Associate - Entities

Job Description

Job Purpose:

The Legal Associate BE Entities supports the legal by providing legal advice and assistance on a variety of legal issues, including drafting and reviewing contracts and other documentation, preparing advice notes/memos, managing low-value claims and litigations, applying effective risk management techniques in order to mitigate and/or prevent litigation and disputes under the guidance of the Group SVP BE Entities, as well as managing governance documentation for the company’s business entities.

The Legal Associate BE Entities will be required to provide sound and accurate legal advice and support on operational legal matters across each of Bapco Energies’ Strategic Business Units (SBUs), including Bapco Refining, Bapco Upstream, Bapco Gas, Bapco Gas Expansion, Bapco Tazweed, BE Ventures and subsidiaries of the SBUs, amongst others.

• Work closely with and manage requests from various departments of the SBUs to ensure accurate, reliable, timely and well-informed legal advice is provided on legal issues to avoid disputes leading to business interruptions/claims.
• Coordinate with external counsel and advisors on specialised matters, where required, to obtain legal opinions, review current and ongoing disputes in order to advise the Management Team and assist them in understanding legal risks and in devising a strategy of mitigating those risks. Assist with the development of legal strategies and supervision of external counsel matters, including local litigation, as directed by the Group SVP BE Entities, and maintain a litigation register detailing all cases brought by or against SBUs for the Management Team.
• Draft, negotiate and prepare agreements and contractual arrangements, and provide advice on legal matters, ensuring the appropriate management of legal risk and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
• Manage the review and drafting of a variety of legal correspondence, leases, contract amendments, notices of breach, contractor claims and disputes, and other documentation to ensure their compliance with applicable laws and regulations, internal policies and procedures and governance framework.
• Manage the review and negotiation of contractual exceptions for procurement contracts, non-disclosure agreements, memorandums of understanding, term sheets, service agreements, purchase orders, and a variety of other forms of agreements and legal arrangements with third parties, appropriately analyzing the risk profile and managing legal risks to safeguard the company’s position.
• Manage the timely review and drafting of correspondences with the Bahrain Tender Board and other governmental authorities, ensuring the time-critical matters are prioritized so as not to impact ongoing company operations.
• Support with company formations, restructurings, governance and compliance for the SBUs and their subsidiaries, including drafting and revising deeds of association, handling commercial registration matters, maintaining corporate records, liaising with external regulators and stakeholders, and providing legal guidance to support corporate objectives.
• Propose, develop and negotiate contractual solutions to legal matters and contract/project related claims with third parties, as well as review any proposed settlement arrangements to ensure any settlement is in the best interest of the company.
• Undertake legal research and analysis and prepare legal opinions on a variety of legal matters, as well as monitor all updates and changes to all relevant areas of laws. Contribute to the enhancement of the knowledge base of the legal function in order to maintain an in depth knowledge of the legal requirements of each SBU’s business to mitigate legal risks and to ensure regulatory compliance, and provide briefs and conduct training sessions to other departments.
• Responsible to propose, prepare, and update the company’s suite of contract templates and other legal documentation (e.g., NDAs, Conflict of Interest Disclosures, Warning Letters, Procurement documents, etc.) and conduct continual review to advise on managing and mitigating all legal risks and liabilities, if any, endangering SBU’s…