Legal Counsel, Banking / Financing (Project finance)
Mistral AI
- Location
- Paris
- Employment
- Full Time
- Work model
- On-Site
- Level
- Mid
- Posted
- 25d ago
Skills
About this role
About Mistral Mistral provides full-stack AI solutions: from frontier models to developer tools, applications, and compute. We partner with enterprises tackling the hardest problems—across high-stakes industries like finance, manufacturing, defense, healthcare, and the public sector—co-creating customized AI systems that they can run on their terms. We are a dynamic, collaborative team passionate about AI and its potential to transform society. Our diverse workforce thrives in competitive environments and is committed to driving innovation. Our teams are distributed between Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East. We are creative, low-ego and team-spirited.
Role
Summary As our Project Finance - Banking / Financing Legal Counsel , you will work side by side with our corporate counsel and directly under the Head of M&A and Finance Legal Counsel, based in Paris. In close collaboration with our Finance and Business teams, you will be instrumental in structuring, drafting, and negotiating the financing transactions that fuel Mistral's external growth — from compute infrastructure and data center investments to strategic company acquisitions.
Key responsibilities
Financing Transactions • Structure, draft, negotiate, and close transaction documentation on non-dilutive financing transactions, including corporate loans, asset-backed financings, and project finance deals supporting our infrastructure and compute investments. • Act as the primary legal point of contact for banking and financing counterparties, working with LMA-standard documentation and bespoke structures alike. • Advise on financing structures for data center and compute infrastructure projects. • Coordinate with external law firms on cross-border financing structures and manage multi-jurisdictional transaction teams. Cross-functional Partnership • Partner daily with the Finance team (Treasury, FP&A) to ensure financing solutions are aligned with Mistral's capital strategy and operational needs. • Collaborate with M&A, Compute, and Business teams to support deal-specific financing structures. • Provide practical, hands-on legal guidance that enables the business to move fast while limiting legal risks. Legal Infrastucture • Build and maintain internal templates, precedents, and guidelines for financing documentation. • Support on ancillary legal topics as needed, including corporate compliance, insurance, and Sapin II-related matters. Qualifications and skills • Bachelor degree or above (LLB, LLM, Juris Doctor preferred) from an accredited law school in France or another EU country. Admission to practice law in at least one other jurisdiction, in particular in the USA, would be a plus. • A minimum of 7 years of relevant legal experience, including a minimum of 4 years in an international law firm. • Proven track record in structuring and negotiating non-dilutive financing deals, including corporate loans, bridge facilities, asset-backed and project finance transactions. Familiarity with LMA standard documentation is required. • Strong experience in project finance or infrastructure financing, particularly deals involving long-term capex or compute and data center infrastructure, is highly valued. • Demonstrated ability to navigate cross-border structuring questions and multi-jurisdictional financing deals, including coordinating with local external counsel. • Excellent written and verbal communication in both English and French. Strong ability to present complex legal concepts in a clear and understandable manner to non-legal stakeholders. • Sharp business acumen, honed through direct experience working within businesses — ideally across multiple industries — where you have delivered measurable impact and demonstrated a deep understanding of operational and strategic priorities. • Great negotiation skills, with a history of successfully leading critical discussions with banks,