Associate/Senior Associate - Banking

Michelmores; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Michelmores in the South West is seeking an Associate or Senior Associate to join the Banking team in Bristol or Exeter on a hybrid basis. You will support the delivery of first‑class client service and play a key role in managing complex finance transactions.

The ideal candidate will have 3–6 years’ post‑qualification experience in banking and finance, strong client relationships, and excellent communication and commercial understanding to help grow the firm’s offering in this area.

Qualifications

• 3–6 years' post-qualification experience advising on banking and finance transactions.
• Proven track record leading banking and finance transactions.
• Experience with real estate, corporate lending, development finance and related matters.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a wide variety of banking and finance transactions.
• Draft and negotiate facility agreements, security documents, intercreditor arrangements and related finance documentation.
• Advise lenders and borrowers on new lending arrangements, refinancings and restructurings.
• Coordinate multi-disciplinary teams and collaborate with corporate, real estate and private wealth groups.
• Develop and maintain strong client relationships and identify opportunities for further collaboration and business development.
• Mentor junior lawyers and contribute to the team’s strategic growth areas.

Skills

Banking and Finance transactions

Client relationship management

Commercial awareness

Interpersonal communication

Job description

Are you keen to find an exciting new role where you will be part of a dynamic, forward-thinking, agile team? If so, come and join us on the journey.

Why Michelmores? Michelmores is the destination law firm for the ambitious, the imaginative and the distinctive. We help enterprises and individuals navigate change to find a positive future.

We are a flexible, friendly and inclusive organisation with as clear a focus on fresh thinking as we have on growth and success. We value and nurture our people’s potential and inspiration and give them a creative, open and collaborative environment in which to develop a career and succeed.

We believe that whatever your legal experience, you’ll find Michelmores different. From day one we encourage our people to forge relationships and expand their understanding and knowledge of areas that interest them – developing an understanding of commercial challenges and opportunities, rather than just knowing the law. We nurture creative and commercial thinking to help in your long-term career success – it mirrors our approach to ensuring the very best outcomes for our clients too.

Finally, our culture really is something special to us. At Michelmores we take pride in how we all work together, whatever our role or seniority, and you’ll really grow and thrive because we encourage people to develop in areas that excite them or makes them different. That’s how we nurture the brightest and best lawyers.

What sort of work? Our highly experienced Banking team is looking for an Associate or Senior Associate to join them in either Bristol or Exeter. In this role you will support the team in delivering first-class service to clients. This will include:-

• Leading and managing a wide variety of finance transactions, including real estate finance, acquisition finance, corporate lending, development finance, project finance and impact investment transactions.
• Drafting, negotiating and advising on facility agreements, security documents, intercreditor arrangements, loan notes and related finance documentation.
• Advising both lenders and borrowers on new lending arrangements, refinancings and restructurings.
• Managing transaction workstreams, coordinating multi-disciplinary teams and working collaboratively with colleagues across the firm, including corporate, real estate and private wealth teams.
• Supporting complex domestic and international transactions, working alongside overseas counsel where required.
• Developing and maintaining strong client relationships, acting as a trusted adviser and identifying opportunities for further collaboration and business development.
• Assisting with mentoring and developing junior lawyers, helping to maintain high technical standards across the team.
• Contributing to the team's strategic growth areas.

Why this team? Our banking and finance team act for banks, financial institutions, alternative lenders, family offices, development finance institutions, impact funds, borrowers and other stake holders in a wide variety of banking and finance related matters, including support on the financial components of commercial property, projects and infrastructure transactions as well as corporate finance and banking transactions. The team is known for sustainable finance transactions, both domestically where it has advised in respect of ground-breaking nature-based projects and internationally, advising in respect of impact investments across the emerging markets.

We offer a first rate, highly commercial, expedient and economic service based on our thorough knowledge of the subject, sector expertise and the unrivalled experience of our banking and finance team, with particular specialisms in renewable energy project finance, impact investment matters, private wealth, bridging, development and other property-based lending.

Karen Williams heads up the firm's Banking team and is recognised as a "Next Generation Partner" in The Legal 500 and a "Notable Practitioner" in Chambers and Partners. The Banking team sits as part of the wider Corporate team.

The team is well known for the high value and complex work it undertakes, particularly in the spheres of impact investment and private wealth, both domestically and internationally, which make it unique in the Southwest market.

Our clients include HSBC, Triodos Bank, Standard Bank, Rebalance Earth, Impact Fund Denmark, Triple Point, Gresham House, Oxbury Bank, Octopus Real Estate, Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation, Norfund, all of whom we work with on some of the highest profile deals in the Southwest, nationally and internationally.

How do we work? We take a flexible, agile approach to working patterns. As a team we agree together on the best working arrangements that will enable each of us to provide exceptional client service, to collaborate and connect with colleagues, and to achieve the right home/work balance.

As a Firm we are committed to supporting our people across all levels to achieve the balance they need. We are open to talking about flexible working and empower any candidate to put forward a flexible working pattern to meet their needs.

Who are we looking for? We are looking for somebody who will understand our values and thrive in our culture. An ambitious and commercially astute lawyer, you will have gained broad experience and be looking to develop your expertise further and help to grow the firm's offering this area. The role will be based at either our Bristol or Exeter office (on a hybrid basis) and the ideal candidate will have:

• A strong track record of leading banking and finance transactions and managing client relationships
• Between 3 and 6 years' post-qualification experience advising on banking and finance transactions
• Solid experience in sectors where we have a strong national reputation, such as the Sustainable Economy, Impact Investing, Financial Services, Private Wealth, Real Estate and International
• Strong interpersonal skills, being an effective communicator at all levels (written and verbal)
• A commercial, pro-active and professional approach to work
• The ability to master their business development skills and professional networks as well as their legal expertise
• Self-confidence, initiative, and be an innovative thinker
• Self-motivation and commitment to working towards goals with strong enthusiasm and career commitment

This is a great opportunity to join a Firm which believes potential, inspiration, and teamwork should be valued and nurtured.

We work hard to create and sustain an open and collaborative environment. We embrace change and constantly evolve to meet our people’s diverse needs, in the same way that we help our clients to navigate and stay ahead of developments, to move forward together.

Michelmores LLP is an Equal Opportunities Employer

We do not discriminate on grounds of race, gender, marital status, age, religion, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, disability or sexual orientation in the selection, recruitment and treatment of our staff.

View our Inclusion and Belonging pages for more information.

As part of our recruitment policy our candidates are subject to pre-employment screening checks. The Employee Screening Process includes DBS screening, adverse media checks, financial screening, and will also involve verification of employment history, your right to work in the UK and any relevant qualifications and memberships. If you would like further information around this, at this stage, please get in touch with our recruitment team ([e-mail])

*No agencies please – any agency assistance will be via invitation only. Please note any speculative candidates submitted via agencies without invitation will not be considered as represented by that agent.