Senior Legal Counsel - Advisory and Intermediary Lead

Position Overview

GMO seeks to add a senior attorney to its Legal Team. The Senior Legal Counsel – Advisory and Intermediary Lead serves as a trusted legal advisor to the firm’s investment, client relationship, business development, and distribution teams. This role is responsible for providing strategic legal counsel across client advisory matters, intermediary relationships, and regulatory requirements, with a particular focus on complex investment mandates, distribution agreements, and global client structures. As a senior member of the Legal Team reporting to the General Counsel, this role partners closely with internal stakeholders to support asset growth, client retention, and regulatory compliance across U.S. and non‑U.S. markets.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary legal advisor on complex institutional client matters, including negotiation of investment management agreements, guidelines, fee arrangements, and bespoke side letters for U.S. and non‑U.S. clients;
• Lead legal support for intermediary, model‑delivery, and distribution relationships, negotiating and structuring agreements with registered investment advisers, wirehouses, private banks, and platform partners;
• Partner closely with Investment, Client Relationship Management, Business Development, Operations and Product teams to deliver commercially pragmatic, risk‑aware legal advice that supports asset growth and client retention;
• Lead analysis and governance of fee arrangements, “Most Favored Nation” analysis, and affiliation rules to ensure regulatory compliance and risk mitigation; and
• Review and provide final legal sign‑off on RFP responses, due diligence questionnaires, and client‑facing disclosures.

Required Skill Set

• JD with a minimum of 5-10 years legal experience.
• Experience advising asset managers, investment advisers, or financial services firms on client, fund, and distribution matters. Prior in‑house experience preferred.
• Exceptional negotiation skills, with particular expertise in complex investment agreements, side letters, and intermediary arrangements, and ability to balance commercial objectives and regulatory obligations.
• Strong working knowledge of the Investment Advisers Act, as well as other U.S. and international regulatory frameworks applicable to asset management and distribution.
• Proven ability to operate independently while serving as a senior advisor to cross‑functional stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills (oral and written).
• Excellent listening skills.
• Analytical clarity and creativity.
• Lateral thinking and communication.
• Practical solutions in the face of business tradeoffs.
• Enthusiastic.
• Strong organizational skills – ability to take responsibility for and prioritize multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to consistently demonstrate sound judgment and the highest level of ethics and integrity.
• Strong financial product development experience and knowledge.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor others.
• Knowledge of tax‑related concepts helpful but not required.
• Love of the law and intellectual curiosity.
• Tenacious with the ability to move quickly and follow through on commitments.
• Strong work ethic and the ability to hold yourself and others to the highest standards.

Compensation

$170,000 - $215,000 a year

This is a reasonable, good faith estimate of the current salary range for this role. GMO’s salary range accounts for a wide array of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets and market demand for skills; level of experience and training; specific qualifications, performance, time in role/company, geographic location, and other business and organizational needs.

Benefits

In addition, this position is eligible for a discretionary annual bonus award, which award may be determined by individual, team, department and firm performance, and is subject to the terms of GMO’s compensation plan. This position is also benefits eligible. GMO’s comprehensive benefits program includes medical insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, long‑term disability coverage, a 401(k)/profit‑sharing retirement plan, open paid time off, leaves of absences, dependent care resources, tuition reimbursement, charitable gifts matching, flexible spending accounts, and commuter benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

GMO is committed to the recruitment, employment, and promotion of all candidates equally, regardless of an individual's gender, race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military or veteran status, genetic information, physical or mental disability (except where such disability is a bona fide occupational disqualification) or any other classification protected under federal, state or local law.