Associate General Counsel

Pogust Goodhead is passionate about championing justice for the victims of wrongdoing by large corporations. The firm is at the cutting edge of international consumer claims, including historic settlements in the Volkswagen NOx Emissions Group Litigation in May 2022 and the victims of the British Airways Data Breach in 2021.

Pogust Goodhead is also a leader in environmental litigation. In July 2022 the firm secured a landmark, unanimous judgment from the Court of Appeal that allows over 700,000 victims of the Fundão Dam disaster, Brazil’s worst ever environmental disaster, to seek redress against the world's largest mining company, BHP, in the Courts of England and Wales. We were proud to be confirmed as winners of the Litigation Boutique firm of the year prize at The Lawyer Awards 2023, and were also name Boutique Law Firm of the Year at the British Legal Awards 2023, too.

As one of the world’s leading class action law firms, our mission is to level the playing field between individuals and businesses and large corporations. We recognise that there can be substantial barriers to justice for consumers, residents, victims, small business owners, and investors when weighed up against the financial resources of multinational corporations.

As a full-time Associate General Counsel (Disputes) on a permanent contract, you will advise the firm on a range of disputes, regulatory matters and compliance issues. This role will require you to be an established lawyer with disputes experience. Alongside that experience, you must possess a willingness to work hard in a fast-paced environment.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Dispute Resolution – formulating and executing robust legal strategies across a broad spectrum of contentious matters, many of which contain a cross-border element and require holistic problem-solving skills.
• Professional and Regulatory Risk Management – understanding, assessing and managing professional and regulatory risk in accordance with the firm’s obligations and ambitions.
• Compliance Oversight – ensuring strict and unequivocal compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory frameworks attendant to its work.
• Stakeholder Liaison – liaising with internal and external stakeholders, including external counsel, regarding all the aforesaid legal, regulatory and compliance risks.

About You

• Admission to the New York Bar.
• At least four years of distinguished post-qualification experience, with substantial prior practice in civil and/or commercial litigation, disputes, regulatory, and compliance matters.
• Robust knowledge of the law of New York, particularly in relation to financial transactions and commercial disputes.
• Experience handling complex, high-stakes litigation with a foreign law element.
• Experience advising on financial regulatory matters and compliance risks.
• Exceptional analytical abilities, negotiation skills, clear communication styles (both written and verbal) and an unwavering attention to detail.
• Excellent academic background, demonstrating an ability to assimilate large amounts of complex information quickly and effectively.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a team, contributing effectively to the collective success and ambitions of the business.
• Ability to manage time effectively and take initiative to prioritise urgent tasks and deadlines without waiting for direction.

What are the preferred criteria?

• Candidates with dual qualification in both England and Wales and at the New York Bar are highly preferred.
• Candidates with demonstrably strong stakeholder management skills that thrive under pressure with a proactive, problem-solving mindset will score highly in the firm’s selection process.
• Candidates who are confident with numbers and comfortable with Excel.
• Candidates with existing UK work authorisation is preferred but not essential, with the firm open to sponsoring the work permits of exceptional candidates as required (initial remote onboarding will be available during any visa processing period).

Pogust Goodhead is an equal opportunities employer. We passionately believe that our team should represent the diverseness of the clients that we support, not least because it’s the diversity of perspective, thought, background and cultures that helps make us one of the leading global law firms in the class actions space. We are committed to providing a place of work that provides fair and equitable career growth, with learning opportunities for all our employees. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind within our firm, and we strive to create a culture that offers opportunity for all, regardless of race, culture, gender, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, disability, veteran status, or religious belief.