Senior Legal Counsel

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

Based in London, assisting teams of investment professionals located in CDPQ’s London regional hub and Paris office in the evaluation, execution and management of investments across Europe.

What you will do

Assisting in the negotiation, structuring and execution of complex cross-border M&A transactions in private equity and infrastructure (including in the energy/renewables, transportation, health and technology sectors); assisting also in the execution of private debt and investment funds investments;

Proactively collaborating with investment teams in identifying issues and mitigating risks in post-investment support of portfolio companies, investment platforms and their respective follow-on/build-up investments and any related financings;

Devising creative solutions to help achieve CDPQ’s commercial objectives and protect its legal and reputational interests;

Collaborating across multiple offices with internal functions such as Tax, Risk and Communication and brand, with a view to ensuring consistent application of CDPQ policies across its portfolio holdings;

Cooperating with external advisors and stakeholders such as co-investors, regulators and lenders in order to manage and ensure timely transaction execution;

Ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, not limited to commercial, securities/capital markets, tax, antitrust, foreign investment, corporate governance and ABC/AML, as well as CDPQ’s constating legislation: the Act respecting the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec ;

Adopting strategies to prevent commercial disputes, or managing any that do arise, while minimising risk and liability related to litigation/arbitration for CDPQ, its subsidiaries or their portfolio companies;

Who you are

You stand out by your :

Strong drafting skills with an ability to synthesise complex information and succinctly highlight key points to colleagues at all seniority levels;

Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment while juggling competing deadlines and prioritising issues and workstreams;

Commercial mindset and ability to use legal skills, judgment and experience to achieve a practical outcome;

Strong professional judgement to identify key issues and risks beyond legal ones (e.g. reputational and commercial);

Ability and desire to grow your skills beyond your current areas of expertise in a dynamic and evolving environment;

Ability to collaborate with professionals from different disciplines and work cultures, across various geographies in a multi-cultural environment.

What you bring

Law degree with six to eight (6-8) years of PQE (indicative) gained in a leading international law firm and/or large global corporate; experience in an institutional investor or investment fund would also be an asset;

UK-qualified or qualified in an EU jurisdiction; qualification in another common law jurisdiction or in the US would also be an asset);

Familiarity with sovereign or state-backed investors would be an asset;

Experience in corporate and M&A (private, public and cross border) and in private equity or infrastructure transactions (including in the energy/renewables, transportation, health and technology sectors), ideally with a mix of private practice and in-house experience is essential;

Experience in funds investments, particularly LPA and side letter negotiation, is also highly desirable;

A well-rounded background and experience in asset management and/or general in-house corporate matters, ranging from corporate/commercial contracts, projects, regulatory, compliance, and litigation experience is highly desirable;

Strong cross-border transactional experience across Europe is essential; experience in the UK, France, Spain, Germany and the Nordics is of particular interest.

Experience in managing external attorneys and legal professionals is essential;

Full professional proficiency in English (spoken and written); proficiency in French is highly desirable; any other European language (spoken and written) to be considered strong assets;

Availability for international travel is preferred.

Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

CDPQ wants to offer equal employment opportunities to everyone . It encourages women , visible and ethnic minorities , aboriginal people and people with disabilities to apply . CDPQ is also committed to further incorporating diversity into the organization and making it a source of enrichment and pride for all its employees . Please inform us if your current condition requires an accommodation during the recruiting process.

Studies show that women and members of traditionally underrepresented groups tend to apply for a position only when they meet all the requirements.

If you are motivated by this opportunity , but don’t meet all the requirements , contact us anyway!

About us

We are a leading global institutional asset manager. We invest in major financial markets and the principal asset classes. To carry out our mission, we have teams of experts recruited from among the best in Quebec and around the world.