Legal Manager - Ernst & Young

Today’s competitive business is all about making intelligent and informed decisions. As a legal counsel within the Core Business Services (CBS) service line, you will help make this happen in cooperation with your colleagues in the general counsel team. You will be applying your legal knowledge and expertise to support EY colleagues from all industries while simultaneously monitoring regulatory changes and providing legal opinions about their businesses.

The Opportunity

EY is looking for an experienced generalist lawyer with good experience to work with us in the general counsel team. The role will support the General Counsel with servicing Africa.

Your Key Responsibilities-General Counsel Office (GCO)

The Legal Manager will assist the GCO with the following tasks across all service lines in the EY Africa Region;

• General – Drafting and negotiating various agreements across all service lines, such as global framework agreements, local implementation agreements, service level agreements, etc.
• Ability to advise engagement teams on all current commercial contracts.
• Reviewing and contributing to drafting firm policies including authority and delegations framework.

• Acquisitions – current legal work on local acquisitions including working with external counsel on deal structure and acquisition agreements, coordination with other members of Legal for cross-border acquisitions.
• Litigation – Coordination of litigation matters in close relationship with Africa Regional General Counsel and relevant Quality Service Line Leader.
• Providing advice to business units on potential claims as well as forming part of special ad hoc panels to manage the risk of potential claims.
• Providing input/reporting to legal risk committee.
• Reviewing various agreements inclusive of the following type of agreements:
• Non-disclosure agreements
• Global framework agreements
• Responses to requests for proposals/bids
• Subcontractor agreements, etc.
• Consider the legal risks in the agreements inclusive of Limitation of Liability.
• Provision of internal legal opinions as well as dealing with subpoenas and claims brought against the firm.
• Manage the Master Template Database of contract and other legal precedents.
• Assist in the maintenance of a register of legal work done.
• Assistance with Projects as undertaken by the GCO.
• Assistance with the notification of claims and circumstances project.
• Liaison with external legal practitioners and locally and globally where appropriate.
• Attending to data privacy issues.
• Attending to Anti-money laundering issues.
• Assistance with selected areas of compliance issues.
• Assist with legal support to the Africa EY practices on various legal matters.

Education and Academic Qualifications:

• Minimum of Bachelor of laws degree
• Qualified to practice law in Ghana.

To qualify for the role, you must have the following:

• At least 5-8 years of post-qualification legal experience, preferably with an international law firm and/or multi-national corporation with at least a significant portion of such experience occurring in Ghana.
• Well-rounded corporate and commercial experience
• Experience in an Auditing firm and with compliance and company secretarial matters will be an advantage.
• Ideal, in-depth experience of the professional services industry and business acumen.
• Solid commercial drafting, reviewing and negotiating skills, with an outcome-orientated approach.
• Exposure across the African continent would be beneficial.
• Top administrative skills with a high proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office programmes.
• Excellent relationship skills, assertive, proactive, energetic and a strong team player.
• Willingness to work overtime when necessary, adaptive and agile.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.
• Decision-making capabilities and ability to work with little or no supervision.

Ideally, you should also have;

• High level of ethics and integrity.
• High level of self-confidence and energy.
• High level of intellectual agility, initiative, self-motivation, resourcefulness, and patience.
• Pragmatic, strong analytical skills and attention to detail.