Role Summary

This role reports to the Head of Legal, APAC, with day to day activities supervised by the Head of Legal, State Street Australia Limited.

We are seeking a lawyer to work as part of the team supporting State Street’s institutional services business, including custodial and fund accounting services, investment manager outsourcing, performance and analytics, collateral management, transfer agency, data and other administrative services, principally in Australia and New Zealand.  As part of an APAC regional team of lawyers, the successful candidate may also be required to provide support to State Street’s business in APAC also.

The role is based in Sydney or Melbourne, with occasional travel requirements.

Broadly, the role includes responsibility for advising senior management on legal matters affecting the continued operation and expansion of the institutional services business in Australia; actively participating in on-boarding new clients; assessing and developing new products, services and markets; advising on corporate and regulatory governance matters; and researching and analysing the impact of legislative developments on the business.

Key Responsibilities

• General support for the Institutional Services business units in Australia and New Zealand, and other APAC jurisdictions as required, including:
  • drafting and negotiating key agreements with customers and suppliers (in particular, custody agreements, administrative services agreements, alternatives/private markets documentation and service level agreements);
  • contributing to assessment and development of new products and services and research in relation to the same;
  • corporate and regulatory governance matters, including legal entity support and regulatory reporting;
  • preparing regular activity and legal developments reports for legal department management and local governance committees;
  • reviewing and negotiating agreements for operational purposes, including confidentiality agreements, pricing agreements, supply agreements, documentation relating to unlisted asset investments and other miscellaneous agreements;
  • contributing to conduct of regular and ad hoc education seminars to employees on legal and ethical issues relating to their business unit;
  • drafting of responses and providing legal advice in connection with RFIs and RFPs and review of related documentation;
  • providing various legal advice as required over a range of issues impacting the institutional services business;
  • working with and managing outside counsel as required.
• Project work in relation to:
  • Oversight of implementation of changes to client documentation expected in relation to CPS 230 and other regulatory initiatives; and
  • APAC and global projects, including to:
    • assess and draft global template documentation;
    • implement global initiatives related to delivery and standardization of services; and
    • amend documentation to reflect regulatory requirements.

Skills and Qualifications

• Australian qualified lawyer
• Minimum 5 years PQE desirable.  A combination of in-house and private practice experience highly desirable
• Custody, investment management and/or general financial services experience preferred, and familiarity with custody bank operations and global custody structures an advantage
• Strong technical legal skills, including research, drafting and risk assessment and strong problem identification and resolution skills
• Ability to work with business unit teams to develop practical solutions within applicable legal and regulatory framework
• Ability to develop and sustain strong relationships with internal and external clients, peers and staff and interact with multiple levels within local, regional and global organization
• Strong project management skills and deadline oriented, ability to prioritise and execute multiple tasks with attention to detail, working independently to drive execution of projects
• Capable of working with and instructing outside counsel efficiently and within budget