Director, Senior Legal Counsel

Do you want your voice heard and your actions to count?

Discover your opportunity with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of the world’s leading financial groups. Across the globe, we’re 150,000 colleagues, striving to make a difference for every client, organization, and community we serve. We stand for our values, building long-term relationships, serving society, and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world.

With a vision to be the world’s most trusted financial group, it’s part of our culture to put people first, listen to new and diverse ideas and collaborate toward greater innovation, speed and agility. This means investing in talent, technologies, and tools that empower you to own your career.

Join MUFG, where being inspired is expected and making a meaningful impact is rewarded.

Director - Senior Legal Counsel

Legal Office for Asia (LOA)

MUFG Bank, Ltd

Job Responsibilities:

• Provide leadership for the management of the Legal Office for Asia in Singapore and the various MUFG regional legal offices across APAC and cross-entity collaboration within MUFG including Head Office (Tokyo)’s Legal functions

• Responsible for managing, developing direct reports. Support, coach and guide direct reports on complex issues

• Think strategically, plan, prioritise and execute legal services that are co-ordinated and support the APAC region. Be able to identify process and operational risks in the delivery of legal services and to lead strategic initiatives to mitigate such risks and to standardise and align each MUFG APAC regional legal offices’ legal resources to deliver such requirements.

• Be commercially minded legal support with broad experience covering financial services, regulatory and compliance

• Provide strong support (including drafting) on legal documentation and develop legal check-lists in relation to various banking activities including MUFG’s Global Corporates Investment Banking, Asia Investment Banking Division, and Global Corporate Banking business units

• Ability to lead initiatives to reduce outside legal counsel spend for MUFG Bank

• Be an independent guardian and trusted business partner by providing commercially sensitive, pragmatic and practical legal support and advice in a cost effective manner to MUFG

• Be proactive in the provision of legal consultancy services and guidance to MUFG’s business units on material legal developments with regards to a broad range of products, services and issues

• Ensure that MUFG’s senior management is regularly briefed on major issues arising in relevant business area and major legislative changes

• Support bank-wide projects, litigation matters, plan and support the various MUFG APAC regional legal offices’ management of legal issues and liaise and coordinate with external legal counsels

• Support the General Counsel Asia by engaging in global, regional and/or country initiatives, supervising and managing legal affairs in Asia and optimizing internal and external legal resources.

Job requirements:

• Qualification: Common law jurisdiction(s) such as Singapore, UK, Hong Kong or Australia. Other common law jurisdictions may also be considered

• Working Experience: Post qualification experience needs to be 17-25 years. Prior in-house legal experience in a financial institution would be an advantage

• Strong leadership qualities, highly self-motivated, good interpersonal skills

• Major skills: Excellent knowledge and experience of regulatory and compliance requirements relating to finance and banking, both in a commercial and legal context

• Broad experience across banking and lending, general finance, leveraged finance, structured finance, acquisition finance, including but not limited to high level of familiarity with documentation relating to:

  • LMA based finance documents including experience in debt capital markets, syndications and loan sales

  • Asset backed lending structures

  • Receivables financing, property financing and security packages

  • Experience in high risk and/or emerging markets (particularly APAC)

  • Cross border leverage finance and acquisition finance

  • ESG (Environmental Social and Governance) matters

• Strong technical knowledge of the legal framework surrounding banking and finance transactions generally, and possess strong document drafting skills

• Strong leadership and organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple deadlines

• Ability to work across different jurisdictions and multi-skilled teams

• Experienced and confident practitioner with the ability to lead at the table among senior managers within the business, support and risk functions

• Able to provide clear, commercial and risk mitigated advice to the business. Excellent communication and up-to-date knowledge of developments in the industry.

• Self-starter, independent but must be able to work as part of a team. Lateral thinking and problem solving in an open manner. 

We regret to inform that only shortlisted applicants will be notified.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) is an equal opportunity employer. We view our employees as our key assets as they are fundamental to our long-term growth and success. MUFG is committed to hiring based on merit and organsational fit, regardless of race, religion or gender.