Job Description

Role profile

----------------

Our recruitment process

We welcome direct applications for our opportunities - if you would like any further information about this role or the firm, we would be delighted to hear from you.



Please note we review and progress applications on a rolling basis. At Osborne Clarke we do not make any recruitment decisions using automated decision-making.




We are committed to providing an environment where you can perform to the best of your abilities at every stage of your recruitment experience and beyond. If you require any adjustments to be made during the application stage, interview process, or when working with us, please let us know in confidence.



We are looking for an Associate Director to join our highly regarded Financial Institutions Group (FIG) based in our London or Bristol office, focussing on the area of Consumer Finance.

This area of work at Osborne Clarke has seen huge growth over the past few years. Osborne Clarke's FIG team is at the forefront of exciting and fast-paced matters and our collegiate and supportive culture makes it a rewarding place to work.

The practice

Osborne Clarke's consumer finance practice brings together market leading financial services and digital business expertise, in-depth financial services regulatory knowledge and finance specialists with in-house consumer credit and payments experience. This makes us a natural choice to assist a client base of institutional financial services clients, major technology companies and innovators in digital payments and consumer credit with their projects and new product launches, as well as on regulatory issues.



Our rankings:


Band 1 - Chambers 2024 Fintech Legal: Payments and Lending Band 2 - Chambers 2024 UK Wide Consumer Finance Tier 2 - Legal 500 2024 Fintech

Nikki Worden is also ranked in Chambers as Band 1 for Consumer Finance UK Wide and Band 2 for FinTech Legal: Payments and Lending.



Find more about our Consumer Finance practice using this link:


https://www.osborneclarke.com/services/banking-and-finance/consumer-finance/

The team

The FIG group are based across our London and Bristol offices and comprise of 10 Partners, 2 Legal Directors, 7 Associate Directors, 6 Senior Associates, 11 Associates, 4 Trainee Solicitors, 3 Solicitor Apprentices, 1 Senior Paralegal and 4 Paralegals.


This role will mainly be working with Nikki Worden (Partner and International Sector Leader for Financial Services) and Charlotte Harris (Legal Director) who are both based in our London office, however our London lawyers work closely with colleagues in the Bristol office so this person could be based in either location.

The work

We act for innovators in the consumer finance, consumer banking, FinTech and payments arenas, handling matters at the forefront of their respective industries, as well as well-established big institutions. Clients in need of consumer finance advice are not just those in the financial sector or those dealing with consumers (the provision of finance to some small businesses is regulated too). In addition to our financial services workload, we work internationally across the retail, transport, digital and utilities sectors, helping clients bring point of sale finance to their customers. We also act for clients outside the financial services sector who are interested in launching lending products or subscription models (regulated hire).


Osborne Clarke has market leading digital, technology and data privacy expertise. Given the increasing convergence of consumer finance, payments and technology, you will be collaborating extensively with lawyers across the firm in a fast-moving environment.

Technical skills and experience

Due to the technical nature of the practice, we are looking for candidates with a detailed understanding of consumer finance matters and a track record of providing clear legal and strategic advice. As a guide, due to the nature of the work and the structure of the team, we are looking to appoint an Associate Director in this area, although we will consider candidates with more or less experience.



Applicants should be experienced in advising on:


the CCA regime and CONC MCOB BCOBS FSMA and the RAO
insofar as they apply to credit-related regulated activities, offering regulated mortgages, current accounts, overdrafts and deposits. Some payments experience would also be desirable but is not essential.

Your career development

Like all our lawyers, you will benefit from our multi-award winning career development programme. At each stage of your career this provides you with:


clear expectations of your role and what it takes to progress; high quality clients and work, with early responsibility and client exposure; thorough assessment and individual feedback from a range of experienced colleagues; robust technical training with early skills based development, increasingly tailored to you; and reward for your contribution, progression and potential, rather than PQE or tenure.

Salary and benefits

We offer competitive salaries and generous benefits.

For more information or to