Associate

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Brussel Hoofdstad; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Brussels is seeking an ambitious corporate law Associate with 4 to 8 years of relevant experience to work on complex M&A and finance transactions across cross-border matters. You will advise clients, draft and negotiate contracts, manage transactions and due diligences, and develop strong client relationships.

You should hold a Belgian law degree with excellent academic records; a post-graduate degree is an asset.

Qualifications

• 4–8 years of relevant experience in corporate law.
• Belgian law degree with top academic records; post-graduate degree is an asset.
• Strong communication skills in English, Dutch and French.
• Ambitious, creative, proactive with high responsibility.

Responsibilities

• Advising clients on a wide range of corporate and finance law matters.
• Drafting/negotiating corporate/M&A contracts and capital markets documentation.
• Managing transactions and performing legal due diligences.
• Managing client relationships and business development activities.

Skills

Negotiation

Legal drafting

Due diligence

Client relationships

Mentoring juniors

Education

Belgian law degree

Post-graduate degree (asset)

Job description

Our Brussels office has leading expertise in corporate law, M&A, corporate restructurings, capital markets, banking and finance, tax, dispute resolution, real estate and employment law. With a team of over 160 people and 20 different nationalities, we offer a truly international working environment.

You will have the opportunity to work on challenging, engaging work that will give you the opportunity to make your mark and progress your career. We believe there is no better place to work.

Freshfields’ Global Transactions practice brings together lawyers working collaboratively to provide the best transactional advice to clients, we act for private and public companies, banks, governments and states, amongst others. We are consistently ranked at the top of the league tables in Europe, Asia and globally. Most of our work has a cross-border element, requiring us to draw on the expertise of our global transactions lawyers in other offices across the network.

The department and the firm place great emphasis on developing and supporting your career. Our training and know-how support is very highly regarded. We are looking for a corporate law Associates with broad experience from a leading practice, with a particular interest in and focus on complex transactions.

Key responsibilities

• Advising clients on a wide range of corporate and finance law matters;
• Drafting/negotiating corporate/M&A contracts, as well as equity and debt capital markets documentation;
• Managing transactions and performing legal due diligences;
• Managing client relationships;
• Actively participating in business development activities and client events;
• Training/managing junior team members.

What we offer

• You will have the opportunity to work on a wide variety of challenging projects together with our corporate partners. You will also closely cooperate with other members of our competition, finance, tax, employment, dispute resolution, real estate and regulatory teams based in Brussels and in other Freshfields offices for multijurisdictional transactions.
• Our structured network allows new legal developments to be shared rapidly among the teams, which is a real added value for our clients and for our lawyers.
• Regular participation in international technical and personal skills trainings taking place in different parts of the world bringing together lawyers from all around the network.
• In addition to the challenging assignments and the international environment, we offer a highly competitive rewards package.

Qualifications

• We are seeking an ambitious and highly motivated lawyer with 4 to 8 years of relevant experience, combined with outstanding technical and commercial skills and a strong commitment to delivering high-quality work.
• In addition to your Belgian law degree (with first-class academic records), a post-graduate degree is an asset.
• You are creative, curious and rigorous, have excellent communication skills and are able to take on a high degree of responsibility. You are also proactive and committed to providing an excellent service to clients.
• You can work in English, Dutch and French.