Legal Counsel - Market Data Licences
| Posting date: | 23 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £140,000 to £170,000 per year |
| Additional salary information: | Depending on experience |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 30 May 2026 |
| Location: | London, London, EC2V 6DN |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | Hays Specialist Recruitment |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | 4793062_1779532760 |
Summary
Your new company
A leading digital-forward hedge fund is seeking a legal professional to join on a contract of up to 6 months to support specifically with negotiating market data licences. The business operates within a high‑performance trading environment and is currently undergoing structural change.
This role requires office presence in the West End 5 days per week.
Your new role
You will play a key role in the business' repapering project, taking ownership of a specialist portfolio of work focused on market‑data licences. Your main responsibility will be reviewing, negotiating, and repapering exchange and non‑exchange data‑licensing agreements.
You may also be involved in:
- Managing updates to agreements with market‑data vendors, index providers, and other data sources
- Supporting the development of a stronger, more independent contractual and governance structure for data usage within the business
- Advising internal teams on contractual obligations, licencing restrictions, and regulatory considerations
- Serving as a subject‑matter expert on data‑licensing frameworks within a sophisticated trading environment
This role offers high visibility and the opportunity to influence a core strategic programme within a global investment business.
What you'll need to succeed
You must be a qualified solicitor or barrister from a financial services background with recent hands‑on experience negotiating exchange and non-exchange market‑data licencing. Although the role is typically suited to someone around 3-5 years' PQE, this is a guideline only, and candidates above or below that range are welcome to apply.
You must also have:
- Strong commercial contracting and negotiation skills
- Experience in contract repapering, remediation, or regulatory uplift
- The ability to operate independently and at pace, and communicate effectively with senior stakeholders
Experience working with market‑data providers such as index publishers, execution venues, or large financial‑data vendors would be really beneficial.
What you'll get in return
- A competitive salary, dependent on experience
- The opportunity to work within a globally respected investment environment
- Exposure to high‑impact, business‑critical data‑governance and licencing initiatives
- A collaborative, intellectually rigorous, and fast‑moving culture
What you need to do now
If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.
If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.
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