Legal Graduate Trainee

Description of the Business Line or Department

The Legal Department in London (SEGL/JUR London) is a team of c.60 lawyers and legal advisers (permanent and temporary staff) providing legal advice and support to all London based investment banking business lines and those businesses and legal entities forming part of the SG Group in the UK.  It is divided into the following teams/areas of expertise: (i) Global Finance (sub- divided into Acquisition and Asset Finance (AAF), Financial Engineering and Group Financing (EGF), Natural Resources and Hedging (NRH); (ii) Markets (sub-divided into Structured Over-The-Counter Derivatives (OTC), Programmes and Structured Issuances (PSI) and Debt Capital Markets); (iii) Trading and Prime Agreements (TPA)  (sub-divided into Master Agreements (MAN) and Prime Services (PRM); (iv) Securities Services; (v) Corporate Finance; (vi) Financial Services Regulation; (vii) Employment; (viii) Shared Internal Legal Services (incorporating Commercial and IT Contracts and Global Transaction Payment Services); and (ix) Data Protection.

The Legal Department is responsible for identifying and analysing legal and commercial issues, including communicating advice clearly and effectively, as part of an overall responsibility for managing and overseeing legal risk for the businesses supported.  The Legal Department is also responsible for managing its own conduct risk, promoting a positive culture of good conduct and compliance and contributing to the management of conduct risk throughout the businesses supported.

Summary of the key purposes of the role

The Shared Internal Legal Services team within SEGL/JUR London comprises three lawyers:

• The team head is directly responsible for managing the other lawyers and also provides general legal advice and assistance principally as required by all of the support units within the SG London perimeter (and in particular to UK Sourcing in relation to all outsourcing and commercial contracts) and liaises with all relevant stakeholders in order to manage and to mitigate against legal risk in these areas.
• The second lawyer supports SG London in relation to commercial contracts with a particular focus on technology contracts.
• The third lawyer supports the GTPS business line in the UK in connection with their provision of payment and cash management services to clients.

The team also supports business units and the legal support teams relating to them in relation to non-client facing contracts and matters This includes the provision of data protection advice and IP and IT advice relating to commercial contracts.

• The senior lawyers in the team often require assistance to perform administrative and research based tasks on matters which are more efficiently undertaken by a junior lawyer or trainee. 
• The candidate would be involved in assisting the team with the review and negotiation of confidentiality agreements.
• The candidate would be involved in assisting the team with advising in relation to, and the review, drafting and negotiation of, various form of commercial agreements.
• The candidate will gain experience and knowledge of the law relating to commercial contracts, data protection, IP and IT law.
• The candidate will assist the Data Protection Office in relation to various administrative tasks and projects.
• The candidate will work closely with lawyers and internal clients.

The Corporate Finance legal team (team of three) is responsible for supporting and providing legal advice, and identifying and analysing legal and commercial issues (including responsibility for managing and overseeing legal risk) for, principally, GLBA/IBD business lines operating out of Société Générale London Branch, as well as other (including non-SGCIB) businesses and legal entities forming part of the Société Générale Group in the UK.

In particular, in relation to:

• GLBA/IBD/MNA UK business lines,
• with particular focus on  Power, Utilities and Infrastructure (PU&I); Oil & Gas (ONG) and TMT teams, as well as the GLBA/FIG (Financial Institutions Group), providing a range of corporate advice on advisory work re public and private company M&A (including UK Takeover Code),
• primary and secondary equity offerings and capital markets transactions led by Paris-based GLBA/IBD/MAN/EMG/FRA teams, providing advice on Listing, Disclosure and Prospectus Rules
• SG’s portfolio of principal investments and funds (via limited partnership and other structures), including Lyxor Asset Management UK LLP
• UK-based internal SG corporate and Group development, such as intra group acquisitions and disposals, internal business reorganizations, external corporate transactions (including participation in joint ventures e.g. equity participations for MARK business lines)
• General corporate legal advice required by internal support functions (Compliance, Tax, DFIN, Company Secretarial) and other business lines.
• Liaising with colleagues within SEGL/JUR (London and other jurisdictions), London-based business lines and other support functions, as required.

• Due to the high level of transactional work, the senior lawyers in the team often require assistance to perform the project management, administrative and research based tasks on a transaction which are more efficiently undertaken by a junior lawyer or trainee. 
• The graduate trainee would be involved in assisting the London Corporate Finance legal team in London with the review and negotiation of confidentiality agreements, reviewing engagement letters (with support) and other agreements.
• The graduate trainee will also assist the lawyers in the team with legal research, internal policy and corporate secretarial matters.
• The candidate will gain experience and knowledge of the Bank’s corporate finance business and of corporate transactions and will work closely with lawyers and internal and external clients

Summary of responsibilities 

• To assist with general legal research and administrative tasks.
• To assist with the review/drafting/negotiation of certain commercial contracts. The candidate will receive training to enable them to do this and will be closely supervised by lawyers within the teams.
• To review, comment on and negotiate confidentiality agreements with external clients and suppliers. Again, the candidate will receive training to enable them to do this but will, after a couple of months, be expected to run files on their own.
• To act as coordinator in respect of requests for SG London Branch to act as process agent for English law transactions conducted by SG Group entities in other parts of the world.

• To attend meetings and take minutes.
• To assist with corporate secretarial matters.
• To assist with other matters as the lawyers in the teams may require.
• To review and comment on engagement letters for the corporate finance business.
• At the request of business lines, draft powers of attorney for transactions.
• Attend meetings and take minutes.

It should be noted that the candidate will receive training to enable them to review and comment on legal agreements and initially will be closely supervised by lawyers within the team.  However after a couple of months, they will be expected to run files on their own with a senior lawyer in copy (for engagement letters work will always be shadowed by a senior lawyer).

Level of Autonomy and Authority

Not applicable.  The successful candidate will have their own files following a training period, but all work will be supervised/a senior lawyer in copy.