Hymans Robertson has a fantastic track record of resolving any issues which arise as a normal part of doing business and strive to maintain that. We currently have an exciting opportunity to join our in-house legal team as Legal Counsel with a strong dispute resolution and/or pensions background within either our Glasgow or Edinburgh Office. You would join a team of 13 other lawyers, two of which are in Dispute Resolution.
What will your role look like?
Our services are varied and interesting, and you will support the whole group, covering pensions (including actuarial, investment and administration), financial services and financial planning for individuals.
You won’t be required to attend court however, the same research, drafting and litigation skills will be useful here; investigating what has happened, why, what might be done differently and supporting client and operations teams with an approach and communications, with the aim of achieving a good outcome for our clients, the firm, and ultimately pension scheme members.
You will act as an internal consultant - advising and working with people at all levels of our business. For that reason, it’s important that you are able to quickly build relationships and consensus, gain credibility and influence/constructively challenge others.
Though this is a varied role, your key tasks will include:
You will work alongside our Head of Dispute Resolution to deal with matters where input from the Dispute Resolution team would be beneficial and with support from our Disputes Legal Counsel. As part of our legal team, your day-to-day responsibilities will include:
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Providing pragmatic legal advice on any dispute/potential dispute and related issues escalated to the legal team (whether in relation to the services we provide or disputes with suppliers or other third parties).
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Working closely with business stakeholders to understand the background to issues, directing investigations as required and providing clear recommendations for resolution.
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Where required, legal drafting and working with client external legal teams.
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Where required, instructing and managing external legal advisors, building strong working relationships and managing outsourcing budgets.
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Providing legal input where required on any complaints or potential complaints going through pension scheme Internal Dispute Resolution Procedures and/or involving the Pensions Ombudsman and/or Financial Ombudsman Service.
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Providing legal advice on any data breaches - working with our Data Protection Officer, other members of the legal team and Data Breach Response Team as required.
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Providing responses relevant to dispute resolution to client due diligence queries and tenders.
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Liaising and confidently presenting to our internal governance groups as required to seek consent on matters and to highlight themes and trends, provide advice, recommend resolution and build consensus.
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Liaising with our, brokers, insurers, including supporting insurance renewals and providing notifications, updates and reports.
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Liaising with our Finance department and annual audit work.
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Liaising with our Risk Team ensuring key themes and trends are reported and assessed
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Keeping abreast of legal developments (e.g. in relation to legal privilege, Pensions Ombudsman or Financial Ombudsman guidance) and recommend and implement change to reflect such developments.
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Drafting best practice notes on topical issues for use across the firm, developing and maintaining processes, policies, guidance, and templates and assisting with training.
To enjoy and succeed in this role, you will be/ have:
- Qualified as a Solicitor in Scotland or England.
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Dispute resolution experience.
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Relevant material practice based and/or in-house experience in pensions, ideally in an FCA regulated environment or financial services or professional services firm.
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Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
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A flexible, adaptable and confident approach.
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Experience constructively challenging stakeholders at all levels of the business.
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Good attention to detail and a focus on producing accurate work.
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Pragmatic and solutions driven - with a focus on using your judgment and initiative (whether working individually or as part of a team) to problem solve and come up with workable solutions.
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Excellent time management skills and a strong ability to manage competing priorities
Preferred/Optional:
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Experience of the Pensions Ombudsman/Financial Ombudsman Service.
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Experience/knowledge of actuarial professional standards.
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A current and active member of the Association of Pension Lawyers.
In addition to a competitive salary and access to our profit share scheme, we offer:
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A flexible selection of employee benefits, so you can choose a package that best matches your lifestyle and needs.
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A collaborative and encouraging work environment where your thinking and ideas are encouraged.
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On site mental health and wellbeing assistance.
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A commitment to helping you develop both personally and professionally, with mentoring opportunities and access to our award-winning learning portal, Aspire.
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Regular social activities, in addition to three days paid volunteering leave each year and a day’s leave to celebrate your birthday.
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Hybrid working so you can enjoy the positive wellbeing of working from home as well as the benefits of meeting colleagues in our sociable, modern office environments – with the expectation of 40% of your working week ‘in-office’ days.
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A flexible working window, allowing colleagues the freedom to work flexibly between the hours of 7am and 7pm.
Please note, we recruit on a rolling basis so early applications are recommended to avoid disappointment.
We work alongside employers, trustees and financial services institutions, offering independent pensions, investments, benefits and risk consulting services, as well as data and technology solutions.
That's the who and the what. More important is the 'why'. The work we do may not always seem the sexiest. But it's difficult, it's complex, and it's important. We help our clients, their employees, members and customers make decisions that have real and direct consequences on their financial futures.
For 100 years we've taken this responsibility seriously. Together, as a team and with our clients and partners, we're here to build better futures.
