Senior Legal Counsel
Department: Governance
Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time
Location: UK - London
Reporting To: Gemma Seymour
Description
We are seeking a Senior Legal Counsel to join the Legal & Governance team in London. Reporting to the Legal Director, the role provides high-quality, commercially focused legal advice across the Group’s UK and overseas entities with a core focus on company law and corporate governance, alongside exposure to dispute management, property and commercial contracting matters.
The Senior Legal Counsel will work with closely with the Legal Director and wider Governance team, to support the business in moving quickly and safely while maintaining high legal standards.
About the role
The Senior Legal Counsel responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Support the Group on day-to-day company law matters, including board and shareholder matters and key strategic projects.
- Lead on a mix of contentious and non-contentious work, including dispute management, property matters and commercial contracts.
- Provide trusted, pragmatic advice to internal stakeholders, including at senior and Board level.
- Take ownership of matters end-to-end, operating autonomously while knowing when to escalate.
- Contribute to knowledge sharing, legal updates and delivery of engaging training where appropriate.
- Support the Group’s risk management programme, including oversight of the contracts register and key legal controls.
- Line manage and support junior legal team member(s).
About you
- Qualified solicitor of England & Wales with a current practising certificate and 6+ years’ PQE.
- Strong technical knowledge of corporate and contract law, with excellent drafting skills.
- At least 5 years’ PQE in a corporate team at a top-tier law firm.
- Solutions-focused communicator who can explain complex legal issues clearly and pragmatically to non-lawyers.
- Confident operating in a fast-moving environment—strong judgement, prioritisation and ability to manage matters with minimal supervision.
- Comfortable instructing and coordinating external counsel where required.
Additional experience and attributes:
- In-house experience in insurance or financial services.
- Private equity experience.
- Basic knowledge of the Lloyd’s and FCA regulatory framework.
- Awareness of key issues across litigation, property matters, data protection, technology contracts and AI.
- Line management experience.
- A genuine interest in the insurance industry.
Core Values
Love what you do:
We show up each day ready to take on the world. Our passion and intensity set us apart and makes the difference to our colleagues, customers, brokers and carriers.
Challenge everything:
We’re never afraid to question the way that things are done and we constantly challenge ourselves and others to makes things better.
Have fun, be good:
Insurance is a serious business, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We make it fun to work at CFC, we welcome all viewpoints, and we treat everyone how we would expect to be treated.