Legal Counsel

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• Advising the commercial teams in Peninsula’s core business areas: marine energy supply; cargo purchasing and trading; vessel ownership, chartering and fleet management.
• Drafting and negotiating a wide variety of contracts including: general terms and conditions, supply agreements, and cargo sale/purchase contracts, across an increasing range of marine energy commodities (including LNG and alternative fuels); bareboat, time and voyage charterparties (for our owned and chartered fleet); and storage agreements.
• Advising on vessel ownership issues such as fleet insurance renewals, vessel registrations, ship management agreements and crewing issues.
• Advising on sanctions and compliance issues related to the core business areas.
• Advising on regulatory developments in shipping and marine energy.
• Advising on developments relating to Peninsula’s sustainability pillar, including LNG bunkering, alternative fuels, emissions trading and carbon neutral bunkering. 
• Advising on and resolving significant claims and commercial disputes. 
• Instructing and managing external counsel. 
  
  
  

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Thorough training and practice in shipping and/or commodities law.
• Up to date legal knowledge of contracts and the regulatory landscape in the marine sector. 
• First-rate legal analysis skills and the ability to understand new legal concepts quickly. 
• Ability to give accurate and accessible legal advice in a fast-paced and entrepreneurial commercial environment.
• Ability to understand the commercial context of the issues you are advising on and the implications to the business.  
• Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills.
• Ability to build successful relationships with key stakeholders at all levels (both internally and externally). 
• The highest standards of professional ethics and integrity.  

•  Experience of advising an international marine business with stakeholders in various jurisdictions. 
•  Awareness of legal issues and risks in various key jurisdictions (other than England & Wales).
• Engaging presentation skills and experience of delivering training to non-lawyers. 
• Demonstrable commercial knowledge of the core business areas.  
• Good numeracy and Excel skills.  
• Foreign language ability (particularly Spanish). 

• English-qualified solicitor/barrister/foreign lawyer with relevant post qualification experience at a top City, International or Boutique Shipping/Commodities Law Firm.

•  In-house experience (secondment or permanent).
•  Post-qualification courses in shipping, trading and/or commodities law.
• Relevant post-graduate qualification.