Knowledge Lawyer/Senior Knowledge Lawyer

A&O Shearman; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading international law firm in London seeks a Knowledge Lawyer/Senior Knowledge Lawyer to support their Corporate M&A team. The ideal candidate will have technical knowledge of company law and experience with M&A transactions. This role provides flexibility, good work/life balance, and a collaborative work environment with opportunities for innovation and personal development.

Benefits

Occupational pension scheme

Private medical insurance

Access to mental health resources

Onsite gym and wellbeing services

Holiday entitlement increasing with length of service

Qualifications

• Minimum three years of post-qualification experience (PQE).
• Experience as a Knowledge Lawyer or in-house lawyer at a financial institution is preferred.
• A proactive self-starter who enjoys a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Produce and maintain high-quality documentation for partners.
• Prepare guidance material to enable colleagues access to current practices.
• Conduct legal research and prepare authoritative analyses.

Skills

Technical competence in corporate law

Strong commercial/business acumen

Excellent communication skills

Ability to work with senior figures

Collaborative team player

Education

Qualified lawyer - minimum of three years PQE

Job description

Overview

A&O Shearman are recruiting a Knowledge Lawyer/Senior Knowledge Lawyer to join our market-leading Corporate M&A Practice in London.

Department purpose

A&O Shearman advise across the broad spectrum of corporate work including public takeovers, private M&A, private equity, ECM, complex joint ventures, disposals and corporate restructurings, as well as general commercial, antitrust and corporate governance issues. We are a truly global adviser with an enviable geographic footprint. Our corporate and M&A team spans all of our offices and works seamlessly with a global community of relationship law firms. This platform provides our clients with the confidence that they will receive the highest quality advice in both their domestic markets and as they expand into new territories. We are a leading adviser on strategic M&A transactions having advised on more than 2,180 deals worth over GBP1.2 trillion in the last five years (source: Mergermarket). Our consistently high rankings in the corporate league tables highlight the strength of our practice. Cross-border work is where we excel, and the majority of our transactions have a multi-jurisdictional focus. Strong teamwork and efficient working practices and uniform approaches enable us to manage cross-border deals effectively and seamlessly.

Role purpose

We are recruiting a Knowledge Lawyer or (depending on experience) Senior Knowledge Lawyer to support our corporate M&A team, with particular responsibility for supporting a group of general M&A lawyers with a focus on the financial institutions sector. The role requires up-to-date technical knowledge of company law and private and public M&A transactions. An understanding of the regulatory regime applicable to financial institutions and/or experience of advising on M&A transactions in the financial institutions sector would also be useful. The successful candidate will be part of our broader Corporate Knowledge Team. They will work closely with the partners and other fee earners in a busy, friendly and supportive team with responsibility for managing our M&A resources, know-how and training and for keeping the team informed of regulatory and market changes. They will be proactive in identifying issues on which the team and its clients need to be briefed, and able to pitch those briefings at the right level for the relevant audience. The ability to start a project and see it through to completion, together with a commitment to meeting regular deadlines, are essential qualities to maintain the smooth running of our range of added value services. The role demands both creative thinking and efficient working: alongside our in-house specialists, this role will have the opportunity to produce exceptional, innovative client products and events to enhance our brand and will also have an important role in facilitating the day-to-day working of the M&A team through training, meetings and technical support. The successful individual should have a keen awareness of the wider commercial and corporate landscape, combined with an eye for operational detail and legal tech opportunities. A&O Shearman's Knowledge Lawyers are highly regarded members of the teams they support within our international network. The Knowledge Lawyer role offers flexibility and good work/life balance and these particular roles can be either full or part time (four days per week), with a combination of in office and at home working.

Role & responsibilities

Legal Knowledge

• Up-to-date technical knowledge of company law, and experience of advising on private and public M&A transactions
• An understanding of the regulatory regime applicable to financial institutions and/or experience of advising on M&A transactions in the financial institutions sector would also be useful

Principal areas of responsibility

• Under general guidance about priorities, produce and maintain high quality documentation to provide partners and associates with cost effective and timely precedents which help progress client business
• Prepare effective guidance material such as practice notes to enable colleagues to access material which is fully up to date with precedent and practice
• Prepare updates in line with legal developments to inform colleagues and clients of implications
• Respond accurately, usefully and in a timely way to specific requests from partners and associates on complex legal matters within own area of expertise
• As requested, research legal or client/market related material to provide senior colleagues with clear and authoritative analyses
• Support partners and associates as required in their client relationship development through preparing and/or identifying useful written, electronic and training materials
• Gather, synthesise and produce good quality, up to date and readable material for inclusion in the firm's opinion pieces
• Assist and, when necessary, participate in important projects designed to ensure A&O Shearman's knowledge base and documentation is maintained in line with new legislation, regulation, significant case law etc.
• Participate in the design and delivery of training programmes to inform colleagues and clients about current law, legal developments and implications
• Maintain and develop own knowledge of law, practice areas, clients and current issues to grow expertise, reputation and usefulness to A&O Shearman
• Identify and collaborate on legal tech opportunities for the M&A practice

Key requirements

• Qualified lawyer - minimum of three years PQE
• Technical competence in corporate law and corporate transactional experience as expected at level of qualification
• Self-starter with the desire and ability to continuously acquire, build upon, and share knowledge
• Will have worked successfully as a Knowledge Lawyer or transactional associate in a leading law firm, or as an in-house lawyer at a financial institution
• Ability to work with senior figures within a complex international organisation
• Strong commercial/business acumen with the ability to deliver creative, innovative and pragmatic solutions and advice
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interface at all levels and particularly to win the respect of the partner, fee-earner and knowledge lawyer community, building and developing strong internal and external client relationships
• Collaborative team player with the ability to develop and work in a fast paced, intellectually rigorous environment
• Individual who enjoys both the operational and strategic sides of this role and shows great flexibility
• A person of sound judgment, able to establish a high level of credibility in the organisation and act as a trusted advisor to fee-earners

Should you require additional support at any stage of the recruitment process due to a disability or a health condition, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our recruitment team who will work with you to provide any adjustments as required. We are an equal opportunities recruiter and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic. We recognise that our people are our most valuable asset, which is reflected in the wide range of benefits that are available to our employees. Some of these benefits include: our occupational pension scheme, group income protection cover, private medical insurance, mental health resources and free apps, health and wellbeing services encompassing an onsite gym, wellbeing centre and GP service, emergency back-up care support, parental and special leave, holiday entitlement increasing with length of service, holiday trading, season ticket loans and online discounts and lifestyle management services.

Our approach to hybrid working seeks to combine and maximise the benefits of effective remote working with the benefits of being in the office. Our current hybrid working arrangements require office based working for a minimum of 60% of your time (i.e. three days per week for a full time role) in accordance with our hybrid working policy.