Legal Counsel, European Fundamental Credit Ratings

About the Role
The European Corporate Finance team is seeking a highly motivated individual, preferably with more than 4 years of experience in reviewing and structuring lending documentation and analysing implications on credit quality of individual issuers. This individual will work closely with credit analysts on a wide variety of Corporate rating mandates, in addition to providing support in the drafting, updating and implementing, as necessary, of Morningstar DBRS global policies, procedures and applicable Corporate methodologies and related legal criteria.
Situated within European Corporate Ratings, counsel will provide legal support to credit analysts within a broad range of Corporate sector specific areas with a focus on Project and Infrastructure Finance.
This position can be based in Madrid, Spain or Frankfurt, Germany.
Job Responsibilities
Reporting directly to the Managing Director, Asset Finance & Legal, Fundamental Credit Ratings, with alignment to the Managing Director, Head of European Corporates, this individual will be responsible for (i) reviewing legal documentation underlying relevant credit rating analysis and advising analysts and rating committees of any potential legal issues that may have an impact on the credit risk, (ii) communicating Morningstar DBRS's position on legal, structural and methodology related matters to internal and external stakeholders, and (iii) evaluating legal and reputational risk relating to credit ratings.
Qualifications

• Law degree from an accredited legal institution
• Licensed to practice law in at least one Western European jurisdiction (Spanish or German law qualifications is an asset to the role)
• The ideal candidate will possess 4+ years of relevant experience at a top tier law firm or in-house at a financial services firm with emphasis on secured lending, securitization and/or sponsor/leverage finance transactions

Nice to have

• Legal qualifications or familiarity with other European jurisdictions
• Competency in Spanish or German and/or other European languages

About Us
Morningstar DBRS is a leading provider of independent rating services and opinions for corporate and sovereign entities, financial institutions, and project and structured finance instruments globally. Rating more than 4,000 issuers and 60,000 securities, it is one of the top four credit rating agencies in the world.
Morningstar DBRS empowers investor success by bringing more transparency and a much-needed diversity of opinion in the credit rating industry. Our approach and size allow us to be nimble enough to respond to customers' needs in their local markets, but large enough to provide the necessary expertise and resources they require. Market innovators choose to work with us because of our agility, tech-forward approach, and exceptional customer service.
Morningstar DBRS is the next generation of credit ratings.
If you received and accept an offer from us, we require that personal and any related investments be disclosed confidentiality to our Compliance team (days vary by region). These investments will be reviewed to ensure they meet Code of Ethics requirements. If any conflicts of interest are identified, then you will be required to liquidate those holdings immediately. In addition, dependent on your department and location of work certain employee accounts must be held with an approved broker (for example all, U.S. employee accounts). If this applies and your account(s) are not with an approved broker, you will be required to move your holdings to an approved broker.
Morningstar's hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to work remotely and collaborate in-person each week. While some positions are available as fully remote, we've found that we're at our best when we're purposely together on a regular basis, typically three days each week. A range of other benefits are also available to enhance flexibility as needs change. No matter where you are, you'll have tools and resources to engage meaningfully with your global colleagues.