Legal Counsel - Dispute Resolution & Litigation

Hello, we’re Starling.

Banking was broken - so we decided to fix it. The vision? Fast technology, fair service and honest values. All at the tap of a phone, all the time. We built Britain’s first digital bank. One hard-won banking licence later, we set about giving people a new way to spend, save and manage their money (and take better care of the planet, too). We’re changing banking for good. Back then, we were obsessed with unravelling the knotty world of finance and solving people’s problems rather than selling them stuff. We still are.

Since then, we’ve grown. A lot. Over four million accounts (and four account types!). A team of thousands. Headquartered in London with offices in Cardiff, Dublin, Manchester and Southampton. Seven years voted Which? Recommended Provider and Britain's Best Banking Brand. Still zero branches. Our culture is open, inclusive and focused on solving real customer problems, with an emphasis on doing the right thing, even when it’s not always the easy thing. From our approach to working together and sustainability to how we build our products, our decisions need to make the world - and Starling - a better place to be. Everyone at Starling is essential to our mission, which is really quite simple: to solve our customer’s problems - and build the best bank in the world!

And now we're providing Starling to other banks, via a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) proposition through our subsidiary Engine, using the proprietary technology platform that it uses to power our own bank.

As a Legal Counsel - Dispute Resolution & Litigation, you’ll primarily manage and work on contentious matters, but you'll also have the chance to support a wide range of areas and projects across the bank including strategic work and, in particular, dispute prevention.

It's a fantastic opportunity to join a friendly, dynamic team, work on a broad mix of initiatives, and make your mark at one of the UK's most exciting fintechs. You'll partner with teams across the business, work closely with Compliance, Financial Crime, Complaints and Risk, and help us achieve fair, cost-effective outcomes for the bank and good outcomes for our customers.

What you'll be doing

• Advising on Starling Bank's disputes, including pre-action and litigated matters, in a timely and cost-effective way to achieve positive outcomes for the bank as a whole. This includes managing financial services disputes; corporate and commercial disputes; complex complaints or groups of connected complaints; and collections.
• Providing advice and assistance to all areas of the business in respect of potential disputes, claims and complaints.
• Advising on the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) scheme and DISP complaint-handling rules, FCA complaint-handling requirements and Consumer Duty, and the APP fraud mandatory reimbursement regime as they arise in disputes and collections.
• Managing litigation practicalities; the Civil Procedure Rules and pre-action protocols, County Court and High Court processes, settlement, ADR and mediation, and the management of privilege and disclosure.
• Managing and maintaining the disputes team's reporting data.
• Assisting business teams with other non-contentious matters where necessary.
• Instructing and working with external counsel and panel firms, including managing budget where appropriate.
• Working alongside Compliance, Financial Crime, Complaints and Risk (second and third lines) on dispute prevention and connected matters.
• Administering the legal team inbox.

Requirements

• UK-qualified lawyer with a robust academic background, thorough legal training, and established post-qualification experience gained across law firm and in-house environments.
• Deep technical experience in disputes and litigation.
• Experience in financial services dispute resolution, fraud and financial crime matters, and complaints.
• Capable of working independently and proactively, with appropriate support where required, in a fast-paced environment.
• Keen to use initiative and take responsibility, with the drive to grow and develop within the organisation.
• Robust analytical skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate efficiently and effectively with colleagues at all levels of seniority and specialism across the business.
• A team player

Benefits

• 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you)
• An extra day’s holiday for your birthday
• Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
• 16 hours paid volunteering time a year
• Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme
• Life insurance at 4x your salary
• Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton
• Generous family-friendly policies
• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
• Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work and Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships

About Us

You may be put off applying for a role because you don't tick every box. Forget that! While we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we're always open to discussion. So, if you're excited about working with us, but aren’t sure if you're 100% there yet, get in touch anyway.

We’re on a mission to radically reshape banking - and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we’re proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.

Starling Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling Bank are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

By submitting your application, you agree that Starling Bank may collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Our Privacy Notice explains what personal information we may process, where we may process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over our use of your personal information.