The role is responsible for providing comprehensive legal and regulatory support to Senior Legal Counsel across the full spectrum of the Group’s maritime, commercial and corporate activities, with a particular focus on shipping transactions, vessel financing, sales and purchases, and complex contractual arrangements. It ensures that all contractual, regulatory and compliance risks are appropriately identified, managed and mitigated, including in relation to EU and UK maritime regulation, sanctions, and evolving geopolitical developments. The role also acts as a key internal adviser, coordinating with external counsel where required and contributing to the development of standardised terms and best‑practice legal frameworks across the business.
Legal Counsel
London
Full-time
Permanent employee
Role Purpose
Key Responsibilities
Day to day work load will cover a broad spectrum of transactional and contract work including but not limited to:
- Reviewing and negotiating ship finance associated documents in relation to vessel financing transactions. including drawdowns and post-financing completion tasks.
- Support vessel sale and purchase transactions including negotiating and commenting on MOA’s and managing vessel registration processes.
- Service level agreements ranging from Oceonix services to third party providers including technical management agreements, commercial management agreements and any other forms of service or supplier agreements that arise from time to time.
- General commercial contract work with other commercial counterparties such as time and bareboat charter parties, shipbuilding agreements, other general supplier contracts among others.
- Corporate M&A transaction support.
- Regulatory work covering all regulatory topics as they arise but including in particular advice and contractual provisions relating to EU and UK ETS, Fuel EU and other maritime regulatory developments from the IMO or other national authorities.
- Miscellaneous HR contractual or regulatory advice/support.
- Instructing and liaising with external lawyers.
- Any other contractual or regulatory matter that arises within the business.
- Advice on sanctions and trade-tariff monitoring.
- Developing and maintaining a catalogue of GTG preferred terms for standard documentation such as – CPs, Loan documents, management agreements referenced above.
- Stay up to date on the shipping market and geopolitics
Person Specification
Experience
- Over 5+ years PQE with experience at a top tier firm.
- Prior in-house experience is preferred.
- Ship finance experience representing owners/charters.
- Corporate M&A experience.
- Awareness of shipping markets, major players within the sector, current issues facing the sector.
- Ability to convey complex legal information in an understandable format.
- Confidence to provide senior management with legal advice.
- Ability to identify the commercially important points and streamline negotiations.
- Reporting and analytical skills.
- Additional experience covering wet or dry litigation would be ideal but not necessary.
- Takes responsibility and effectively prioritizes workload to deliver on commitments.
- Proactive, reliable, with demonstrated willingness to adapt to changing priorities.
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail and pride in the quality of their work.
- Anticipates problems; is prepared with solutions.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
- Effective at building collaborative, constructive relationships to make informed decisions that meet client/customer/stakeholder needs.
- Highly flexible and a team player.
- Demonstrates openness to feedback and willingness to learn from mistakes.
Our benefits
- Generous Pension - up to 10% employer contribution
- Private Medical
- Life Insurance
About us
Oceonix Services Limited is a top tier, rapidly growing transportation company that was established in 2018 to provide best in class commercial management services for maritime assets owned by funds managed by JPMorgan Asset Management Alternative Transportation Group. Oceonix employs a culturally diverse group of highly skilled professionals from across all aspects of Shipping and broader disciplines. We currently have offices in London, Cyprus, and Malta.