Commercial & Litigation Counsel

Job Profile:

Vista is the leading private aviation company for Fortune 500 corporations, governments, and ultra-high net worth individuals around the globe.  Headquartered in Dubai with offices in London, New York, Ft. Lauderdale, Columbus, Los Angeles, Malta, Hamburg, and Hong Kong, Vista subsidiaries have flown to over 185 countries, covering 96% of the globe, on the world’s largest wholly owned fleet of large cabin jets.

We are looking for an experienced litigator to join a talented group of international attorneys. The principal focus for this role will be the hands-on, day-to-day administration of the company’s commercial legal matters, with a focus on the global offensive debt collection portfolio, but will also include a wide-range of litigation & pre-litigation responsibilities across departments. In addition to litigation matters, this new hire will have an immediate and meaningful opportunity to work on general commercial matters, including the negotiation and drafting of high-value contracts.

This is an amazing opportunity for a litigator in private practice looking to transition in-house and/or for a litigation-focused attorney hoping to expand their generalist in-house skillset and experience.

• Manage the day-to-day of a global litigation portfolio comprised principally of offensive collection matters on five continents and support company-wide litigation efforts:
  
• Draft litigation and settlement related documents (LBAs, cease & desists, pre-litigation letter writing exchanges, settlement and release agreements, briefs and motions, mediation statements, etc.)
• Manage worldwide outside counsel, asset tracers and other third-party vendors, including vendor selection and negotiation of engagement terms.
• Prepare, track, and report on litigation budgets.
• Review, redline, negotiate and approve vendor invoices.
• Review documents and support wider e-discovery efforts.
• Prepare legal memos, reports, assessments, and models.
• Identify and trace assets.
• Attend mediations, hearings, etc.
• Maintain litigation trackers.
• Engage and work closely with other departments.
• Monitor cases and provide regular updates to stakeholders.
  
• Draft, review and negotiate commercial legal agreements (including charter and flight service contracts, loyalty and referral programs, marketing and publicity agreements, partnerships, terms and conditions, vendor contracts, SLAs, NDAs, etc.)
  
• Communicate with third parties, including clients, debtors, vendors, governments, and opposing counsel.
• Develop a solid understanding of the company’s negotiation positions and business goals.
• Lead cross-departmental programs from scoping to implementation.
• Assist with compliance and privacy requests, including Data Subject Access Requests.
• Conduct legal research and prepare analysis for stakeholders.
• Provide other legal advice and support as requested.

• Qualified attorney (solicitor or barrister/advocate) admitted to practice law in England & Wales or Scotland, with minimum 4-5 years’ of relevant and progressive litigation experience in-house or at a firm.
• Hands-on, no-project-too-small outlook. Commercially minded; able to get deals done.
• Digitally literate and familiar with e-discovery platforms.
• Self-starter; able to work autonomously from time-to-time; excellent time management.
• Able to monitor emails during peak periods, including evenings and weekends.
• Willingness to learn and embrace new challenges / new areas of law, with genuine ambition to progress within legal and the aviation industry.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; able to translate legal matters to non-legal audience.

Preferred Qualifications

• UK High Court and arbitration experience (e.g., LCIA) a strong plus.
• Experience with US law, courts, litigation and attorneys (particularly New York).
• Experience with international debt collection and award enforcement.
• Experience with UK employment law and tribunals.