US Financial Restructuring Counsel

The U.S. Financial Restructuring Counsel is Barclays’ sole U.S. bankruptcy and restructuring attorney, providing strategic legal advice and oversight with respect to all touchpoints of Barclays’ businesses with U.S. bankruptcy law.  The role-holder will be a member of the Americas Loans, Leveraged Finance & ICB Legal team and the broader Investment Banking Legal team.

Key responsibilities include:

• Special Asset Management (SAM) Coverage: Serve as strategic advisor to and provide comprehensive legal coverage for the SAM desk, which manages Barclays’ distressed loan positions.  This work includes but is not limited to:
  • negotiating loan agreements, intercreditor agreements, forbearance agreements, amendments, waivers, restructuring support agreements, and other documentation with distressed borrowers and other lenders;
  • providing legal counsel to Barclays in all aspects of its role(s) as administrative agent and/or lender on revolving credit facilities and syndicated loans in both in-court and out-of-court proceedings in the U.S. and non-U.S. jurisdictions; and
  • providing other strategic legal advice in situations where Barclays is a creditor of a distressed or insolvent counterparty.
• Restructuring & Finance Group (RFG) Coverage: Provide legal counsel to RFG, which arranges debtor-in-possession, exit, and other strategic financing for borrowers, and provide advice to protect Barclays’ interests and enable business success in all phases of restructurings and bankruptcy proceedings.
• Debt-to-Equity Restructurings:  Provide legal advice and execution support for the SAM and Principal Investments desks in connection with debt-to-equity restructuring transactions pursuant to which Barclays acquires equity in a newly reorganized counterparty as a result of the issuer’s prior loan default.
• General U.S. Bankruptcy and Distressed Debt Coverage:  Serve as Barclays’ sole internal legal advisor on U.S. bankruptcy law and insolvency-related matters, providing ad hoc advice requested by Barclays colleagues, including but not limited to supporting Barclays’ Commercial Real Estate Asset Management desk in protecting and enforcing its rights as lender to distressed borrowers.
• Other Team Coverage: Act as Legal representative on advisory and execution work across other areas of team coverage as needed.

Essential Skills / Basic Qualifications:

• 8+ years’ legal experience in bankruptcy and restructuring representing secured creditors
• Deep knowledge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code
• New York Bar

Desirable Skills / Preferred Qualifications:

• First-rate academic credentials
• Considerable experience with a high-quality law firm
• Experience as in-house counsel for a major financial institution
• Significant experience counselling senior management on legal risk matters
• Superior judgment and the self-confidence necessary to provide opinions even in the face of contrary views
• Experience assessing legal and regulatory risk in difficult and sensitive situations, such as a matter of acute time pressure and/or an issue of great materiality to the company
• Proven track record of working well on a team and working collaboratively across functions
• Experience managing advisors and maintaining outstanding relationships with both internal and external legal counsel
• Excellent written and verbal English language skills
• Additional experience with leveraged finance, equity investments, securitized products, and/or commercial real estate financing may be beneficial

You may be assessed on the key critical skills relevant for success in the role, such as those relating to risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen, strategic thinking, as well as job-specific technical skills.

This role is located in New York.

Minimum Salary: $270,000

Maximum Salary: $330,000

The minimum and maximum salary/rate information above include only base salary or base hourly rate. It does not include any other type of compensation or benefits that may be available.

Purpose of the role

To ensure that activities of the investment banking division are conducted in compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, and to help the bank manage legal and reputational risks associated with these activities. 

Accountabilities

• Development and implementation of best practice legal strategies to manage risk related to non-adherence to laws, rules and regulations.   .
• Legal advice and support to the bank's investment banking division on legal matters including mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, lending and other corporate finance transactions.
• Subject matter support in the Legal department’s representation of the bank in legal proceedings related to investment banking activities, such as litigation, arbitration, and regulatory investigations.
• Creation and/or review of legal documents for the investment banking division to ensure the bank’s adherence with applicable laws, rules and regulations. Maintaining and updating form legal documentation for the investment banking division.
• Legal research and analysis to stay up to date on changes in laws, rules and regulations that may impact the bank's investment banking activities.
• Developing and delivering training programmes to educate employees on legal and regulatory requirements related to the investment banking activities.
• Act as legal advisor to the Investment banking transaction approval committees on laws, rules and regulations.

Director Expectations

• To manage a business function, providing significant input to function wide strategic initiatives. Contribute to and influence policy and procedures for the function and plan, manage and consult on multiple complex and critical strategic projects, which may be business wide..
• They manage the direction of a large team or sub-function, leading other people managers and embedding a performance culture aligned to the values of the business. Or for an individual contributor, they lead organisation wide projects and act as deep technical expert and thought leader, identifying new ways of working and collaborating cross functionally. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions..
• Provide expert advice to senior functional management and committees to influence decisions made outside of own function, offering significant input to function wide strategic initiatives.
• Manage, coordinate and enable resourcing, budgeting and policy creation for a significant sub-function.
• Escalates breaches of policies / procedure appropriately.
• Foster and guide compliance, ensure regulations are observed that relevant processes in place to facilitate adherence.
• Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays, when appropriate.
• Demonstrate extensive knowledge of how the function integrates with the business division / Group to achieve the overall business objectives.
• Maintain broad and comprehensive knowledge of industry theories and practices within own discipline alongside up-to-date relevant sector / functional knowledge, and insight into external market developments / initiatives.
• Use interpretative thinking and advanced analytical skills to solve problems and design solutions in often complex/ sensitive situations.
• Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and certain strategic decisions or recommendations within own area.
• Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally.
• Act as principal contact point for key clients and counterparts in other functions/ businesses divisions.
• Mandated as a spokesperson for the function and business division.

All Senior Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.