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Position: Senior Legal Counsel - Pension Funds & Institutional Investors
Company: Cleveland & Co
Location: London
Reports To: Head of Pension Funds & Institutional Investors
About Cleveland & Co
Cleveland & Co is a dynamic outsourced in-house legal team, delivering innovative, strategic legal solutions to clients across the investment management industry. We deliver high-calibre advice across asset owners, asset allocators, industry associations and industry service providers. Our clients trust us not only for our technical excellence, but for our commercial mindset and ability to operate as a true extension of their internal team.
The Senior Legal Counsel - Pension Funds & Institutional Investors role is a defining senior hire for the firm. It’s built for someone who combines deep institutional private markets expertise with the ambition to own a market segment, not just deliver work within it.
This person is technically exceptional, commercially sharp, and able to credibly partner with key business stakeholders. They can lead complex negotiations, manage delivery across multiple transactions, and run and build a team. But they also want more than execution. They want to shape the offering, own client relationships, and be accountable for growth.
The wrong environment for them is one where seniority means waiting, where impact is diluted by layers, and where business development is someone else’s job. They don’t want to “support” a strategy, they want to drive it.
At Cleveland & Co, they will do exactly that. This is an opportunity to build a platform: to lead the institutional investor practice, win clients, grow the team, and play a meaningful role in scaling a firm that is redefining what great in-house legal support looks like.
Role Summary
We are seeking an excellent Pension Funds & Institutional Investors lawyer support our institutional investor advisory capability across the firm.
This is a high-impact role advising pension funds, insurers, endowments, sovereigns, foundations, not for profits, family offices and other institutional allocators on complex private markets transactions and investment programmes.
You will advise across a wide range of asset classes and structures, including:
This role is ideal for someone with institutional investor experience who can combine technical excellence with commercial judgement, and who wants to play a meaningful leadership role inside a fast-scaling firm. In addition to leading delivery, you will play a supportive role in client acquisition and revenue growth, helping expand Cleveland & Co’s institutional investor client base and market presence.
Key Responsibilities
Client Advisory & Transaction Execution
Corporate / SPA Advisory (Direct Investments)
Structuring, Governance & Risk
Commercial Contribution
Client Acquisition & Growth
Key Qualifications
Why Join Cleveland & Co?
Front-Row Seat to the Market: You will advise sophisticated pension funds and institutional investors on high-value private markets activity across funds and direct investments.
Build the Platform and Your Own Trajectory: You will have the opportunity to support Cleveland & Co’s institutional investor client base and strengthen our market presence. For the right person, this is a rare chance to combine top-tier legal work with genuine commercial ownership and long-term upside.
Move Faster, With Less Friction: You’ll operate in a high-performance environment that values momentum, accountability, and smart judgement. We move quickly, collaborate closely, and give senior people the autonomy to lead, without unnecessary hierarchy.
Work That Stays Interesting: Your work will span fund investments, co-investments, SPAs, direct deals, and complex structuring, with the variety and complexity that keeps exceptional lawyers engaged and growing.
A Team Worth Joining: You’ll work alongside people who are ambitious, sharp, and genuinely collaborative. We take client service seriously, we back each other, and we’re building something meaningful together.
LOCATION
This is a full-time, in-office role based at our London Bridge office (Monday–Thursday in-office, Friday remote).
Please note: Cleveland & Co is not a legal placement agency. We are a fully integrated, outsourced in-house legal team. You will be working as part of our core team, alongside colleagues, not deployed onsite at client offices. We operate as a collaborative, high-performing legal function, serving multiple clients from within our own firm.
Application Process
To apply, please send your CV to hr@cleveland-co.com, outlining your relevant experience and what excites you about this opportunity.
We’re reviewing applications on a rolling basis and encourage early submissions. If you’re a strategic legal leader ready to take the next bold step in your career, we’d love to hear from you.
Cleveland & Co is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.