Associate Counsel

The Legal Services Team (LST) is part of American Express General Counsel’s Organization (GCO). We deliver legal support to colleagues and to clients, globally, across all business lines. We are looking to add a team member in Buenos Aires, Argentina, who will have a reporting line to a senior lawyer for an international portfolio. Role Purpose: The LST’s mission is to provide efficient, consistent, innovative, and high-quality, legal support across business units, staff groups and jurisdictions globally. We are looking for a motivated, proactive, junior lawyer, experienced in commercial contracts, who will be part of this lively team based across three (3) hubs internationally in Kuala Lumpur, London and Argentina. Interested candidates will have commercial awareness and experience of working in a commercial contract space both in Spanish and English. Candidates must be able to use their legal skills to work closely with key business clients around the globe, the LST leadership team and colleagues within the LST team across all hubs on a day to day basis. In addition, candidates should possess a strong ability to lead partners and be able to demonstrate a track record of client care. Primary responsibilities: Contribute as an independent, trusted legal advisor to GCO and to the wider Amex business by: Identifying and effectively handling legal risk for an international portfolio Taking instructions from and supporting your team leader, other lawyers, or legal teams in GCO, primarily across the LAC and EMEA region, and beyond as required Providing sound, commercial, legal advice and support across international stakeholders such as US and EMEA including drafting, reviewing, analyzing and negotiating a wide range of agreements and legal documents such as procurement, marketing and sponsorship agreements, and Data Protection/Cybersecurity negotiation support Supporting internal governance and approval processes, including coordinating internal partners across a global client base as appropriate Instructing and collaborating closely with outside counsel in multiple jurisdictions to obtain, challenge and finalize legal advice/opinions on projects and agreements Carrying out legal research on behalf of GCO colleagues across all regions in LAC, US, EMEA and APAC Handling company secretarial matters and other LST workstreams, as required Working with other LST team members across all three global hubs, including: Improving methods for legal knowledge management and supporting LST training and upskilling program Ensuring LST’s adherence to any company-wide and GCO-specific processes and procedures Offer of employment with American Express is conditional upon the successful completion of a background verification check, subject to applicable laws and regulations. Qualifications Argentina-qualified solicitor (or hold an equivalent qualification) with at least 3 years of experience Experience of drafting and advising on commercial contracts in a practical and commercial manner with strong research and analytical skills in English and Spanish Additional fluency in Italian/French preferred, but is not required In-house experience in financial services is preferred Ability to effectively multi-task, prioritize and work as part of a team or autonomously under time pressure to meet deadlines and manage clients’ expectations Cross-jurisdictional experience is preferred, but not required (e.g. EMEA, APAC and LAC) Ability to communicate clearly, concisely, reliably, and persuasively with clients, senior business people, legal management and external regulators, both orally and in writing in English and Spanish Commitment to integrity and American Express value