Head of Legal Market Engagement

Some careers open more doors than others!

If you’re looking for a career that will unlock new opportunities, join HSBC and experience the possibilities. Whether you want a role that could take you to the top, or simply take you in an exciting new direction, HSBC offers opportunities, support and rewards that will take you further.

As an HSBC employee in the UK, you will have access to tailored professional development opportunities and a competitive pay and benefits package. This includes private healthcare for all UK-based employees, enhanced maternity and adoption pay and support when you return to work, and a contributory pension scheme with a generous employer contribution.

HSBC’s Legal function plays a critical role in supporting the bank’s global operations, managing legal risk, and ensuring the efficient and effective use of external legal resources. We work closely with leading law firms and alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) to secure the best commercial and strategic outcomes for the bank.

We are currently seeking an innovative and high calibre professional, to be the Head of Legal Market Engagement team. You will have the opportunity to drive meaningful change in the legal industry, ensuring HSBC maximizes the value of its external legal spend while fostering innovation and accountability among its external legal partners.

As the Head of Legal Market Engagement, you will play a fundamental role and lead within HSBC’s Legal function, responsible for driving a strategic and commercial approach to the bank’s external legal spend. You will lead a team of Law Firm Relationship Managers, Pricing and Legal Project Managers.

A move across the business allows you to continue to access tailored professional development opportunities, and our fantastic benefits packages.

In this role, you will:

• Lead HSBC’s strategic shift from traditional hourly billing to Effective Fee Arrangements (EFAs) that promote cost certainty, efficiency, and value.
• Design and implement innovative pricing structures with law firms and ALSPs, ensuring optimal financial outcomes for the bank, whilst developing and maintaining HSBC’s Legal Market Engagement Framework.
• Oversee HSBC’s panel of law firms and ALSPs, ensuring they meet performance, and innovation targets.
• Hold firms to account against a defined set of commercial, operational, and service expectations and lead negotiations on panel agreements, ensuring competitive pricing and strong service delivery.
• Manage and develop a team of Law Firm Relationship Managers, Pricing and Legal Project Managers, fostering a high-performance culture.
• Collaborate with HSBC’s legal leadership, procurement, and finance teams to align external legal strategy with broader business objectives.
• Drive data-led decision-making, leveraging analytics to assess law firm performance, cost trends, and value delivery.

To be successful in this role you should meet the following requirements:

• Extensive experience in legal operations, procurement, or external legal management within a financial institution, law firm, or professional services environment.
• Strong commercial acumen with a proven track record of driving cost efficiencies and structuring alternative fee arrangements.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to influence and negotiate at senior levels, both internally and externally.
• Leadership experience, managing diverse teams and fostering a culture of performance, collaboration, and innovation.
• Knowledge of legal market trends, law firm pricing models, and the evolving role of ALSPs in corporate legal functions.

The base location for this role is London with a hybrid working pattern.

You’ll achieve more when you join HSBC.

Being open to different points of view is important for our business and the communities we serve. At HSBC, we’re dedicated to creating diverse and inclusive workplaces. Our recruitment processes are accessible to everyone - no matter their gender, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or age.

We take pride in being part of the Disability Confident Scheme. This helps make sure you can be interviewed fairly if you have a disability, long term health condition, or are neurodiverse.

If you’d like to apply for one of our roles and need adjustments made, please get in touch with our Recruitment Helpdesk:

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: +44 207 832 8500