Senior Group Legal Counsel (Life Insurance)

Our Client:

Our client is a leading organisation within the Life Insurance industry and is seeking an experienced Senior Group Legal Counsel who will be required to act as the lead in-house legal partner and primary legal advisor to Group Management and business units. This person will build the legal function from the ground up, with a strong priority on life insurance. He/She will provide proactive, commercially attuned legal support across the Group’s operations in multiple jurisdictions.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Legal Function Build & Framework

• Design and maintain comprehensive legal SOPs, playbooks, templates, and engagement protocols.
• Standardise legal processes, risk escalation, and high-quality legal delivery across the Group.
• Establish clear protocols for non-standard documents, trust deeds, referral partner agreements, and high-risk clients in Fiduciary & Insurance.

2. Life Insurance & Insurance Advisory

• Act as principal legal advisor on life insurance matters, including product, distribution, conduct, and regulatory requirements.
• Support insurance broking, policy wordings, client engagement letters, reinsurance, and distribution arrangements.
• Advise on high-risk clients and complex insurance regulatory issues.

3. Legal Advisory & Group Policy Governance

• Provide commercially sound legal counsel to Senior Management and all business units: Insurance Broking, Trust, Family Office, Wealth Planning Advisory, EAM, etc.
• Review and advise on changes to internal “House Policies” to ensure legal soundness and consistency.
• Prepare legal opinions, board papers, and briefing notes for senior stakeholders.

4. Commercial Contracts & Transactional Support

• Lead drafting, review, and negotiation of complex commercial agreements.
• Cover trust deeds, fiduciary documentation, referral partner agreements, distribution arrangements, reinsurance treaties, vendor contracts, outsourcing agreements, client engagement letters, and policy wordings.

5. Regulatory Compliance, Licensing & Risk Management

• Monitor, interpret, and implement evolving laws across Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Switzerland, and potentially Thailand and Malaysia.
• Liaise with regulators such as MAS and manage supervisory enquiries, licensing, thematic reviews, and inspections.
• Identify structural legal risks, provide risk assessments, and devise mitigation frameworks.

6. Claims, Disputes & External Counsel Management

• Own contentious matters, including disputed claims, escalated customer complaints, and potential litigation.
• Direct and manage external counsel in court proceedings, arbitrations, mediation, and specialised advice.
• Ensure cost-efficient, high-quality representation.

7. Cross-Functional Business Partnering

• Partner closely with Business Units, Compliance, Finance, Marketing, Operations, and HR.
• Translate complex legal issues into clear, actionable business recommendations.
• Support new initiatives, market expansion, and service launches.

8. Data Protection Support

• Support the Group’s Data Protection Officer in reviewing, drafting, and preparing group-wide data protection and privacy policies.
• Monitor privacy law developments across relevant jurisdictions and advise on compliance measures.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or above in Law, with admission as a solicitor or barrister in Singapore.
• At least 8-12 years’ post-qualification experience gained in leading law firms and/or reputable financial institutions, with substantial exposure to life insurance or broader insurance regulatory work.
• Sound knowledge of Singapore insurance law and regulation, including product, distribution and conduct requirements applicable to life insurers, with an understanding of the regulatory landscape in other key jurisdictions being a distinct advantage.
• Able to build legal frameworks and processes from the ground up.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex commercial contracts, regulatory matters and contentious issues in a highly regulated environment.
• Strong commercial acumen, analytical capability and the ability to exercise independent judgement under pressure.

EA Licence No: 23S1615