CMC Markets are hiring! We are currently recruiting for a Senior Legal Counsel (Disputes & Litigation) to join our APAC Legal team on a Maternity Leave 15 month FTC . Please note that this contract will commence in October/November 2024 and the role is only open to Sydney based candidates with full working rights (Citizen/Permanent Resident).

CMC Markets is a global leader in CFD trading and share investing. Our vision is to provide the ultimate online trading experience so everyone can achieve their financial potential. Since our launch in London in 1989, we’ve expanded globally with offices across Europe and Asia Pacific. Over 1.2 million clients make 67 million trades with us every year, and we’re still growing.

Role

The purpose of the role is to consistently deliver high quality legal services to the CFD and Stockbroking business of CMC Markets in Australia and the APAC region, including the provision of strategic advice to the business in relation to disputes and litigious matters, and in respect of legal risks generally.

Please note that we operate onsite working and would require you to come into our Barangaroo office 5 days per week.

Responsibilities

The purpose of the role is to consistently deliver high quality legal services to the CFD and Stockbroking business of CMC Markets in Australia and the APAC region, including the provision of strategic advice to the business in relation to disputes and litigious matters, and in respect of legal risks generally.

Key responsibilities and competencies

• Report to and maintain a close working relationship with the Head of Legal on disputes and litigious matters, and other key matters requiring careful legal analysis and advice to the business  Effective escalation to the Head of Legal of notable issues for further consideration and key risks.
• Responsibility and oversight over pre-litigation internal and external client disputes, providing timely and appropriate advice and support to the APAC Disputes Team.
• Responsibility over the management and advice on key disputes and litigation, including running point on such matters.  This role ideally requires strong technical experience in commercial litigation, including pertaining to aspects of the Corporations Act, ASIC Act and Privacy Laws.   
• Effective communicator both verbally and in written form.  This role requires effective communication to a range of audiences, including various Departments of the business, such as Compliance, Business Operations, Disputes Team and APAC Senior Management.
• Driven and organised individual with the ability to work well autonomously and within a team and manage competing priorities.  
• Excellent management of external legal service providers which involves partnering with them on key matters to ensure the objective of deriving value and appropriate legal support for the benefit of CMC Markets, is achieved at all times.
• Flexibility to work on a broader range of matters, including assisting and maintaining a close working relationship with the rest of the APAC Legal Team. Such work may include the provision of general strategic legal advice to the APAC business on a range of matters including:

• Review of marketing material, general commercial contracts, debt collection matters and introduced business arrangements.
• Management and review of legal disclosure documents and other terms for both the CFD and stockbroking businesses in Australia and the APAC region including PDSs, FSGs and Stockbroking terms and conditions;
• Provide assistance to the Compliance team on regulatory legal issues, contentious regulator notices and assisting the business to understand regulatory reform and advise on the potential impact of these reforms; and/or
• Oversight and advice in relation to project related work, where the involvement of Legal is required.

• Provide training (including delivering presentations) and support to staff on legal issues as required.
• Supervise, train and mentor junior lawyers within the team, specifically direct reports (if any).

Key Skills And Experience:

Essential:

• Australian practising solicitor with 9-10 years’ post qualification experience. At least 4 years’ commercial litigation experience, with interest in continuing to work on litigious matters in an in-house setting, with flexibility to assist on broader corporate/commercial work.
• Excellent communication skills with an ability to communicate complex legal issues in verbal and written reports in plain English.
• Excellent organisation, analytical and negotiation skills.
• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a team, assuming managerial responsibilities where appropriate.
• Willingness to learn and tackle new challenges.
• Solid understanding of the laws and regulations that cover the financial services industry including but not limited to knowledge of the Corporations Act and other equivalent legislation.

Desirable:

• Solid private practice experience in commercial litigation.
• Experience or exposure to dealings with ASIC and AFCA.
• Experience of the Australian, New Zealand and Singapore financial services industries.
• CFD and/or stockbroking product knowledge.

Special requirements

• Current Practising Certificate (or eligible to hold a Practising Certificate).

Benefits

• Competitive salary + bonus.
• Charity give-back days.
• 1 extra annual day of leave for your birthday.
• CMC Benefits hub, Social Club, Women@CMC, LinkedIn Learning, Novated Leasing + more.
• Generous L&D program so you can continue to build new skills to grow your professional career.

CMC Markets is powered by our people. We are an equal opportunities employer and are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, where our people feel confident to be themselves, feel valued and are able to do their best work. We don’t just value differences and unique perspectives, we seek them out and we invite them in, because we know it will lead to better outcomes for everyone