Senior Associate - Restructuring & Insolvency

This is an IT support group; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 90,000

Job description

About the team

The specialist non-contentious Restructuring and Insolvency (R&I) team is part of the wider firm's Banking & Finance team which is across the two main UK offices, Birmingham and London. The R&I team works as a combined team across the offices and with the contentious insolvency colleagues who are part of the firm's wider litigation team. Typical work assignments include:

• Acting for insolvency practitioners on transactional work and Work for Insolvency confidential contingency planning projects.
• Advising boards of directors on their duties on trading whilst insolvent.
• Reviewing security and lending packages for a variety of lender clients.
• Advisory work on complex exits acting for corporates, lenders, investors, and other stakeholders, including members' voluntary liquidations and dissolution.
• Advising clients on all types of insolvency processes, sales, and purchases from insolvency, including pre-packaged administration, trading, and partial group insolvency work.

The team also works closely with the firm's market-leading pensions practice, dealing with deficit and distress situations, and helping devise creative solutions for both trustees and corporate sponsors.

The Banking & Finance team covers all aspects of finance work including acquisition finance, asset finance, general corporate and syndicated lending, securitisation and debt capital markets, project finance and distressed advisory work, restructuring, and corporate recovery. The Finance team acts for UK clearing banks, U.S. and European banks, financial institutions, debt funds and alternative lenders, as well as for borrowers, investors, corporates, funds, and private equity houses, pension trustees, receivers, and insolvency practitioners.

The R&I team members work and market closely with members of the firm's Dispute Resolution Group who specialize in insolvency, fraud, and director disqualification work and work alongside all of the firm's Sector teams.

We provide a partner-led service to clients, in a close-knit team in which every member plays a key part in client delivery and marketing initiatives.

About the role

We are looking for a Senior/Principal Associate to join our non-contentious Restructuring and Insolvency team based in Birmingham.

About you

We are looking for a qualified solicitor that has Restructuring and Insolvency experience.

• The candidate must be experienced in acting for creditors, lenders, insolvency practitioners, and companies on the full range of insolvency, rescue, and restructuring matters. The candidate will report directly to the Restructuring partners across Birmingham and London and will be a key member within this close-knit team which advises various stakeholders on all types of debt restructuring and enforcement, including contingency planning and security-related issues.

• The candidate must already have good experience of working with lenders and insolvency practitioners on non-contentious insolvency matters such as administrations, liquidations, other insolvency processes, pre-pack insolvencies, and advising on the review of security and debt advisory work.

• Technical knowledge of insolvency is required with a toolkit knowledge of insolvency and distressed banking work (such as advising on and drafting standstill agreements, reservations of rights, waivers, and defaults) will help.

The candidate will need to have good technical knowledge and an understanding of current legal principles and current technical knowledge in recovery/restructuring, security issues, and insolvency processes; having had exposure to insolvency processes, security, and banking matters with client communication in this field, together with experience of insolvency transaction and advisory work.

A commitment to business development within the restructuring and insolvency community will be expected; established connections in the market would be an advantage.

In return, the team can offer excellent training and exposure to all types of distressed finance work with a view to building long-term career opportunities within the firm. We would expect the candidate to be able to deliver excellent advice on a broad range of issues, including:

• Administration and receivership appointments.
• Advice to directors on their duties in distressed circumstances.
• Asset disposals by administrators/liquidators including pre-packaged solutions.
• Advising on the validity of secured lender's security.
• Experience of some restructuring work.
• Providing refinancing and fundraising advice.
• Advising Banks and other financial institutions on their enforcement strategy including insolvency options.
• Knowledge of anti-avoidance issues, such as preference, transactions at undervalue.
• Knowledge of general banking matters e.g., facility agreements, intercreditor agreements, and deeds of priority and security documents.
• Any other reasonable duties delegated by any Partner, Senior Manager or Group Support Manager of the firm.

What We Can Offer You

The opportunity to work for a firm that has been recognised as one of the best places to work in the UK and has been ranked by Great Place to Work for 24 consecutive years. Excellent benefits, including:

• A hybrid approach to office and remote working.
• 25 days annual leave, with the option to buy up to a week's extra annual leave.
• Private medical insurance, and the option to add family members.
• A generous pension allowance.
• Life assurance covering four times your annual salary.
• The chance of a three-month sabbatical every five years.
• Maternity, paternity, and adoption leave schemes.
• A range of health and wellbeing programmes.
• State-of-the-art offices, in the heart of Birmingham City Centre, with an onsite restaurant.
• Opportunities to flourish in your role through training and personal development.

Equal Opportunities

Gowling WLG is committed both to promoting equality and diversity in the firm and to Equal Opportunities in employment. The firm believes in equality of opportunity regardless of race or racial group (including colour, nationality, ethnicity, national origins), religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender reassignment and gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy, maternity and paternity. This also includes any incidents of perceptive or associative discrimination and harassment.

At Gowling WLG we seek to attract and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures, to create an exciting and rewarding place to work. Our aim is to fulfil everyone's potential and together to achieve personal and business goals.

If you have any queries in relation to this position or would like to see a full job description please contact Nana Panti-Amoa [e-mail]