SATIC: Financial Services Lawyer (Derivatives)

About PwC SATIC And The Role:

• Are you an experienced, ambitious legal professional ready to deepen your expertise or take the next step in your financial services career? PwC SATIC is looking for a Senior Associate to join our Managed Legal Services team supporting PwC UK Legal Advisory & Transformation - Financial Services.
• As we continue to grow our South African derivatives legal capability, this is an exciting opportunity to join a scaling team and further develop specialist expertise in a fast-evolving area of financial services law.
• You will be part of a fast-paced, high-performance, cross-border legal team delivering high-quality support to UK and multinational clients. You will work alongside experienced lawyers while taking on increasing independence in the delivery of sophisticated derivatives and related trading matters in a modern, technology-enabled legal environment.

Summary:

• You will independently review, draft, amend, negotiate and assess a broad range of financial services legal documents, including ISDA Master Agreements, Schedules, Credit Support Annexes, Master Repurchase Agreements, Securities Lending Agreements, Futures Trading Agreements, Clearing Agreements, Prime Brokerage Agreements, collateral and security documents, onboarding materials, amendments, framework agreements and related ancillary and execution documents.
• You will also apply client playbooks, templates, fallback positions and agreed legal and commercial risk parameters; prepare mark-ups, issue logs, summaries, negotiation positions and practical advice notes; identify, assess and escalate legal, commercial and execution issues where required; support matters across the transaction lifecycle, including approvals, execution and post-completion requirements; manage multiple live matters and competing deadlines; liaise confidently with internal stakeholders, clients, counterparties and other transaction participants; contribute to templates, clause libraries, know-how, training materials and process improvements; support technology-enabled legal delivery; and provide informal mentoring and support to junior colleagues where appropriate.

Location: Cape Town, Durban or Waterfall, Johannesburg.

Qualifications /Certifications Required:

• LLB or equivalent legal qualification.

Experience Required:

• 3–5 years’ relevant experience in a law firm, bank, financial institution, in-house legal team, managed legal services environment or similar setting.
• Experience drafting, reviewing, negotiating and assessing derivatives, repo, securities lending or other financial services documentation.
• Good working knowledge of ISDA documentation and related market practice.
• Strong understanding of derivatives transaction mechanics, including netting, close-out, collateral, margining, onboarding, execution requirements and post-completion considerations.
• Strong drafting, analytical, organisational and negotiation skills.
• Clear communication skills and the ability to provide practical, commercially focused advice to legal and non-legal stakeholders.
• Confidence using Microsoft 365, document comparison tools and legal technology-enabled delivery tools.

Desirable Skills Sets Include:

• Experience working in a high-volume, process-driven or managed legal services environment will be advantageous, as will exposure to the regulatory landscape affecting banks, insurers, funds, asset managers and other financial institutions.
• Admission as an attorney will be beneficial, but is not essential.