Legal Counsel - Credit & Surety - Hybrid

About the role

We are looking for a Legal Counsel to join our Corporate Solutions (CorSo) Legal Team to provide transactional, regulatory and legal support to our North America (NA) Credit & Surety business unit, which underwrites insurance primarily in surety, as well as in trade finance, project & infrastructure finance, commodity finance and political risk.

Responsibilities

• Provide pragmatic legal advice designed to enable and support Credit & Surety business growth in NA in compliance with applicable state and insurance laws and regulations, while clearly articulating legal risks and opportunities.
• Be a subject-matter expert in NA Contract and Commercial Surety, including drafting and negotiating bond forms, indemnity agreements, co-surety agreements and agency agreements.
• Support underwriters at every stage of the transaction life cycle, facilitate the closing of transactions, and also advise on any restructuring and unwinding of transactions.
• Advise on relevant licensing and regulatory issues in relation to Credit & Surety transactions and work closely with other internal experts in the management of regulatory relationships.
• Provide legal support for internal group projects and strategic initiatives with key constituencies (Finance, Tax, Operations, Underwriting, Sales).
• Support legal entity management and corporate governance related issues, working closely with other regional legal team members.
• Partner and collaborate with various regional and functional stakeholders within the company (such as other Legal teams, Compliance, Actuarial, Compliance, Contracts and Wordings, Finance, Internal Audit, Operations, Risk and Underwriting) to ensure holistic assessment and mitigation of risks.
• Apply legal practices and controls that comply with Group guidelines, local corporate governance practice, statutory requirements and applicable regulatory agencies for CorSo regional entities.

Requirements

You're a proactive legal professional with an ability to meet competing deadlines and work effectively in a demanding, fast-paced environment. You combine technical excellence with commercial awareness, enabling you to provide pragmatic solutions that balance legal risk with business objectives. Your strong communication skills allow you to explain complex legal concepts clearly to diverse stakeholders, and develop strong relationships with clients, stakeholders and colleagues.

You Bring
- Admitted to the bar of at least one state in the United States, preferably Illinois, Kansas, or Missouri, depending on hiring office
- Minimum of 6 years' legal experience in a large law firm setting or financial services, organization; specific experience with credit insurance, surety bonds/guarantees or banking/finance is highly preferred
- Ability to identify, research and analyze difficult issues in ambiguous circumstances and to concisely summarize complex issues for senior leaders is a key requirement
- Experience in advising on insurance or financial services licensing and regulatory aspects
- An understanding of direct and excess lines domestic and international insurance, as well as distribution networks, broker and agency relationships
- Experience in negotiating, drafting, and amending contractual agreements, specifically bond forms, indemnity agreements, co-surety agreements agency and distribution
- High personal integrity, with ability to apply highest ethical standards and maintain independence as a lawyer
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment

Qualifications

Your qualifications should include:

• Admitted to the bar of at least one state in the United States, preferably Illinois, Kansas, or Missouri, depending on hiring office
• Minimum of 6 years' legal experience in a large law firm setting or financial services, organization; specific experience with credit insurance, surety bonds/guarantees or banking/finance is highly preferred
• Ability to identify, research and analyze difficult issues in ambiguous circumstances and to concisely summarize complex issues for senior leaders is a key requirement
• Experience in advising on insurance or financial services licensing and regulatory aspects
• An understanding of direct and excess lines domestic and international insurance, as well as distribution networks, broker and agency relationships
• Experience in negotiating, drafting, and amending contractual agreements, specifically bond forms, indemnity agreements, co-surety agreements agency and distribution
• A high level of personal integrity, with ability to apply highest ethical standards and maintain independence as a lawyer
• The ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment

Skills

Your skills should include:

• Proactive legal professional with an ability to meet competing deadlines and work effectively in a demanding, fast-paced environment
• Technical excellence with commercial awareness, enabling you to provide pragmatic solutions that balance legal risk with business objectives
• Strong communication skills allowing you to explain complex legal concepts clearly to diverse stakeholders, and develop strong relationships with clients, stakeholders and colleagues

Benefits

At Swiss Re, we offer:

• A highly collaborative, international working environment
• Exposure to complex Surety transactions and commercial contracting models
• Flexibility and a hybrid working approach
• The opportunity to shape how legal support is delivered in a modern insurance business

Pay

The estimated base salary range for this position in Chicago, IL and in Kansas City, MO, is $156,000 to $210,000. The specific salary offered for this, or any given role will take into account a number of factors including but not limited to job location, scope of role, qualifications, complexity/specialization/scarcity of talent, experience, education, and employer budget.

Schedule

We offer a hybrid work model where the expectation is that you will be in the office three days per week.