Associate General Counsel - Private Placements, L&G - Asset Management, America

Company Description

L&G's Asset Management business is a major investor across public and private markets worldwide, with $1.533 trillion in AUM.* Our clients include individual savers, pension scheme members and global institutions, who invest alongside L&G’s own balance sheet.

Our ambition is to be a leading global investor, innovating to solve complex challenges for our clients using the power of L&G. This is rooted in our investment philosophy and processes, which are focused on creating value over the long term.

We believe that incorporating financially material sustainability criteria, when relevant to our clients, can generate value and drive positive change.

Job Description

L&G – Asset Management America is seeking an experienced corporate finance attorney to serve as lead deal counsel for its institutional Private Placements/Private Credit business. The role covers domestic and cross-border private placements of debt securities (including traditional private placements and, where applicable, Rule 144A-style documentation), secured and unsecured financings, and related structured credit investments. The successful candidate will partner closely with origination, portfolio management and risk stakeholders to deliver efficient execution, consistent documentation standards, and practical, risk-based advice across a high-volume transaction pipeline

• Serve as primary internal deal counsel for L&G – Asset Management America’s Private Credit/Private Placements platform, acting as a strategic business partner to origination and portfolio management.
• Lead negotiation and execution of domestic and cross-border institutional private placements of debt securities, including transactions with non-U.S. issuers and/or guarantors; coordinate with bond counsel on closing deliverables.
• Draft, review and negotiate complex credit documentation, including note purchase agreements, credit agreements, intercreditor agreements, guarantees, security documents, commitment letters, and amendments/waivers.
• Support a broad set of private placement transaction types as needed by the platform, including but not limited to infrastructure/project and facility financings (including P3-style projects), utility and energy financings (including first mortgage/secured structures), credit-tenant loan style structures, leasing / equipment and real estate finance structures, and structured finance or securitization-adjacent investments.
• Review and manage legal opinions (U.S. and non-U.S.), enforceability/capacity/authority analysis, and closing conditions; ensure that documentation aligns with investment thesis, collateral package and covenant framework.
• Negotiate NDAs, engagement letters and service/provider agreements needed by the Private Credit team, including placement agent and trustee/administrative agent documentation where applicable.
• Work closely with the internal credit ratings team (and, where relevant, external rating agencies) to facilitate private ratings and ensure ratings-related requirements are reflected in documentation and post-closing undertakings.
• Partner with investment teams on diligence, identifying legal risks (including cross-border regulatory, withholding tax, sanctions/AML, and structural issues) and proposing practical, commercial solutions.
• Advise on regulatory and structural considerations relevant to the business.
• Drive execution discipline across the deal lifecycle: pipeline prioritization, closing checklists, funds flow, post-closing obligations tracking, covenant compliance deliverables and ongoing portfolio management legal support.
• Support the Deputy General Counsel on tax and structuring matters, including coordination with internal stakeholders on cross-border investments and non-U.S. affiliate participation.
• Facilitate compliance with policies and procedures, including corporate governance and internal approvals procedures and investment committees.
• Oversee and manage external counsel strategy, scope and budget.
• Contribute to documentation playbooks, template positions and process improvements to increase speed, consistency and cost efficiency

Qualifications

• J.D. degree from an accredited law school.
• Licensed to practice law in Illinois.
• A minimum of 5 years of institutional private placement experience with a top-tier law firm and/or in-house at an insurance company or asset manager investing in institutional private placements.
• Experience with private placement transactions using ACIC model form note purchase agreements, including negotiating key economic and covenant terms; familiarity with Rule 144A-style debt documentation is a plus.
• Strong understanding of secured lending concepts, intercreditor arrangements and collateral structures, covenant frameworks and restructur