Vice President, Legal Counsel

Job Description

DescriptionAbout this roleBusiness Unit Overview: EMEA Legal & Compliance provides legal and compliance support in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) region. The candidate will work in a team of 10 lawyers in London supporting BlackRocks Alternatives businesses, which forms part of a broader team of23 funds-focused lawyers within the EMEA Legal & Compliance department of 56 qualified lawyers, 70 compliance professionals and 4 administrative staff. Job Purpose/Background:The role will involve the provision of legal support in EMEA to the Real Estate business, which sits within Blackrocks Alternatives group. The candidate will be supporting Real Estates equity funds, as well as separately managed client accounts. The rolewill include advising on all aspects of real estate transactions carried out by these funds and accounts, as well as a broad range of drafting and advising in respect of the establishment, maintenance and distribution of a variety of fund types in multiplejurisdictions as well as implementation of regulatory developments as these impact the Real Estate business. General commercial legal work and specific project work impacting the Real Estate business will also be involved. The individual will be expected to work with a high degree of autonomy and, once familiar with the BlackRock businesses structures, operating models and documentation, to work with minimum levels of supervision/review of work produced. Whilst the "learningcurve" will be steep, the candidate will be expected to take on a complete workload as soon as possible after joining and partner closely with the relevant businesses they support. The ability to start as soon as possible would also be advantageous. Key Responsibilities:

• Acquire and develop knowledge of legal and regulatory issues concerning the establishment, maintenance and distribution of Real Estate funds and separately managed accounts within EMEA and their investment level activities;
• Identify, address, report and manage key legal risk areas arising within the EMEA Real Estate business and their transactions and BlackRock more generally;
• Provide proactive legal support to the EMEA Real Estate business regarding European product launches, sales and marketing initiatives and ongoing operations;
• Support Legals oversight of compliance with the investment processes and operations of the Real Estate group including maintenance of offshore Jersey domiciled structures and Luxembourg domiciled structures;
• Provide practical guidance and support the EMEA Real Estate business with acquisitions and sales at both asset and corporate level, including establishment of holding structures, joint ventures and co-investments and their on-going operation;
• Provide advice on equity financing and debt financing and refinancing of real estate investment structures;
• In conjunction with external counsel, contractual negotiation and documentation for the investment management, development management and property management activities of the Real Estate businesses;
• Liaison with external legal counsel on transactional work and, where appropriate, on areas of law that impact the Real Estate business, including agreeing engagements and fee levels;
• Working closely with, and coordinating with, other members of the EMEA, Asia and US Legal teams and managing internal know-how and other material for ease of access by colleagues and successors;
• Develop and actively manage internal client relationships within EMEA Real Estate, other internal stakeholders and with external advisors;
• Report to the boards of relevant fund and holding companies from time to time on specific projects and/or transactions requiring board approval.
• Providing support to the Blackrock Fund Board Governance teams in relation to real estate matters for Blackrocks offices across EMEA.

Knowledge/Experience:

• Relevant post qualification experience gained either in-house or in medium/large private practice in real estate or investment management;
• 3 to 10+ years relevant post qualification experience;
• Ideally technical expertise and experience in real estate investment management, real estate financing and funds would be an advantage.
• Solicitor qualified in England and Wales or other jurisdictions - if foreign qualified solicitor, conversion to UK solicitor qualification is expected.

Development Value:

• The candidate will gain extensive and significant knowledge and experience of a variety of real estate transactions as well as of fund types across multiple jurisdictions, and will develop and enhance their skills in drafting, fund structuring and holdingcompany & joint venture structuring, advising and stakeholder relationship management and will work with a wide variety of subject matter experts in the businesses and other support functions in BlackRock.

Competencies:

• Persuasive and influential on a high-performing internal client base in the provision of legal advice;
• Ability to actively manage client expectations;
• Commercial outlook, motivated, personable and attention to detail;
• Ability to clarify tasks and requirements, organise time and manage workload to ensure deadlines are met;
• Ability to manage multiple tasks concurrently;
• Ability to communicate effectively at all levels of the firm in verbal and written form;
• Seeks to understand the businesses, products and processes which are supported;
• Develops solutions to problems, checking where appropriate with senior lawyers;
• Takes ownership of problems/requirements and ensures they are resolved to meet objectives;
• Rejects shortcuts that could compromise quality of service and follows internal policies and procedures.

Our benefits To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of benefits including a strong retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, comprehensive healthcare, support for working parents and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and bethere for the people you care about. Our hybrid work pilot BlackRocks current hybrid work pilot is designed to help you experience the best of both worlds: the opportunity to connect with colleagues in person and the flexibility to work remotely, with greater time to focus on whats important to you. In line withlocal health guidance and regulations, employees are generally expected to work 3 days in the office and 2 days from home (on average) each week. For