Do you consider negotiation to be an art? You could be the artist we need at Duco!

We are looking for a talented Legal Counsel to join our dynamic, high-performing legal team in a fast-paced, client-facing environment. You'll have the opportunity to apply and develop negotiation skills and drafting experience with some of the world’s top-tier financial institutions, working collaboratively with commercial stakeholders on global deals.

But why work for Duco?

As a 100% SaaS (software as a service) company, our customers’ success is at the heart of what we do. We take great pride in seeing how the partnership we build with each customer makes a real difference to them. Our unique software makes their lives better by helping them solve their most complex data problems.

We take the same approach with our own employees. We love seeing people succeed and grow in their roles, enjoying what they do and getting great results. This philosophy is embedded in our culture.

Here's what Duco can offer you...

A growing company with a bright future:

Our customers already include many of the world’s top financial institutions, and our global revenues grew at an impressive rate in the last financial year. We’re also backed by some of the best software investors.

An employer which puts its people first:

We give every employee a voice in what Duco does and how it gets done. We communicate honestly and openly, whether the news is good or bad, and we give trust and support rather than micromanaging. We believe that everyone should feel really proud of what they do and have the opportunity to learn and develop in their careers.

A role with huge scope and potential:

This is a great time to be joining a dynamic global team as it scales to meet the evolving needs of our business. You'll have the opportunity to develop the Legal function in the UK and internationally. Working alongside a London-based Senior Legal Counsel, and a NY-based Paralegal, you’ll be negotiating service contracts for our rapidly growing business, and partnering with our global business teams by delivering on-point, succinct commercial advice. Best of all, you'll be helping to shape the legal frameworks around SaaS and cloud services delivery in the financial services industry, negotiating against some of its biggest players.

Day to day, you’ll be:

• Drafting and negotiating commercial contracts with our customers and partners including top-tier banks, hedge funds, insurers, and systems integrators
• Managing the Company Secretariat needs and requirements across the global group
• Managing Duco’s global IP portfolio
• Managing insurance requirements for all group companies
• Providing advice on data protection and compliance issues to the business
• Supporting the team on governance related matters
• Acting as a business partner to help structure and provide legal advice to all parts of the company
• Managing relationships with external counsel
• Creating and improving legal processes, such as maintaining templates and harnessing legal tech tools to drive efficiencies

We offer a great compensation package of:

• Competitive base salary and a discretionary bonus scheme
• Pension contribution
• Unlimited holiday policy
• Enhanced family leave provisions e.g maternity and paternity
• Personal learning and development opportunities (we maintain an annual training budget)
• Heath care and eye care schemes
• Cycle to work and tech purchase schemes
• Electric car schemes

You can also expect a genuinely diverse and inclusive culture where your individual contribution will be really valued. We encourage everyone to bounce ideas around, try new things, offer suggestions, ask questions, share knowledge and have fun.

Flexibility on location

Your contractual place of work will be our London office, but you can be based anywhere in the UK, including at home, as long as you’re able to commute to the London office at least 1 day a week and travel when needed.

This is what you’ll need to be successful:

• Solicitor qualified in England and Wales, or New York, or France, with around 2-4 years of post-qualification experience either at a private practice firm or inhouse, with a current valid practising certificate
• Confidence in client-facing negotiations of commercial contracts in the technology space
• Passion to problem-solve with stakeholders in a fast-paced commercial environment within an in-demand Legal team
• Strong academic qualifications
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including being able to quickly gain credibility and respect from stakeholders
• Adept at objection handling and managing negotiations
• Exceptional organisational skills, with a high level of attention to detail, as a well as being able to effectively prioritise competing matters
• Possessing emotional intelligence to assess situations and confidence to use initiative
• Able to produce innovative and motivated solutions, taking ownership of problems when they arise
• Proactive, flexible approach and can-do attitude

Not essential, but bonus points if you have any experience in these:

• Company secretariat, including the management of constitutional documents and statutory books and ongoing filing requirements
• Employment, data protection, and/or intellectual property law
• Working proficiency in a foreign language

But remember - no one is expected to be perfect!

If you aren’t sure that you have every single trait we’ve listed, please don’t let it put you off applying. We review all applications with real interest, and we believe in supporting people’s personal development and career growth. We’re not necessarily looking for ‘the perfect candidate’ with years of experience, gold medals and superpowers!

And a final note about our hiring process:

Our hiring process is usually three-four stages, including an initial conversation, a technical test, and one or two final-stage interviews.