Legal Operations and Contract Manager

Burford Capital is the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law. Its businesses include litigation finance and risk management, asset recovery and a wide range of legal finance and advisory activities. Burford is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUR) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: BUR), and it works with companies and law firms around the world from its principal offices in New York, London, Chicago, Washington, Singapore, and Dubai.

This role supports the legal function across transactional execution, corporate governance, contract management, legal operations, technology implementation and financial oversight.  

The base compensation range for this role is $100,000 - $130,000. Burford also pays an annual discretionary bonus as well as participation in our Restricted Stock Unit program. 

The role will report to Senior Corporate Counsel and be based in Burford’s New York office.

www.burfordcapital.com

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Burford Capital is the largest and most experienced provider of commercial finance to the legal sector in the world, with a core expertise in identifying and optimizing the value of legal assets for companies and law firms.  Since its founding in 2009, Burford has worked with hundreds of law firms and corporations, including 94 of the AmLaw 100 and 92 of the Global 100 largest law firms. Our team has grown from five people at the end of 2009 to over 170 people today, including over 50 lawyers.

Burford possesses the resources and expertise of a large company while retaining the flexibility and creativity of a startup.  Team members are smart, creative, collaborative, curious, and confident.  Everyone rolls up their sleeves to perform and engage collectively for the overall success of the business.  Burford values rigorous thinking, clear communication, and efficient execution. Burford is an “always on” environment in which everyone needs to be accessible by email when outside the office, including during evenings and weekends.

Burford pays base salaries consistent with the financial services industry and favors incentive compensation to reward performance. Burford provides competitive health care benefits and a 401k matching program. Burford Capital is committed to increasing diversity and maintaining an inclusive workplace culture.  We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status, whether or not they have a disability.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

• Transaction Support

o Assist with preparation of financing agreements, closing checklists and related documentation using information sourced from memos, questionnaires, and public records
o Support deal closings and ongoing portfolio maintenance by managing documentation logistics, execution and related formalities
o Support transaction diligence and implementation by reviewing diligence questionnaires, coordinating lien analysis, conducting UCC searches, preparing and filing UCC financing statements and manage UCC tracking, including timely continuation filings to maintain perfected security interests
o Assist with diligence relating to fund formation, bond issuance and other enterprise transactions
o Draft documentation such as amendments, powers of attorney, payoff letters and other documents incident to financial transactions

• Contract Management

o Manage the intake, triage, and review of commercial and vendor contracts, with oversight of legal team attorneys
o Guide internal stakeholders through the contracting process, conduct initial reviews, propose revisions based on established precedents and standards
o Identify legal, operational, and commercial risks, and coordinate mitigation strategies and escalation to attorneys for final review and approval

• Intragroup Cash Management, Financing and Tax Planning

o Draft, review and manage execution of intra-group cash management and financing documentation, including intercompany loan agreements, capital contributions and related corporate authorizations
o Provide support for tax planning initiatives, including by coordinating documentation and approvals for tax-driven restructurings (e.g., entity formations, liquidations, mergers, intercompany assignments), in partnership with the legal and tax teams
o Liaise with tax, treasury and accounting teams to ensure documentation aligns with policies, regulatory requirements and governance standards
o Draft and manage board and shareholder resolutions supporting these matters

• Corporate Governance

o Provide governance support, including developing and utilizing a strong understanding of Burford’s complex corporate structure to draft corporate documents such as resolutions and meeting agendas and minutes, coordinate meeting materials and logistics, maintain corporate records
o Support signature authority protocols for Burford’s vast slate of entities

• Knowledge Management, Training and Other Support

o Implement updates to contract templates and negotiation guidelines
o Assist stakeholders within and outside of the legal team with use of document management system, e-billing system and other tools to drive collaboration and consistency, usability and integrity of information
o Serve as a primary point of contact for the legal team for routine records and process-related inquiries, ensuring timely responses and appropriate escalation
o Organize and maintain internal database of self-help legal and compliance resources for enterprise use by all Burford staff

• Financial Management & Vendor Oversight

o Manage legal budgeting, including forecasting, accruals, variance analysis, reporting and cost containment, in partnership with matter owners, finance team and other internal stakeholders, and in coordination with law firms and other service providers
o Implement and manage e-billing/matter management systems, including acting as primary liaison for issue resolution with internal stakeholders, law firms and other legal services providers.
o Lead process improvement initiatives, including workflow design, automation and documentation.

• Strategic & Operational Leadership

o Partner with finance, business architecture, underwriting and other teams to identify and accomplish operational, resource allocation and  performance goals of legal team

Desired qualifications:

• BA or BS degree, plus six-to-twelve years of directly relevant experience, including substantial experience in a corporate legal department and/or corporate group of a top-tier law firm
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including both oral and written. Comfort interacting professionally with all levels of management. The Burford team depends very heavily on email communication given disparate locations, and therefore this element is of heightened importance
• Strong understanding of basic contract principles, market standards, and risk allocation, with the ability to translate complex legal issues into clear, actionable guidance for stakeholders
• Facility with AI-enabled tools
• Experience with budgeting/accruals/financial management is preferred
• Experience evaluating/implementing/leveraging legal technology solutions (including AI-assisted tools) to improve legal team efficiency will be valued
• Sound judgment in identifying issues, setting priorities, and determining appropriate escalation to attorneys and other stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and prioritize responsibilities in a fastmoving environment
• Excellent computer skills, including some proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint.
• Familiarity with iManage, e-billing systems, Salesforce and similar legal or
enterprise systems; ability to independently learn and administer new tools as needed
• Process-oriented mindset with experience designing or improving operating frameworks for small, fast-moving legal teams
• Comfort operating with ambiguity and taking ownership of operational problems from inception through resolution

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