Director & Counsel, Litigation And Investigations

Description:

Description
Description - External
You Lead the Way. We've Got Your Back.
With the right backing, people and businesses have the power to progress in incredible ways. When you join Team Amex, you become part of a global and diverse community of colleagues with an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities and each other. Here, you'll learn and grow as we help you create a career journey that's unique and meaningful to you with benefits, programs, and flexibility that support you personally and professionally.
At American Express, you'll be recognized for your contributions, leadership, and impact-every colleague has the opportunity to share in the company's success. Together, we'll win as a team, striving to uphold our company values and powerful backing promise to provide the world's best customer experience every day. And we'll do it with the utmost integrity, and in an environment where everyone is seen, heard and feels like they belong.
Join Team Amex and let's lead the way together.
Do you want to be Amex's first Litigator in the APAC Region? We are looking for an experienced litigation lawyer for the role of Litigation and Investigations Director and Counsel to join our team, based in Sydney.
You will be responsible for managing your own portfolio of matters varying from litigation to advisory matters, as well as managing a junior lawyer in the team. Playing a key role as trusted advisor in the General Counsel's Organization (GCO) and business teams, you will provide legal advice and support across the full range of Amex businesses and management in Australia, but you will also be the lead point of contact for your GCO colleagues in the APAC Region in connection with a broad range of advisory Pre and Contentious issues. The matters advised upon will be of varying significance, complexity and sophistication and will include civil/commercial litigation as well as contentious financial regulatory issues. Ideally, you will have also experience in conducting Internal Investigations.
In this role you will be based in the Sydney GCO Office, and report to the Vice President and Senior Counsel, Head of International Litigation and Investigations, based in London.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
The work involved and related responsibilities will typically include the following:
- Advising on disputes/potential disputes across all business units within the company such as consumer, merchants, B2B and network.
- Managing the conduct of legal proceedings, to include managing litigation in-house, as well as the selection and instruction of local external counsel and the ongoing management of related legal costs and budget.
- Advising in relation to fraud-related, anti-money laundering, bribery and other investigations, sometimes of a regulatory nature
- Leading or participating in projects across legal and/or business teams
- Advising upon the nature and effect of Court Orders received in connection with customers and clients (e.g. freezing orders; third party debt orders; insolvency-related court procedure etc).
- Advising on financial recovery issues, including those arising out of domestic and cross-border insolvencies in both the consumer and merchant context.
- Working with Market Lawyers and /or their outside counselin the APAC Region on pre or contentious matters
- Assisting in maintaining the litigation reporting database for the preparation of reports, and in order to comply with regulatory requirements
- Assisting in building processes which enable more efficient and accurate tracking and better management of litigation and outside counsel budgets in Australia and throughout APAC region
- Managing internal financial accounting processes including litigation reserve setting and liaising with Controllership and internal auditors.
- Deploying a proactive approach in identifying potential issues enabling the business or GCO colleagues to mitigate litigation risk
- Acting as a trusted advisor, managing stakeholders' expectations and partnering with the business and GCO colleagues to understand legal and commercial goals
Qualifications and experience:
- Candidates must be at least 7-8 PQE in Australia with experience in Civil law, finance services and litigation. Experience in Internal investigations and Insolvency is ideal.
- Experience of the Australian legal system and civil litigation process is essential.
- Experience of drafting pleadings, witness statements, and instructing outside counsel.
- Relevant experience should have been obtained either in private practice or in-house with another significant financial institution.
- Experience of managing foreign lawyers, where cases span a number of jurisdictions, would be an advantage.
- Experience of managing junior lawyers or paralegals desirable.
- Experience of managing/conducting substantial litigation (as a team leader or member) and experience of running case-load of smaller cases, and managing the strategy of specific case portfolios.
- Experience of conducting regulatory investigations desirable
Competencies:
- Flexibility - there is a broad range of work. The successful candidate will be involved in work at all levels and should be prepared to 'roll up his/her sleeves'
- Resourcefulness and commercial awareness - ability to respond to business issues often under critical time pressure.
- Communication skills - ability to relay precise information orally and in writing in a concise manner.
- Ability to work autonomously -to include preparedness to take the lead in making appropriate recommendations- but equally to raise when important and necessary
- Client Focus - ability to deliver high levels of client service, including to non-litigation lawyers.
- Team approach ability to promote collaboration within own peer group and throughout the organisation
- Excellent people management skills - ability to nurture talent and further development of more junior members of the team.
- Intellectual strength and sound judgment - ability to distil information rapidly in order to identify and advise upon key legal and business issues; ability to identify when to escalate issues to line manager.
Qualifications
We back our colleagues and their loved ones with benefits and programs that support their holistic well-being. That means we prioritize their physical, financial, and mental health through each stage of life. Benefits include:
- Competitive base salaries
- Bonus incentives
- Support for financial-well-being and retirement
- Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits (depending on location)
- Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
- Generous paid parental leave policies (depending on your location)
- Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
- Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
- Career development and training opportunities
Offer of employment with American Express is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background verification check, subject to applicable laws and regulations.
Job: Legal
Primary Location: Australia-New South Wales-Sydney
Schedule Full-time
Req ID: 25003956