Legal Counsel, CDPQ
Legal Affairs
Global institutional asset manager
Be an early applicant
Global institutional asset manager
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
1001+ employees
Company mission
To achieve optimal financial returns and contribute through its activities to the vitality of the economy while safeguarding the capital under management.
Role
Who you are
- We are looking for a bright, motivated commercial problem-solver willing to partner with the business to drive execution and provide sound guidance all throughout the investment cycle
- 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
- Law degree with three to five (3-5) 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 public pension fund managers or 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) is essential, ideally with a mix of private practice and in-house experience
- 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 would be an asset
- Full professional proficiency in English and French (spoken and written); any other European language (spoken and written) to be considered strong assets
- Availability for international travel is preferred
What the job involves
- This is a unique role to assist the European Legal team of one of the world’s largest institutional investors
- Based in our European hub in London and also covering our Paris office, the Senior Legal Counsel will have the opportunity to work with a diverse and talented set of deal lawyers across the whole gamut of asset classes in the private capital industry: private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private credit
- Assisting in the negotiation, structuring and execution of complex cross-border M&A transactions in private equity, funds, infrastructure and real estate (in such industries as energy/renewables, transportation, health and technology)
- 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
- Assisting Directors in the Legal team, both in Europe and in other regions, in transaction execution and portfolio management issues
- 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 Public Affairs, 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
Salary benchmarks
Our take
CDPQ is a global investment group that manages funds for public retirement and insurance plans. By investing constructive capital in private equity, equity markets, private credit, infrastructure, and real estate, CDPQ positions enterprises to succeed.
CDPQ's contribution to the growth of companies and the Québec economy, which has long been its niche within the market, goes beyond dollar amounts. It has stood the test of time for creating long-term returns for its clients, due to its long-standing commitment to sustainable investing.
Looking forward, the company is set on expanding its efforts to drive up returns offshore. To do so, it has plans to bolster its European portfolio by continuing to invest in the UK, primarily given its “pro business” stance, and France, but is also starting to look towards other European countries, including Germany, Spain, and those in the Nordic region.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Company HQ
International District, Montreal, QC
Articles
Leadership
Charles Emond
(President & CEO, not founder)Previously served as Head of Private Equity & Strategic Planning for CDPQ. Experience as Executive Vice President of Finance for Scotiabank, Manager of Mergers & Acquisitions for PwC and as a Partner for Grant Thornton LLP.
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