Manager - Legal Counsel

Eastspring is a global asset manager with Asia at its core. We create a culture in which diversity is celebrated and inclusion assured, for our colleagues, customers, and partners. We provide a platform for our people to do their best work and make an impact to the business, and in exchange, we support our people's career ambitions. We pledge to make Eastspring a place where you can Connect, Grow and Succeed.

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KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

We are hiring a Legal Counsel to support a broad range of documentation work across derivatives, fund-related and general commercial agreements for a buy‑side asset management firm. This role is suited to a lawyer or documentation specialist with around three years’ experience who is looking to gain well‑rounded in‑house exposure, covering both derivatives documentation and day‑to‑day commercial agreements. Experience with ISDA documentation would be highly advantageous.

• Support negotiation and execution of derivatives and financing documentation, including ISDA Master Agreements, CSAs, GMRAs, clearing and brokerage agreements.
• Work with external counsel on complex, jurisdiction-specific or regulatory documentation matters.
• Identify analyse and clearly summarise legal and commercial issues, escalating with concise proposed positions.
• Manage multiple live negotiations and competing priorities in a fast-paced trading environment.
• Coordinate documentation processes with trading, operations, risk and investment teams, and engage with multiple senior internal stakeholders and clients.
• Contribute to the development, maintenance and enhancement of internal playbooks, templates and negotiation guides negotiation guides to promote consistency and efficiency.
• Prepare and maintain legal data, trackers and management reports to support oversight, transparency and risk monitoring.
• Negotiate and manage various buy‑side asset management agreements, including NDAs, broker onboarding/empanelment agreements, cornerstone agreements, and related fund or distribution documentation.
• Proactively use AI and legal technology tools to transform contract review and legal workflows, including advanced clause analysis, benchmarking against internal playbooks, and development of scalable, standardised prompts, templates and processes.
• Maintain accurate records of executed agreements and key commercial/legal terms.
• Support general documentation and administrative tasks associated with a high‑volume in‑house derivatives practice.
• Monitor and stay current on market developments in derivatives, asset management and commercial documentation.

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REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

• About 3 years’ experience in legal, financial markets or commercial contracting.
• Experience with general commercial or asset management agreements (e.g. NDAs, onboarding, investor documentation) preferred.
• Demonstrated hands‑on use of AI and legal technology tools to support contract review, risk identification and process efficiency, or a clear capability and interest in developing such skills.
• Some exposure to derivatives documentation (e.g. ISDA) would be highly useful.
• Buy‑side in‑house experience advantageous but not essential.
• Strong academic background with a solid analytical and investigative mindset.

Skills and Attributes:

• Sound understanding of legal documentation principles, with willingness to develop exposure to derivatives documentation.
• Clear, confident and concise communicator, able to distil issues for senior stakeholders and comfortable engaging with clients and counterparties.
• Highly organised and resilient, able to operate in a high‑pressure, high‑expectation environment.
• Comfortable managing multiple workstreams and tight deadlines.
• Confident working with data, trackers and reporting tools.
• Technologically adept with strong applied use of AI tools, including the ability to leverage AI for contract review, risk identification, clause benchmarking and workflow efficiency.
• Entrepreneurial mindset, with willingness to propose initiatives to improve processes, efficiency and risk management.
• Commercial, pragmatic and collaborative in approach and a team player.

Eastspring is an equal opportunity employer. We provide equality of opportunity of benefits for all who apply and who perform work for our organisation irrespective of sex, race, age, ethnic origin, educational, social and cultural background, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, disability or part-time / fixed-term work, or any other status protected by applicable law. We encourage the same standards from our recruitment and third-party suppliers taking into account the context of grade, job and location. We also allow for reasonable adjustments to support people with individual physical or mental health requirements.