The Master Agreement Negotiator will report functionally to the Head of Legal (Canada) and hierarchically to the Product Head of Master Agreements Global Markets Legal Americas in New York. Based in Montreal the Master Agreement Negotiator will provide advice and documentation support to the range of business lines and products that comprise CA-CIB’s derivatives, repo and securities lending activities. The successful candidate will have at least 5 years of experience at well-regarded Canadian or New York law firms, regulated financial institutions or a combination, with a focus on managing legal and regulatory risks.

Main Responsibilities

• Review, prepare and negotiate various (a) industry master agreements and related collateral agreements (including ISDAs, CSAs, GMRAs, MRAs, GMSLAs, MSLAs etc.), custodial undertaking agreements and control agreements in connection with the foregoing; (b) loan-linked ISDAs (including the review of the related loan documentation) (c) guarantees and similar forms of credit support; and (d) other miscellaneous agreements (including long form confirmations related to deal contingent hedges (DCH), other structured derivatives, repos or securities lending confirmations and risk participation agreements);
• Responsibilities include (a) preparing summaries of changes from original requests; (b) communicating directly with CACIB’s counterparties regarding specific terms of the relevant documentation; (c) inputting of contract information into the bank’s database; (d) responding to various in-house inquiries from front office, legal, credit, client onboarding, and collateral management on status of negotiations, current terms in executed agreements, and summary of client forms proposed; and (e) reviewing and summarizing industry netting and collateral opinions in response to specific questions and inputting responses into the bank’s “netting tool”;
• Advise relevant areas of CACIB, including front office, risk, and compliance, with respect to various pertinent matters of the document negotiation being undertaken;
• Assist in the development of forms and template documents used by covered businesses;
• Engage, coordinate, and supervise external counsel acting on behalf of CA-CIB in all relevant jurisdictions and on all relevant subject matter;
• Prepare and contribute to numerous internal reports and systems relating to the management of legal risk;
• Stay current on market and legal developments affecting covered businesses and products;
• Uphold CA-CIB’s codes of ethics, culture and conduct in all matters, including with respect to matters of diversity and inclusion and the identification and escalation of financial crimes risks.

Legal and Regulatory Responsibilities

• Provide ad hoc advice and updates on current developments to relevant legal teams, businesses or support functions
• Assist in drafting and updating templates and assist with the negotiation.
• Maintain a thorough knowledge of relevant banking and financial services business (and its regulatory environment).
• Mandate and manage external law firms, as required and in accordance with applicable policies, in accordance with the activities within the scope of CACIB Canada.
• Comply with all applicable legal, regulatory and internal compliance requirements as published.
• Complete all mandatory training as required to attain and maintain competence

Key Internal contacts

• Head of Legal (Canada)
• Product Head of Master Agreements Global Markets Legal Americas

Key External Contacts

• External Counsel
• Industry Associations

Qualified to practice law in Quebec, with other relevant Canadian federal and provincial qualifications

• Minimum of 6 years’ experience as a master agreements negotiator in a global financial institution legal department covering sophisticated transactions
• Full familiarity with all manner of master agreements handled by the team

• Ability to prioritize effectively and manage a complex, time sensitive workload
• Sound and ethical commercial judgment
• Professional and convincing demeanor and interpersonal skills
• Creative, solutions-oriented approach to complex documentation issues
• Ability to confront and escalate difficult issues within the institution
• Excellent English-language communication, both written and spoken (will be negotiating with Anglophone clients)
• Excellent subject matter knowledge and reasoning ability
• Ability to distill complex documentation guidance into plain English for a sophisticated business audience (will be working with Anglophone clients)