Associate - Corporate (2-4PQE)

Charles Russell Speechlys; Cheltenham; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Equal Opportunities Employer

DEI networks information

Job summary

Charles Russell Speechlys in Cheltenham is seeking an Associate to join the Corporate team. The role will advise on high-profile UK and cross-border mergers, acquisitions and capital markets work, with opportunities to work with several partners and international matters.

The successful candidate will be England and Wales qualified with 2-4 PQE, have experience in corporate transactions, and be comfortable with hybrid working and contributing to client development.

Qualifications

• Be an England and Wales qualified lawyer with 2-4 PQE.
• Experience of working within a corporate team on a range of transactions.
• Demonstrate good judgement and commercial understanding of clients' needs.
• Experience using AI tools in a legal context to support delivery of work.

Responsibilities

• Deliver clear, practical, commercially focused legal advice to clients.
• Handle a varied corporate workload including mergers, acquisitions and disposals.
• Produce accurate and timely drafting with precedents.
• Support business development and client relationship building.
• Collaborate with partners across offices on cross-border matters.

Skills

Legal drafting

Client communication

Commercial awareness

Cross-border experience

Team collaboration

Education

England and Wales qualified lawyer (2-4 PQE)

Job description

Forming an integral part of the Corporate team, the Associate role will advise a range of clients throughout all stages of the business life cycle. Working for a range of partners within the group, this is an opportunity for those looking to develop their careers within a friendly collegiate team that is widely recognised for its expertise in this area.

The Corporate team advises on a broad range of high-profile UK and cross border mergers, acquisitions and disposals (both public and private) as well as IPO’s and offerings of securities on the Official List, and AIM and private placements, acting for issuers, financial advisers and brokers.

The team in Cheltenham consists of three Partners, one Senior Associate, two Associates, and one Trainee, supported by the Internal Client Services team.

This role will be based in our Cheltenham office and the Associate will work closely with Adrian Mayer, Jonathan Morley and Edward Robinson. Adrian advises on national and international private equity, M&A and investment work in addition to general corporate advisory mandates, together with some public company work. Jonathan’s practice is primarily corporate finance with particular experience in mergers and acquisitions (public and private), private equity and joint ventures. Edward advises on a range of UK and international work involving M&A and private equity, with a particular focus on family businesses and investors & entrepreneurs, including family investment companies. The workload and the practices of the partners are varied and interesting, with much of the work having an international element. The corporate practice managed from the Cheltenham office is international and involves US, European, and Africa based and focussed, clients. Partners and team members often work with others in the national and international offices of the Firm. Some travel nationally will be required (if only to the London office periodically), and on rare occasions internationally too.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities (this is a broad but not exhaustive list)

• Enable clients to make informed decisions by delivering clear, practical and commercially focused legal advice that addresses their objectives and risks, with an expectation for proactivity, and taking early and continued responsibility for a number of matters at any one time.
• Deliver a varied and substantial workload efficiently, cost effectively and to agreed standards, ensuring matters progress appropriately with supervision aligned to level of expertise, on timelines that may require a dedication to client service during intense periods or transactional work (including outside usual working hours, as required).
• Produce accurate and logical drafting that supports effective matter progression and makes appropriate use of precedents.
• Provide well-researched, relevant and commercially sound advice by identifying and applying the most accurate and appropriate legal sources.
• Support the growth of the department’s client base and referral network by contributing to client marketing, business development and relationship-building activities.
• Strengthen divisional knowledge-sharing by contributing to know-how initiatives, resources and best practice.
• Comply with all relevant legal and regulatory obligations including the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Standards and Regulations, and Principles.

Skills and Experience

• Be an England and Wales qualified lawyer (or equivalent) with 2-4 PQE
• Experience of working within in a corporate team and on a range of corporate transactions
• Demonstrate good judgement and a good legal and commercial understanding of client’s needs
• Practical experience of using AI tools in a legal context to support the efficient and effective delivery of legal work.
• Experience of collaborating effectively with wider teams across the firm on transactions spanning a range of corporate matters.
• An interest in international corporate work and the ambition to develop expertise in cross-border matters.

Person Specification

• Able to effectively communicate, both in writing and verbally, to ensure that complex information is delivered clearly, concisely and relevant to the audience.
• Builds trusted working relationships with a range of stakeholders, including clients, to support collaboration, alignment and delivery.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and translate insights into actionable recommendations.
• Responds effectively to changing priorities while maintaining progress against key outcomes and meeting deadlines.
• Maintains quality, accuracy and attention to detail when working to competing demands or time pressures.
• Plans and prioritises work effectively to deliver agreed outcomes on time.

Hybrid working - We adopt a hybrid and flexible working approach, dependent on the requirements of the role and subject to manager approval.

Charles Russell Speechlys is an Equal Opportunities Employer, and we are committed to developing an increasingly diverse, inclusive and supportive culture where everyone can be themselves, feel valued, and that they can thrive and belong. Please see here for more information on our employee-led DEI Networks.

For a detailed specification please download the job description in the documents section of this page.