The Financial Times is opening the position of New York legal correspondent, with a primary responsibility covering white collar crime and the enforcement authorities in the city, including the federal prosecutor’s offices in New York’s Southern and Eastern Districts, the Security and Exchange Commission and state and local regulators. These enforcement authorities are already a hotbed of core FT stories, including the investigation into Goldman Sachs’ involvement in the 1MDB scandal and Deutsche Bank’s dealings with the Trump Organisation. In a downturn, this is likely to become one of the busiest beats at the FT, since crises tend to reveal multiple instances corporate and financial malfeasance.
The successful candidate would work closely with Kadhim Shubber in the Washington bureau, divvying up the big cases and sharing tips and sourcing, and liaising with the legal team in London. There is also room to cover the big New York law firms and the broader legal community, who are loyal readers of the FT in the US and pile into stories we write about them, like the recent blockbuster Big Read on Kirkland & Ellis.
Key duties:
- Cover federal and New York City authorities responsible for investigating and prosecuting financial and corporate malfeasance
- Develop sources in the criminal defence bar and state and federal courts to break stories in core FT areas, including money laundering, insider trading and financial fraud
- Work closely with Washington and London correspondents to pursue big cases as part of a well-functioning team
- Assist on Trump and Mueller-related cases prosecuted in New York, particularly centred on Michael Cohen and the Trump Organisation
- Pick out unique angles on New York law firms and prominent lawyers for compelling reads on the legal community
- Report across all digital platforms and engage with our audience – especially the FT’s B2B professional services audience – through social media
- Participate in FT Live events and Special Reports
- Weekend shifts are required as part of the team rota
Who we are looking for
The successful candidate will have a proven track record of breaking stories on news-heavy beats, and shown an ability to work well within a team. A facility in the intricacies of international finance is preferred, given the frequently complicated cases brought by the SEC and federal authorities.
To apply, go here.
Chris RoushChris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.