WHAT IS LAW IN BANKING & FINANCE?
Investment banks employ large numbers of lawyers, either directly in-house or through large City and international law groups.Lawyers and ex-lawyers can be found in a number of roles in the banking, finance and insurance sector. Three major categories are outlined below.Investment banks are keen to offer roles to both solicitors and barristers who are looking to change their careers. For example, many trained barristers can be found working in corporate finance departments in the City. There are two key reasons for this. When a bank is advising a major company on a takeover or a merger, legal training is a great asset in planning the strategy used. Equally important is the case development training that barristers undergo. This makes them ideally suited to presenting strategies to potential clients, and ensuring that such strategies are meticulously executed.
Banks and insurers generate a huge amount of work for lawyers. Activities include:
- Advising on the regulatory and compliance position of a new product
- Developing terms and conditions for new products
- Responding to and interpreting new legislation
- Preparing briefs for legal cases or for regulatory hearings
- Planning responses to client complaints
- Advising on the legal challenges facing corporate actions, such as mergers or acquisitions;
- Advising clients of the legal issues involved in a merger or acquisition, or in the preparation of an initial public offering (ie listing shares on the Stock Market).
Banks employ their own counsel to work on all of these matters, as well as being the biggest clients of the major international law groups.
Positions range from junior assistant to legal counsel, right up to experienced international lawyers acting as in-house counsel on issues such as mergers and acquisitions. Senior positions such as these command very high salaries, running into the hundreds of thousands of pounds.
