Legal Advisor at WesBank

Job Description

• To provide leadership in the delivery of reliable, accurate, timely and well-informed advice on complex legal issues/matters and to identify and assess the potential legal implications for the Bank/Business Brand/business area. 
• The Legal Advisor provides in context specialist sound legal advice to the business on complex legal matters relating to business products and services and the execution of the activities related to this, with the intention of enabling strategic outcomes for the business area and the effective and efficient management of legal risk.
• Provide advice to the leadership team across the range of the business area’s legal interests, risks, and obligations.
• Contribute to legal assurance perspective to the business area’s strategic and governance processes, particularly the executive decision-making process.
• Provide professional legal services which may include sound legal advice, expert drafting of legal documentation, managing disputes, and managing of legal projects.
• Report to business area management on legal matters.
• Evaluate the merit of potentially litigious disputes and consult with the relevant stakeholders to protect the interests of the business area.
• Identify emerging legal risks and ensure training on legal risk management takes place.
• Provide comments on emerging legislation that impacts business area.
• Report on legal risk management in the business area; seeking input and guidance on more complex ambiguous issues.
• Provide insight into the strategy for the business area and add value to decision-making processes alongside other business area managers.
• Drive the implementation of strategic objectives to sustain action towards the achievement of both organisational and the legal function objectives.
• Add value to the development and implementation of internal controls, policies and guidelines for the legal function and specific business area, ensuring their alignment to functional objectives and statutory requirements.
• Conduct medium to long-term planning, making decisions and taking action to achieve challenging goals and deliver on multiple complex tasks.
• Provide legal expertise to develop innovative and relevant technology requirements in order to drive the optimisation of work output.
• Use digitisation effectively to work smarter, more efficiently and accurately on document reviews, reporting, effective filing of matters and sharing of information with peers.
• Understand the business unit goals and consider same when executing transactions in an effective, efficient manner through the utilisation of technology and simplified processes.
• Provide guidance and mentoring to junior legal advisers and direct reports.
• Stay up to date in all developments in the law in relation to his/her areas of legal practice.
• Comply with all professional and ethical standards relevant to in-house legal advisers.
• Monitor, analyse and evaluate the impact and legal implications of developments in the industry and related areas, including the activities of competitors, and pro-actively work with the Legal Centres of Expertise and recommend effective courses of action so that either a stance may be adopted, or potential threats may be averted.
• Monitoring compliance with legal and statutory requirements related to legal risks of the organisation.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Professional Registrations

Experience

• Admitted as an attorney of the High Court, South Africa
• At least 10 years post Articles experience in commercial law and banking and finance work (preferably from a leading law firm or other leading banking institution).
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of relevant Legislation, including Protection of Personal Information Act, international papers on Factoring and the Companies Act.
• Strong technical drafting skills
• Very good attention to detail and an ability to see the bigger picture
• Ability to innovate and collaborate
• Has a good understanding of commercial legal terminology and legal principles related to finance and related banking transactions.
• Strong technical drafting skills
• Ability to innovate and collaborate.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Computer skills are essential.