Senior Legal Counsel - Advisory and Intermediary Lead

Company Profile

Founded in 1977, GMO is a global investment manager committed to delivering superior long-term investment performance and advice to our clients. We offer investment strategies and solutions where we believe we are positioned to add the greatest value for our investors. These include multi-asset class, equity, fixed income and alternative offerings.

We manage approximately $80bn for a client base that includes many of the world’s most sophisticated institutions, financial intermediaries, and private clients. Industry-wide, we are well known for our focus on valuation-based investing, willingness to take bold positions when conditions warrant, and candid and academically rigorous thought leadership. Jeremy Grantham, GMO’s Co-Founder and Long-Term Investment Strategist, is renowned as an expert in identifying speculative investment bubbles and also as a leading climate investor and advocate.

GMO is privately owned and employs over 430 people worldwide. We are headquartered in Boston, with additional offices in Europe, Asia and Australia. Our company-wide culture emphasizes commitment to clients, intellectual curiosity, and open debate. We celebrate and respect our differences, while embracing and valuing what each of us brings to work, as we know that diverse teams in an inclusive, caring environment achieve higher engagement and better client results.

Please follow the prompts included in this job posting to apply. The application window for this role is anticipated to remain open until the job is filled, or as otherwise determined by GMO.

Position Overview:

GMO seeks to add a senior attorney to its Legal Team. The Senior Legal Counsel – Advisory and Intermediary Lead serves as a trusted legal advisor to the firm’s investment, client relationship, business development, and distribution teams. This role is responsible for providing strategic legal counsel across client advisory matters, intermediary relationships, and regulatory requirements, with a particular focus on complex investment mandates, distribution agreements, and global client structures. As a senior member of the Legal Team reporting to the General Counsel, this role partners closely with internal stakeholders to support asset growth, client retention, and regulatory compliance across U.S. and non‑U.S. markets. Over time, the successful candidate will, among other responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary legal advisor on complex institutional client matters, including negotiation of investment management agreements, guidelines, fee arrangements, and bespoke side letters for U.S. and non‑U.S. clients;
• Lead legal support for intermediary, model‑delivery, and distribution relationships, negotiating and structuring agreements with registered investment advisers, wirehouses, private banks, and platform partners;
• Partner closely with Investment, Client Relationship Management, Business Development, Operations and Product teams to deliver commercially pragmatic, risk‑aware legal advice that supports asset growth and client retention;
• Lead analysis and governance of fee arrangements, “Most Favored Nation” analysis, and affiliation rules to ensure regulatory compliance and risk mitigation; and
• Review and provide final legal sign‑off on RFP responses, due diligence questionnaires, and client‑facing disclosures.

Required Skill Set:

• JD with a minimum of 5-10 years legal experience.
• Experience advising asset managers, investment advisers, or financial services firms on client, fund, and distribution matters. Prior in-house experience preferred.
• Exceptional negotiation skills, with particular expertise in complex investment agreements, side letters, and intermediary arrangements, and ability to balance commercial objectives and regulatory obligations.
• Strong working knowledge of the Investment Advisers Act, as well as other U.S. and international regulatory frameworks applicable to asset management and distribution.
• Proven ability to operate independently while serving as a senior advisor to cross‑functional stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills (oral and written).
• Excellent listening skills.
• Analytical clarity and creativity.
• Lateral thinking and communication.
• Practical solutions in the face of business tradeoffs.
• Enthusiastic.
• Strong organizational skills – ability to take responsibility for and prioritize multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to consistently demonstrate sound judgment and the highest level of ethics and integrity.
• Strong financial product development experience and knowledge.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor others.
• Knowledge of tax related concepts helpful but not required.
• Love of the law and intellectual curiosity.
• Tenacious with the ability to move quickly and follow through on commitments.
• Strong work ethic and the ability to hold yourself and others to the highest standards.

GMO is committed to the recruitment, employment, and promotion of all candidates equally, regardless of an individual's gender, race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military or veteran status, genetic information, physical or mental disability (except where such disability is a bona fide occupational disqualification) or any other classification protected under federal, state or local law.