Legal Counsel - Corporate

About Javelin

Javelin Global Commodities is a leading global commodities marketing, trading, logistics services and investment firm with head offices in London and wider global offices in Dallas, New York, San Diego, St Louis, Switzerland, India, Australia, Singapore, Canada and Poland. Javelin was founded in 2015 and now operates across 100 countries and six continents with respect to more than 20 different commodities across thermal coal, metallurgical coal, iron ore, steel scrap, metals, hydrocarbons, freight, softs, and renewables.

Established in 2015, Javelin employs over 180 people and is a unique place to grow your career. We take pride in our values, global reach, meritocratic culture and strong work ethic.  Our success over the years has been built on our guiding principles of customer service, creativity, transparency, integrity, and responsibility.

Whilst our footprint grows, we still foster a small-company atmosphere. We have a flat company structure and encourage collaboration across all seniority levels, teams and locations to generate the best ideas. Javelin has a dedicated strategy to support local and meaningful charities through volunteer days, donation matching, a ‘give as you earn’ scheme and other fundraising activities. Discover more at http://www.javelincommodities.com/.

The role

Javelin Global Commodities is seeking a seasoned Corporate Lawyer to join our dynamic legal team. You will report to the General Counsel and will work closely with key internal stakeholders and senior management such as the Chief Risk Officer, Head of Tax, Chief of Staff and Compliance Officer.  A proactive character is required, and you must have demonstrable experience in and/or familiarity with corporate governance.  While in-house experience is preferred, it is not a mandatory requirement. As a Corporate Lawyer at Javelin Global Commodities, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the legal framework of our corporate structure and ensuring the smooth operation of our legal processes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Internal Corporate Reorganisation:
• Lead and manage internal corporate reorganisation initiatives to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and ensure alignment with business goals.
• Work closely with various departments to implement reorganisation plans effectively, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations and maintaining compliance with legal standards.
• Review and amend constitutional documents as required to meet the evolving needs of the growing company.
• Manage inter-Group share capitalisations, share repurchases and dividend payments.
• Assist Chief of Staff and HR with the maintenance of the company employee share scheme, providing guidance to employees on main terms of the share scheme and liaising with the share scheme trustee.
• Subsidiary Establishment and Closure:
• Lead the process of setting up subsidiaries, including legal formation, registration, operation and ensuring continuing compliance with local and international laws.
• Coordinate with internal teams and external advisors to ensure seamless subsidiary integration.
• Lead the process of closing inactive subsidiaries.
• Maintain an up-to-date Group structure chart, reflecting the newly incorporated subsidiaries and closures within the Group.
• Board and Shareholder Meetings:
• Arrange and coordinate board and shareholder meetings.
• Draft and review agendas/minutes and resolutions for meetings, ensuring legal compliance and proper documentation.
• Send requisite notices to external shareholder(s).
• Coordinate appointment,resignation and removal of directors/secretaries and ensure POAs remain valid or terminated, as business needs require.
• Policy Drafting/Contract Review and Management:
• Draft internal policies and procedures related to corporate matters, HR matters, compliance and related matters.
• Draft, review, negotiate, and amend employment/consultancy contracts, office lease agreements, service agreements, vendor and other supplier agreements, as well as software provider agreements to protect and align with the company's interests and ensure compliance with applicable laws.
• Provide guidance on contractual obligations, risks, and terms and conditions.
• Account Opening Processes:
• Handle the legal aspects of the account opening processes with financial institutions in various jurisdictions.
• Ensure compliance with KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) regulations.
• Corporate Filings/Business Licences:
• Track and submit all annual, regular and ad-hoc statutory filings with Companies House and its equivalent in all jurisdictions relevant to the Group, with regulators and other licensing bodies, as required, to ensure that all filings are accurate, timely, and compliant with statutory requirements.
• Maintain a register of business licences across the Group, and ensure timely renewal.
• Data Protection
• Monitor changes in relevant data protection and privacy legislation and work with key internal stakeholders to develop and maintain policies and procedures in compliance with the GDPR and other applicable local data protection laws.
• Review contracts to assess data protection impact and collaborate with the team to implement processes to ensure compliance with all relevant data protection laws.
• Maintenance of corporate records/Manage local secretarial bodies:
• Maintain the statutory books of each subsidiary within the Group, including registers of members, directors, secretaries and share certificates (if applicable).
• Monitor changes in relevant legislation and the regulatory environment across all jurisdictions in which the Group operates and take appropriate action including providing internal update/training where required.
• Assist with the appointment of local corporate secretaries, and/or auditors and/or global service providers for local subsidiaries.

Skills and Experience Required:

• A qualified lawyer with excellent academic credentials  and corporate law focus in the UK or another EEA equivalent jurisdiction.
• Demonstrable experience and strong understanding of corporate matters, corporate governance and compliance requirements. PQE is not a deciding factor.
• Ability to work and produce high standards of work product in a busy legal department dealing with a range of other legal matters including – general corporate, compliance, regulatory, HR / employment and finance issues.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate legal issues in a business-friendly way and influence key stakeholders.
• Time management skills.

• Annual discretionary bonus
• 25 days holiday
• Company pension scheme (10% company contribution)
• Private medical scheme with a range of additional wellbeing benefits
• Travel insurance
• Income protection
• Life assurance (5x salary)
• Bike2Work scheme including secure storage and showers
• Season ticket loan
• Onsite gym
• Social environment with a breakout area with a golf simulator, darts board and foosball table.