Counsel, Retail

We are seeking an attorney with 3 to 5 years of investment management experience, including as an associate at a leading law firm, and significant exposure to registered funds (mutual funds, interval funds, and/or ETFs). This role offers the opportunity to work on a wide range of legal and regulatory matters relating to asset management, with a particular focus on mutual funds and interval funds. You will collaborate with senior attorneys and cross-functional teams to support the firm’s growth, mitigate legal and regulatory risk, and serve our client base. This is a strong career-building opportunity at a leading firm that has sustained a strong growth rate.

• Support day-to-day legal aspects of our asset management business, with a particular focus on mutual funds and interval funds, and our retail SMA (wrap program) business
• Review and negotiate firm-level vendor contracts across a range of business functions, ensuring alignment with legal, regulatory, and commercial requirements
• Assist Human Capital Management with legal review of policies, procedures, and agreements
• Assist senior counsel in advising stakeholders on portfolio management, distribution, investor relations, and operational matters
• Help prepare and review regulatory filings and disclosure documents
• Draft, review, and negotiate a variety of documents, including organizational documents, investment management agreements, distribution agreements, offering documents, fund board materials, marketing materials, proxy materials, due diligence questionnaires, and policies and procedures
• Contribute to legal aspects of product initiatives such as fund launches, restructurings, reorganizations, and other strategic projects
• Provide support on investor relations and service efforts, including fund shareholder servicing, transfer agent oversight, client onboarding, and transition management
• Promote compliance with applicable laws and regulations and prepare responses to regulatory inquiries and examinations
• Identify legal risks and provide recommendations to mitigate those risks
• Interpret, analyze, and provide guidance on major regulatory reforms
• Develop deeper expertise in the Investment Advisers Act, the Investment Company Act, and related regulatory frameworks through hands-on work and mentorship
• Actively participate in industry forums to sustain an awareness of existing and proposed regulatory initiatives, industry trends, emerging risks and opportunities, and best practices

• Juris Doctor degree from a well-respected law school with strong academic credentials
• 3 to 5 years of investment management experience, including as an associate at a leading law firm, and significant exposure to registered funds (mutual funds, interval funds, and/or ETFs)
• Foundational knowledge of the regulatory framework governing investment advisers and the formation, registration, governance, distribution, and day-to-day affairs of registered funds
• Exposure to retail SMAs (wrap programs), institutional managed accounts, or private funds is a plus but is not required
• Strong research, analytical, and drafting skills
• Ability to think strategically and critically to solve challenges with innovative solutions, with the focus and agility to drive execution on key priorities
• A proactive, energetic, and pragmatic approach to legal and business issues 
• Superior interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to distill and explain technical and/or complex matters to non-lawyers
• Entrepreneurial, resilient work ethic, including the ability to manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously, meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment, and remain nimble when priorities change
• Intellectual curiosity and a willingness to learn new legal and business concepts
• Active listening skills, including the ability to attend to the concerns of his/her leader and senior business leaders
• Outstanding collaboration skills with the ability to work independently
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability
• A collaborative, proactive, and curious mindset with a strong desire to learn and grow
• Ethical nature, with the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and discretion

Lord Abbett is a leading global independent, privately held investment management company. We are active managers and invest where we believe we have a repeatable edge and can deliver alpha for our clients. Our vision is to be the most respected asset manager in the world, admired for our people, our performance, our relationships, and our organizational agility. This inspires the three pillars of our culture.

• Principles-Based - We empower our leaders to create an environment of trust.
• Performance-Oriented - We inspire our people to embody our values, excellence, responsibility, transparency & collaboration.
• Purpose-Driven - We instill a passion for always putting our clients' interests first. 

We have been ranked #1 in Barron’s Best Fund Families for 2024 and have earned recognition as one of the Best Places to Work in Money Management by Pensions & Investments for five consecutive years.

Compensation Information: Annual base salary for this role is $175,000 - $215,000 Salary is estimated for this role. Actual pay may be different.

Discretionary Bonus: Role may be eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus. Discretionary bonuses are determined by several factors including, but not limited to, firm, team, and individual performance. 

Benefits: Lord Abbett is committed to offering a competitive total rewards package to all eligible employees. Offerings include competitive total compensation, retirement plans, competitive health and well-being plans. To learn more about what we offer, please visit Careers | Lord Abbett

Lord Abbett is an equal employment opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to the following legally protected characteristics: race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, sexual identity, caregiver status, military/veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal law. All employment decisions at Lord Abbett are based solely on the applicant’s relevant experience, skills and qualifications.

Important notice to Search Firms - Please Read Carefully

Without prior written agreement, Lord Abbett does not accept unsolicited submissions from employment agencies, search firms, placement services, or any similar provider (“Search Firms”) for employment opportunities. All candidates submitted by Search Firms to any employee or partner at our company without a written Search Firm agreement in place will be deemed the sole property of our company. In such circumstances, no fee, commission, or other compensation will be paid to such Search Firm in the event a candidate is hired by our company. To the extent a Search Firm has a written agreement in place, all introductions are position specific and should be directed to HR or the hiring manager, so we kindly request no unsolicited phone calls or emails.