Associate (Mid to Senior level; Abu Dhabi)

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 240,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading international law firm is seeking to recruit an Associate (mid to senior level) to join their Global Transactions (Corporate) practice in Abu Dhabi. The successful candidate will handle a mix of private and public M&A work, participating in high profile transactions while developing client relationships. This role demands strong legal experience (3-6 years PQE) and an enthusiasm for business development in the MENA region, alongside a commitment to mentoring junior colleagues.

Qualifications

• 3 – 6 years PQE in England and Wales terms (or equivalent).
• Strong technical and commercial background.
• Committed to relocate to the Middle East.

Responsibilities

• Work on a wide variety of transactions for a range of clients.
• Mentor junior colleagues and demonstrate leadership.
• Contribute to developing client relationships.

Skills

3 – 6 years PQE

Strong academic record

Effective communication skills

Teamwork

Client service orientation

Education

Law degree

Job description

Department

We are widely regarded as having one of the leading corporate transactional and advisory practices in the world and we continue to act on some of the most prestigious and complex international deals – the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is no exception to this, where our corporate practice covers M&A (particularly cross border), joint ventures, securities and capital market transactions, regulatory, restructurings and reorganisations as well as more general corporate advisory work.

We act for a variety of organisations including sovereign wealth funds and government investment vehicles, leading regional and international corporates, international and regional banks, some of the most successful regional and international private equity houses, supporting them with their most complex and strategically important transactions.

Our core sectors include financial institutions, energy(especially oil & gas) and utilities, healthcare, retail and consumer and telecommunications within which we advise on outbound investments across the globe as well mandates throughout the region including in the GCC, wider Middle East and North Africa.

Our practice is ranked Band 1 across the Middle East by all of the leading legal research directories.

Our Middle East team has over 50 lawyers across the region in the UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai), Bahrain and Saudi Arabia (through our strategic alliance with the Law Firm of Salah Al-Hejailan). Our Global Transactions Practice is Freshfields MENA’s largest practice with experienced lawyers throughout the region.

Role Summary

We have advised clients in the MENA region for over 30 years and have been on the ground for over 10 years. During this time we have established the firm as a leader in the legal market, acting on many of the best deals and winning over key regional clients.

After another strong year, the MENA Global Transactions (Corporate) practice has a solid pipeline of work for the most high profile and highly sophisticated clients in the region. As a result, we are looking to recruit an Associate (mid to senior level subject to relevant experience) to join the Global Transactions (Corporate) practice in Abu Dhabi. The successful candidate will work on a broad mix of transactions, primarily focusing on private and public M&A work and joint ventures. Most of the work will have a significant international dimension (bringing with it real visibility across our network), and will range from some of the largest and most complex transactions to smaller deals which provide greater responsibility.

Key Responsibilities and Deliverables

• Working on a wide variety of transactions for a range of clients
• Working on full scale worldwide acquisitions of existing businesses, new ventures and a variety of joint ventures
• Involvement in the highest profile transactions in the market, not only regionally but globally
• Contributing to developing and deepening relationships with existing key clients
• Mentoring more junior colleagues and demonstrating leadership on corporate transactions
• Contributing to developing and managing client relationships
• Initiating specific business development activities

Key Requirements

• 3 – 6 years PQE in England and Wales terms (or equivalent)
• Committed to relocate and/ or pursue legal career in the Middle East
• Strong academic record and qualifications
• Strong technical and commercial background
• Highly effective communicator (both oral and written)
• Able to work effectively as part of a team
• Confident, self-motivated and committed to providing excellent client service
• Able to manage a high degree of responsibility of work demands
• Enthusiastic participant in business development activities, including networking, organising and delivering seminars, attending conferences and publishing as well as proactive involvement in knowledge management
• Our lawyers in Abu Dhabi work closely with colleagues in other offices and are responsible for transactions throughout the MENA region. The candidate must be willing and able to travel across the MENA region and further afield as and when required