Competition Associate

We are Buchanan; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

We are Buchanan, a leading international law firm in London, seeks a mid-level Competition Associate for the Competition, Regulation & Trade practice. The role focuses on non-contentious advisory, merger control, foreign investment, and regulatory issues.

You will work on cross-border matters, coordinate with corporate and regulatory teams, and draft competition submissions. The ideal candidate has 2–5 PQE, strong UK competition experience, and excellent drafting and analytical skills.

Qualifications

• Strong non-contentious competition experience.
• Broad transactional competition background preferred.
• UK competition experience highly desirable.
• At least two years’ recent experience in the UK market.
• Excellent academic record, ideally 2:1.

Responsibilities

• Advise on UK and international Competition law matters.
• Work on merger control analysis and filings.
• Advise on foreign investment and FDI regimes.
• Support corporate transactions on Competition issues.
• Provide broader antitrust and regulatory advice.
• Work on complex multi-jurisdictional matters.
• Coordinate with Corporate, Regulatory and other teams.
• Draft Competition submissions and strategic advice.
• Manage substantive workstreams on major transactions.
• Work directly with partners and clients.
• Support the continued growth of the non-contentious Competition practice.

Skills

Non-contentious Competition

UK Competition experience

Job description

Practice Area: Competition / Antitrust
PQE: 2–5 years

Overview

A leading international law firm is seeking a mid-level Competition Associate to join its London Competition, Regulation & Trade practice.

The role is focused on the non-contentious side of Competition law and would suit a lawyer with a broad transactional and advisory background rather than a predominantly contentious practice.

The successful candidate will advise on a range of Competition matters including merger control, foreign investment, transactional support and wider antitrust and regulatory issues.

The team has been actively growing and is looking to add another strong associate as part of that continued expansion.

What You’ll Do

• Advise on UK and international Competition law matters.
• Work on merger control analysis and filings.
• Advise on foreign investment and FDI regimes.
• Support corporate transactions on Competition issues.
• Provide broader antitrust and regulatory advice.
• Work on complex multi-jurisdictional matters.
• Coordinate with Corporate, Regulatory and other specialist teams.
• Draft Competition submissions and strategic advice.
• Manage substantive workstreams on major transactions.
• Work directly with partners and clients.
• Support the continued growth of the non-contentious Competition practice.

About You

• Approximately 2–5PQE.
• Strong non-contentious Competition experience.
• Broad transactional Competition background preferred.
• UK Competition experience highly desirable.
• Ideally at least two years’ recent experience practising in the UK market.
• Merger control experience desirable but not necessarily essential.
• Exposure to regulatory Competition matters and foreign investment work advantageous.
• Strong technical, analytical and drafting skills.
• Excellent academic record, ideally including a minimum 2:1 degree.
• Comfortable working on complex and cross-border matters.
• Commercial, collaborative and confident dealing with clients.

Candidates do not necessarily need to be England & Wales qualified. Lawyers qualified in other relevant jurisdictions may be considered where they have substantive recent London Competition experience.

Why Apply?

• Join a leading international Competition, Regulation & Trade practice.
• Focus on broad non-contentious Competition work rather than competition litigation.
• Gain exposure across mergers, FDI, regulatory Competition matters and transactional support.
• Avoid becoming overly specialised in a single area of antitrust work.
• Join a team that has been actively investing in lateral growth
• Work on complex UK and cross-border Competition mandates.
• Benefit from close integration with strong Corporate, Regulatory and Disputes practices.
• Develop within a high-quality multidisciplinary platform.
• Approximately 1,700 billable-hour target.
• Strong option for Competition lawyers seeking a broad transactional practice within a top-tier international firm.