conflict, builds trust.
• Keeps calm and copes well with conflicting and ever-changing deadlines.
• Ability to lead, provide a view, take responsibility and ownership of issues, including an ability to take difficult decisions and provide substantiated arguments.
• Commercial awareness of the business issues facing us as we evolve, coupled with an active desire to get alongside our business, offering legal insight and support.

To qualify for the role, you must have

• 10 or more years of post-qualification experience.
• Significant experience gained either in a reputable City law firm (or equivalent) and/or in-house.
• Ability to provide practical legal advice and support with a high degree of professionalism in a fast-paced environment and to establish a high degree of credibility, respect and trust at all levels.

Ideally, you’ll also have

• Proven ability to establish a high degree of credibility, respect and trust at all levels, including with senior members of the firm, some of whom have a considerable understanding of the law.

What we look for

• A self-starter, adept at responding promptly/juggling deadlines who actively looks to build relationships based on trust and confidence.

What working at EY offers
We offer a competitive remuneration package where you’ll be rewarded for your individual and team performance. Our comprehensive Total Rewards package includes support for flexible working and career development, and with FlexEY you can select benefits that suit your needs, covering holidays, health and well-being, insurance, savings and a wide range of discounts, offers and promotions. Plus, we offer:

• Support, coaching and feedback from some of the most engaging colleagues around;
• Opportunities to develop new skills and progress your career;
• The freedom and flexibility to handle your role in a way that’s right for you.

EY is committed to being an inclusive employer and we are happy to consider flexible working arrangements. We strive to achieve the right balance for our people, enabling us to deliver excellent client service whilst allowing you to build your career without sacrificing your personal priorities. While our client-facing professionals can be required to travel regularly, and at times be based at client sites, our flexible working arrangements can help you to achieve a lifestyle balance.

About EY
As a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services, we’re using the finance products, expertise and systems we’ve developed to build a better working world. That starts with a culture that believes in giving you the training, opportunities and creative freedom to make things better. Whenever you join, however long you stay, the exceptional EY experience lasts a lifetime. And with a commitment to hiring and developing the most passionate people, we’ll make our ambition to be the best employer a reality.

If you can confidently demonstrate that you meet the criteria above, please contact us as soon as possible.

Join us in building a better working world.