Associate/ Assistant General Counsel and Director - Employment & Benefits APAC
Bank of America
- Hong Kong
- Permanent
- Full-time
Provides general legal counsel on employment and benefits related matters, as well as specific advice on products, services and certain legal actions. Reviews legal contracts and documents. Directly, or through staff, conducts legal research. May represent the bank in legal actions. Individuals in this position typically have a minimum of six years of experience since admission to the Bar.Responsibilities:The primary responsibility of this role is to provide first class, commercial and risk-appropriate legal advice to HR in APAC. This lawyer will have day to day interaction with the HR generalists and country HR partners in the different APAC jurisdictions. The role requires close liaison with other control functions as well as internal and external lawyers. The role will build a strong relationship with HR and LOB clients and must have an ability to identify practical legal solutions and make recommendations. The role will be part of a 2 person HR legal team in APAC and will report to the Head of International HR Legal, based in London.
- The role is located in our Bank of America offices on Hong Kong Island. However, we will consider applications from Singapore also as the role could be carried out from there as well.
- Managing and advising on the legal/reputational and regulatory risks arising at all stages of the employment cycle in accordance with the bank's risk framework and culture. Acting as strategic partner to the business, assisting the business to weigh the risk/reward balance whilst acting responsibly Managing queries from HR and the business, including Compliance, Risk and Audit on a range of issues Working closely with the other APAC HR legal attorney and the EMEA HR legal team, together with other lawyers including regulatory lawyers
- Providing regular training to HR and Legal on employment law matters, frequently asked questions and HR legal documents;
- Engaging and managing outside counsel in a cost-efficient manner
- Providing general legal support to the business, including the procurement of appropriate regulatory advice; Providing advice in respect of the HR aspects of data privacy issues
- Advising on the HR elements of M&A activity, outsourcing and other transactional projects
- In-house employment lawyer with experience of employment laws and regulations across the APAC Region
- Law degree required
- At least 6 years post qualification experience
- Fluent spoken and written English required
- Role to be based in Hong Kong (or Singapore if preferred)
- Large law firm training and/or in-house Legal department experience, in the area of employment law in the APAC Region, preferably in international banking and finance (or with clients in that area)
- Experience in advising on HR regulatory issues
- Ability to manage responsibilities across multiple jurisdictions and time zones and manage a high volume of work and clients in a fast-paced environment
- Ability to communicate clearly and persuasively, both verbally and in writing, and to adapt to a variety of audiences
- Ability to be successful in a global, matrixed organisation
- Well-grounded in principles of common law, employment law and contract law
- Proficient in Word, Excel and PowerPoint
- Fluent spoken and written English