Associate General Counsel – Head of Asia

Title:

Associate General Counsel – Head of Asia

Company:

Everest Intl Re, Ltd Singapore

Job Category:

Law

Job Description:

Why join us:

Everest is a leading global reinsurance and insurance organization with extensive product and distribution capabilities, a strong balance sheet and an innovative culture. Throughout our history, Everest has maintained its discipline and focus on creating long term value through underwriting excellence and strong risk and capital management.

Our strength is in our people:

At Everest, we believe that our future is determined by the actions we take today. Actions that go beyond business strategy and encompass the values important to our employees and the communities in which we operate. Everest’s value commitments include: providing an inclusive work environment that offers employees the opportunity to further their development, supporting our communities through the donation of time and financial resources, maintaining our integrity across all aspects of the group, and being an industry innovator to solve global complex risks.

Role Purpose:

Everest is seeking to hire a lawyer based out of our Singapore office. The individual will serve as Everest’s primary point of contact for all legal and regulatory matters in Singapore. The role covers the operations of Everest’s Insurance and Reinsurance branches in Singapore, with additional focus on Everest’s expanding regional insurance operations in Asia. The position will be a critical member of Everest’s global corporate Law Department and will report directly to the Chief of International Law based in the UK.

The role entails significant, independent interaction with senior management and business leaders, both locally in Asia and globally across Everest. The individual will work closely with the Associate General Counsel – Head of Pacific, based in Australia.

The successful candidate will be a qualified lawyer with 7 to 10 years prior experience working in a law firm or in-house legal department. Relevant experience of the insurance industry in Singapore and the wider Asian market is essential. The individual will have excellent communication and analytical skills and be able to complement our existing team. Our legal team is dedicated to providing the best possible legal support, and our team members must demonstrate flexibility while working as both technical subject matter specialists and general business advisers.

Key Accountabilities:

• Interfacing with local Asian regulators, including MAS, and helping to lead and support local insurance and reinsurance management with various aspects of regulatory applications, meetings, and presentations;
• Managing legal issues impacting Everest’s expanding operations in Asia, particularly with regard to Everest’s direct insurance operations in the region, along with various reinsurance, compliance, employment, and commercial transactions and issues;
• Assisting with all legal and regulatory aspects of setting up new office locations in Asia, and generally assisting in all areas of Everest’s expansion initiatives in Asia;
• Performing corporate secretarial and governance functions for Everest’s Asia operations;
• Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating agreements appropriate to a variety of arrangements with producers, insureds, and third-parties;
• Managing miscellaneous corporate transactional matters, including entity formation, due diligence, securities, and financial matters;
• Staying up-to-date to provide counsel on legal, compliance, and regulatory issues impacting Everest’s business in Asia;
• Managing non-claims disputes impacting Everest’s Asia operations;
• Working with Asia underwriting teams and product development in support of new transactions and product lines;
• Providing legal support to local operational areas that support the Asia and wider APAC underwriting business (i.e., Claims, IT, Finance, Contract Wording) as well as contributing to wider projects which include an element of Asia operations;
• Providing strategic business and legal advice regarding potential strategic acquisitions, M&A, and new ventures and territory expansions affecting the Asia business; and
• Handling other corporate and/or contractual matters as needed, including drafting and reviewing non-disclosure and hold harmless agreements, software licenses, outsourcing and services contracts, leases and other contractual agreements.
  
  
  

Skills & Competencies:

• Qualified lawyer with 7 to 10 years’ relevant experience in a law firm or in-house role focusing on non-life insurance-related matters in Asia and Singapore in particular.
• Preference will be given to candidates with experience of the regulatory environment in Singapore, but also covering other major local markets e.g. Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea.
• Experience of interfacing effectively with all levels of management and with both internal and external constituents (i.e. underwriters, claim analysts, actuaries, external counsel, brokers, etc.).
• Candidates must possess strong organizational skills, analytical ability, and excellent writing and communication skills.
• Strong work ethic, ability to self-manage and work in a team environment.
• Ability to work well under pressure and manage multiple projects/priorities in a dynamic developing environment.
• Common sense, good judgment, and solution-oriented attitude toward legal issues.
• Must be able to approach complex legal issues with a sense of entrepreneurialism.