Senior Counsel - Fixed Income

At MFS, you will find a culture that supports you in doing what you do best. Our employees work together to reach better outcomes, favoring the strongest idea over the strongest individual. We put people first and demonstrate care and compassion for our community and each other. Because what we do matters – to us as valued professionals and to the millions of people and institutions who rely on us to help them build more secure and prosperous futures.

THE ROLE

MFS is seeking a seasoned attorney with in-depth fixed income and creditor side workout and restructuring experience, along with significant experience negotiating, executing and interpreting transactional documentation in both distressed and front-end situations. This attorney must be curious and creative, demonstrate excellent attention to detail and strategic thinking, and must be able to manage multiple projects concurrently. This attorney must be able to deliver clear, pragmatic, effective legal advice, and must take ownership over legal issues which affect the Fixed Income platform.     

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Provide legal and strategic advice to the Fixed Income Investments Department in connection with workouts, restructurings, bankruptcies and asset sales related to fixed income investments across a variety of asset classes (municipals, corporates, sovereigns and structured products) and sectors.  

• Provide legal analysis relating to investment opportunities, including structured products and conventional bond financings, and in particular, advice regarding collateral, structure, counterparty risk, payment waterfalls, covenants, and other provisions relevant to investment analysis.

• Negotiate, execute and interpret transactional documents, including consents, waivers, amendments, forbearance agreements, confidentiality agreements, indemnity agreements, lock-up agreements, cooperation agreements, bank trading documents and related creditor-side documentation. Structure, negotiate, and lead the execution of negotiated placement opportunities, including negotiating term sheets, deal documentation, and related deliverables.

• Advise MFS in connection with regulations which directly impact Fixed Income investments, including compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act, Rule 17(d) of the Investment Company Act, the EU Securitization Regulation, and investment sanctions laws. 

• Ensure compliance with the MFS Inside Information Policy and related Procedures.

• Contribute to and help lead cross-departmental workstreams, building trust with colleagues and acting pragmatically and effectively to protect MFS from legal, regulatory, and reputational risk.

• Administer various policies and procedures related to Fixed Income investments, including with respect to distressed issuers, forbearance agreements, and other reporting obligations, including preparing materials and providing periodic reports to MFS Boards.

• Work with and oversee the work product provided by outside counsel on a variety of legal matters.

• Provide support for Legal Department initiatives and matters as needed.   

• Responsibly utilize artificial intelligence platforms as appropriate.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• Bachelor’s Degree and Juris Doctorate Degree. Must have at least eight (8) years of directly relevant work experience as an attorney working on investor-side legal matters, including work experience at a large law firm or major financial services company, working on large, sophisticated matters.  

• Must be a member of good standing of a state bar, such as the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers. 

• Excellent organization, communication and interpersonal skills, including direct experience working closely with investors. 

• Must be able to communicate complicated legal concepts in pragmatic terms, must write clearly and effectively, and be comfortable presenting to broader groups. Must have a strong work ethic, and act with a high degree of integrity. 

• Must thrive in a team-oriented, collaborative environment, in which colleagues act together to drive the best outcomes for MFS and its clients. 

#LI-JN1

Base Salary Range: $159,500.00 - $240,000.00 This position is eligible for competitive incentive bonus. 

At MFS, we believe in fair and transparent compensation. For that reason, we’re including the salary range for this position. This range reflects our good-faith expectation for what we’ll pay depending on the candidate’s experience, training and education. In addition to the salary, we also offer significant and competitive incentive compensation based on both individual and company performance. Other components of our Total Rewards Package include:

• MFS contributes an amount equal to 15% of your base salary to your retirement account that is separate from the company -sponsored 401(k) 

• Education Assistance: MFS contributes $100 monthly up to $10,000 lifetime maximum directly to loan provider

• Education Assistance: Tuition reimbursement up to $8,000 annually 

• Education Assistance: Access to discounted tutors and college coaches

• Generous time off and fully paid leaves including 20-weeks for maternity, 12-weeks for parental and caregiver leaves

• Choice of medical and dental plans and an and an employer contribution into the Health Savings Account

• Tax deferred commuter benefits & flexible spending accounts (medical & dependent care)

• Wellness Programs: Robust wellness webinars, employee assistance program with a focus on mental health, subsidized fitness benefit via Wellhub (formerly Gympass), where you can workout at gyms, studios and boutique fitness locations near you, join virtual personal training sessions and access a wide variety of well-being apps

Our compensation philosophy is to pay competitively for talent while ensuring equity across employees performing comparable work. We are committed to transparency – if you have questions about how we arrived at this range or what additional benefits and bonus opportunities come with the role, we’ll be happy to discuss them

#LI-HYBRID

At MFS, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace. If you are excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly, we encourage you to apply - you might be just the right candidate for this role or others.

MFS is a hybrid work environment (remote/onsite) unless otherwise stated in the job posting.

If any applicant is unable to complete an application or respond to a job opening because of a disability, please contact MFS at 617-954-5000 or email talent_acquisition@mfs.com for assistance. 

MFS is an Equal Opportunity Employer and it is our policy to not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state or local laws. Employees and applicants of MFS will not be subject to harassment on the basis of their status. Additionally, retaliation, including intimidation, threats, or coercion, because an employee or applicant has objected to discrimination, engaged or may engage in filing a complaint, assisted in a review, investigation, or hearing or have otherwise sought to obtain their legal rights under any Federal, State, or local EEO law is prohibited. Please see the Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal document, linked for your reference.