Overview
Director, Banking legal Counsel (5 Years PQE~) Jobs in Tokyo, Japan at Morgan McKinley
Title: Director, Banking legal Counsel (5 Years PQE~)
Company: Morgan McKinley
Location: Tokyo, Japan
European CIB – Director, Legal Counsel (Japan Banking)
Compensation & Benefits
- Compensation: Flexible depending on experience and seniority. For highly experienced lawyers, the total compensation package can exceed JPY 30 million.
- Social Insurance: 100% of social insurance contributions are covered by the company, providing an additional financial benefit on top of the compensation package.
About the Role
A leading European Corporate & Investment Bank, part of one of France’s largest banking groups, is seeking a senior financing lawyer to join its Tokyo Legal team.
The firm operates globally and provides advisory, financing, investment banking, corporate banking and capital markets solutions to corporates, financial institutions, sponsors and public-sector clients.
The Tokyo Legal team is seeking an experienced lawyer to support a broad range of banking and financing activities in Japan. The role works closely with Coverage, Investment Banking, Trade Finance, Real Assets and other business lines, providing legal advice on sophisticated domestic and cross-border transactions.
Key Responsibilities
The successful candidate will provide legal support across a wide range of financing transactions, including:
- Acquisition / Leveraged Finance
- Asset Finance
- Project & Infrastructure Finance
- Commodities Finance
- Trade Finance
- Fund Finance
- Margin Lending
- Corporate & Syndicated Lending
- Secondary Loan Trading
- M&A Advisory
Responsibilities include drafting, reviewing and negotiating financing documentation, advising on Japanese banking and financial regulations, identifying and mitigating legal risks, managing external counsel, developing standard documentation and supporting broader governance and regulatory matters.
The lawyer will work closely with senior management in Tokyo, regional Legal teams across APAC and the Middle East, and the bank’s European headquarters.
Candidate Requirements
- Qualified lawyer in Japan
- Approximately 5+ years PQE from a leading law firm and/or financial institution.
- Strong Banking & Finance, Structured Finance or Global Markets experience.
- Good understanding of Japanese banking regulations and cross-border financing.
- Fluent Japanese and business-level English.
- Ability to independently manage complex transactions and multiple stakeholders.
Business & Working Environment
Following a recent transition to a banking licence, the Japan business continues to expand, resulting in increasing volume and complexity of financing transactions and a need to further strengthen the local Legal function.
The firm operates a hybrid working model with up to two days per week working from home, while maintaining close interaction with business stakeholders and international Legal teams.
Why This Opportunity?
The key attraction is the breadth of financing exposure.
Rather than becoming a specialist in one particular product, the successful candidate can advise across virtually the entire financing platform, including Acquisition Finance, Project Finance, Fund Finance, Structured Lending, Trade Finance, Asset Finance and Corporate Banking.
The role is therefore particularly attractive for lawyers who want to take ownership of complex transactions, work closely with the business and develop into a well-rounded senior financing lawyer within an international investment banking environment.
当該ポジションは、少数精鋭の日本法人法務チームで大きな裁量を持って働きたい方や、特定のプロダクトに限定されず、Global Marketsを含む幅広い投資銀行法務に携わりたい方に非常に適したポジションです。また、これまで培ってきた金融法務の専門性を活かしながら、自らの裁量で日本の法務体制やチームを構築していきたいシニアな方にも魅力的な環境です。ヨーロッパ系投資銀行ならではのワークライフバランスを保ちながら、複雑性の高いクロスボーダー案件や最前線の金融法務に継続して携われる点も大きな特徴です。
また、LLM留学や金融機関への出向が終了に近づき、今後のキャリアを考える一つの節目としてインハウスポジションを検討されている方にとっても、これまでの法律事務所での経験や海外・金融機関で培った知見を活かしながら、よりビジネスに近い立場でキャリアを発展させられる機会となっています。
