• Job Description

  Req#: JR0012743

  Associate – Litigation & Legal Review – Legal Division

  Salary: London - £45,100-£66,800

  Leeds - £43,400-£64,300.

  We are looking for an enthusiastic and talented UK qualified contentious regulatory lawyer to join the Litigation & Legal Review Team in the FCA’s Legal Division as an Associate, whether you are newly qualified or have relevant PQE/post- pupillage experience of up to around 3 years.

  The Litigation & Legal Review Team of around 35 lawyers is responsible for the independent legal review and the conduct of litigation of all non-criminal cases arising from the FCA’s Enforcement function as well as conduct of contested Authorisations cases.

  The role gives the opportunity to conduct a wide variety of important contentious regulatory work which is often high profile and cutting edge, including proceedings before the RDC, Upper Tribunal and High Court. We are a dynamic, inclusive and supportive team enjoying a busy workload, but also benefitting from a real work life balance.

  What you will be doing

  • Conduct litigation and legal reviews of investigations and cases for submission to decision makers including senior FCA decision makers, the RDC, Upper Tribunal and the courts, involving drafting and reviewing case papers such as statutory notices, written submissions and statements of case, witness statements and regulatory notices

  • Provide legal advice to Enforcement investigatory case teams, Authorisations and other FCA colleagues on points of law, legal risk and with regard to the exercise of FCA powers, and conduct any resulting regulatory proceedings

  • Instruct and manage external counsel and, where necessary, draft written and/or make oral representations to an executive decision maker, the RDC, Upper Tribunal and courts

  • Assist in the sharing of knowledge and expertise and contribute to the development and implementation of the FCA's enforcement policy, procedures and guidance

  • Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders, including colleagues in case teams, Authorisations and supervisory business units, the RDC and external law firms

  What you will get from the role

  • An opportunity to be an integral part of a team whose complex and challenging case work has a high impact and profile both internally and externally at the forefront of the FCA's work

  • An opportunity to work on contentious matters of public importance and tackling serious financial services matters

  • Satisfying, worthwhile and responsible work with the opportunity to use your legal skills in highly contentious matters, often under time pressure

  • Engagement with senior stakeholders within the FCA (and PRA where applicable) and the financial services industry

  • A challenging, interesting and varied portfolio of work, working with colleagues from across the Enforcement Division, Authorisations and other parts of the FCA

  • Work in a high-energy and stimulating division, within a supportive and inclusive environment that continually seeks to develop its members

  Our competitive flexible benefits scheme gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifecycle. You can use this allowance to purchase additional benefits such as dental or cycle to work or you have the option to top up your base salary by taking this as cash.

  Core benefits that you will receive as standard are:

  • 25 days holiday per year

  • Private healthcare with Bupa

  • A non-contributory Pension of at least 8% of basic salary each month (there are several contribution levels that increase depending on your age – up to 12% a month once you reach age 35)

  • Life assurance of eight times your basic salary

  • Income protection

  We support hybrid working which means you will be able to work from home up to 60% of the time over a month with the remainder of your time in either the London or Leeds office.

  Minimum criteria

  We’re a signatory to the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. This means that we will offer an interview to disabled candidates entering under the scheme, should they meet the minimum criteria for a role. A minimum criterion needs to be measurable from reviewing a candidate’s CV. Exceptions may apply if due to the volume of applications we are not able to interview all eligible candidates who qualify under the scheme.

  • A qualified solicitor or barrister with a valid practising certificate issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for England and Wales (if a solicitor), or the General Council of the Bar for England and Wales (if a barrister)

  • Some clear and demonstrable experience of conducting either commercial litigation or contentious financial services proceedings or investigations

  
  Essential criteria

  • Experience of conducting either commercial litigation or contentious financial services proceedings or investigations

  • Good communication skills, both written and oral

  • Self-motivation and ability to work independently and as part of a team

  • Ability to work in pressurised situations where deadlines are tight

  • Desire to learn more about financial services and deal with a wide variety of factual situations

  About the FCA

  The FCA regulates the conduct of 50,000 firms in the UK to ensure our financial markets are honest, fair and competitive. We do this to make sure markets work well for individuals, businesses and the economy as a whole. For more information on what we do, our three-year strategy can be found here.

  The FCA's Values & Diversity

  Our ambition is to cultivate a culture of inclusion for all employees that respects their individual strengths, views, and experiences. We believe that our differences and similarities enable us to be a better organisation – one that makes better decisions, drives innovation, and delivers better regulation.

  The FCA is committed to achieving greater diversity across all levels of the organisations. Given this, we particularly welcome applications from women, disabled and minority ethnic candidates for this role.

  Flexible working

  We welcome applications from candidates who are looking for flexible arrangements. Many of our staff work flexibly including working part-time, staggered hours, and job shares. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want but we won’t judge you for asking.

  Multi-location

  As part of the FCA’s on-going commitment to develop our national presence, most of our vacancies are now open to working in our Leeds, Edinburgh or London offices. As part of this application process you will be able to select your preference of which office location you would like to work from between Leeds or London.

  Useful information

  • The role is graded as Associate, Practising Legal - Level 8

  • The role is based in London or Leeds

  • The closing date for applications is 23.55 on Sunday 1 October 2023

  • If you have any questions, or if you would like to have a pre-application conversation with one of the hiring managers, please contact Katie Ayling on katie.ayling@fca.org.uk

  • Please note that all applications must be submitted through our online portal, applications sent via email will not be accepted

  What to expect from our process

  After your CV has been reviewed, and if you are successfully screened, it is envisaged you will be invited to attend a one stage case study and technical and competency-based interview.

• About the company

  The Financial Conduct Authority is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry.

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