Associate / Senior Associate, Corporate (Public M&A)

Ashurst; London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job description

About Ashurst

Ashurst is a leading progressive global law firm with a rich history spanning more than 200 years. We are proud of our history and are future-focused, having expanded into new technologies through our NewLaw division, Ashurst Advance, and our consulting arm. Our in-depth understanding of our clients and commitment to providing excellent standards of service have seen us become a trusted adviser to local and global corporates, financial institutions and governments in all areas of commercial law. To find out more please visit www.ashurst.com.

Team overview

Ashurst is acknowledged as having one of the world's leading international corporate practices and has a reputation for sensible, cost-effective and commercial advice. With over 100 partners across Europe, the Middle East, Australia and Asia, our expertise extends to advising on public and private M&A, private equity, equity capital markets, prime brokerage, investment funds, restructuring and insolvency together with a broad range of regulatory issues.

Our corporate team advises across a broad range of industry sectors including energy and infrastructure, financial services, insurance, healthcare, communications, manufacturing and real estate. Our corporate practice is fully integrated with our tax, finance, competition, IP, IT, employment and pensions teams.

The team handles transactions with international content including large, multi-jurisdictional deals and assists with structuring transactions to accommodate different international regulatory requirements. The team is ambitious to build on the extremely successful practice that already exists by adding team members with the same passion and drive for the industry as them.

Job overview

As a result of a growing pipeline of work, our Corporate Transactions team is looking to hire an experienced lawyer to join our team in London. The role will be primarily focused on public takeovers and other corporate finance transactions across all sectors, with roles acting for corporates and investment banks.

Main tasks:

1. Drafting and negotiating transaction documents: Draft, review and negotiate legal documents to effect public and private M&A transactions, including offer announcements and scheme and offer documents (for public M&A) and sale and purchase agreements (for private M&A), and ancillary transaction documents.
2. Due diligence: Project manage and lead large-scale due diligence exercises (both sell- and buy-side).
3. Transaction management: Liaise with colleagues and other advisors to ensure clients receive seamless advice and to ensure that client objectives and timelines are met.
4. Business development and networking activities.
5. Contributing to department know-how and training activities.
6. Nurturing and mentoring junior lawyers.
7. Risk and Control: Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with our regulatory requirements and internal policies.

Description of role:

• You will act with integrity to provide incisive advice to clients, and to work collaboratively with your colleagues in doing so;
• You will take day to day responsibility for matters, with suitable direct client contact, and will proactively progress complex matters with appropriate partner support;
• You will be able to demonstrate well developed verbal and written communication skills, and innovative drafting skills;
• You will be confident and effective in negotiations with clients and counterparties;
• You will be effective in communicating with clients in order to understand their needs and how best to meet them. You will also have the ability to assist clients in arriving at practical and cost effective solutions;
• You will be effective in forming and maintaining relationships with clients and identifying opportunities to strengthen client relationships;
• You will understand the way our business, competitors and clients are developing and work with the business development team to use this information to develop business opportunities;
• You will build and maintain a network of business contacts, both internally and externally;
• You will have excellent attention to detail, identifying inconsistencies that indicate problems with quality of work or a misunderstanding of clients' needs;
• You will gather information from a variety of sources to identify your own strengths and weaknesses;
• You will be able to identify when a team member needs support and will be approachable for advice, giving constructive feedback;
• You will contribute to the creation of a positive work environment and assist with training and development.

Essential skills and experience

• Associate/Senior associate with between 4-6 years post qualification corporate transactional experience with a focus on public takeovers and corporate finance / UK listed company transactional work.
• Enthusiastic team-player who can work effectively with colleagues at all levels.
• Excellent academic track record.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Experience of drafting, reviewing and negotiating legal documents and agreements in a private practice environment.
• An adaptable person who is a fast learner, with experience of dealing with multiple jurisdictions.
• Client facing experience and the ability to understand and respond effectively to client needs and build client relationships.
• Willingness to learn new skills and expand technical knowledge beyond core transactional skills.
• Technically excellent with strong attention to detail and well-developed analytical and drafting skills.
• Commercial approach and an ability to advise and negotiate in a considered, confident and authoritative manner across a wide variety of contractual arrangements.
• Ability to lead team on transactions or designated parts of transactions.
• Passion for delivering outstanding outcomes for clients in innovative ways.

Recent work

• Goldman Sachs and Citi on Aviva's offer for Direct Line.
• Renewi on its proposed takeover by Macquarie Asset Management.
• Tritax EuroBox on its competitive takeover process between Brookfield and SEGRO.
• Nyetimber on its takeover of The Lakes Distillery Company.

Career advancement

An established Associate Career Path Framework is in place clearly defining expectations and outlining opportunities for promotion.

Secondment opportunities

Opportunities often arise for associates to spend time on secondment in house with a key client of the firm. From time to time, secondment opportunities also come up within other Ashurst offices in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.

Background checks

In order to comply with regulatory and client requirements, Ashurst will undertake appropriate vetting of staff. When applicants accept a job offer, Ashurst, alongside a specialist provider, will undertake professional verification and background checks. These checks are only undertaken with consent, and in accordance with our legal and regulatory obligations.