Litigation Associate - Consumer & ESG Mass Claims

Freshfields; Greater London; On-site; GBP 95,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Freshfields is seeking a Litigation Associate to join our Consumer & ESG Mass Claims group within our Dispute Resolution practice. The team handles high-profile, complex litigation across ESG, product liability, consumer protection, tech and life sciences, with an international component.

You will contribute to drafting complex documents, running case processes, and collaborating with leading barristers and experts while developing business development initiatives.

Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer in England & Wales or a common law jurisdiction.
• 2–4 PQE preferred.
• Top academics and strong commercial abilities.
• Able to supervise junior lawyers/trainees and lead teams.
• Proactive in business development and client engagement.

Responsibilities

• Draft complex witness statements, expert reports, and pleadings.
• Run project processes on significant cases and work toward being the lead associate.
• Develop litigation skills and work with leading barristers and expert witnesses.
• Draft letters to clients/other side and manage document reviews.
• Attend mediation or settlement discussions and draft settlements.
• Assist clients in engaging with regulators and learn governing frameworks.
• Engage in business development and client content creation.
• Mentor junior associates and trainees and participate in seminars.

Skills

Strong communication

Team supervision

Project management

Business development

AI in legal practice

Education

Qualified lawyer (England & Wales) or common law jurisdiction

Job description

We have an opening for a Litigation Associate to join our Consumer & ESG Mass Claims group within our Dispute Resolution practice. The team is active across ESG, product liability, consumer protection, tech and life sciences related mandates.

We handle litigation in the UK high court and internationally, frequently coordinating defence of litigation on a global basis, and often with a group litigation element. The team is highly regarded in the market and handles some of the highest profile, and complex litigation of its kind:

• Our team has always been at the forefront of ESG-related group litigation, successfully leading cutting edge defence-side litigation, advising on contentious regulatory matters and managing interactions with civil society and NGOs (with a focus on climate change and environment as well as human rights and supply chain issues), often with a significant international component.
• Our consumer and products practice is exceptional, and our product liability defence practice (based out of this team) is Band 1 ranked by Chambers in two categories (life sciences and general defence). We have led and continue to work on some of the most exciting and high-profile cases in the market, including the VW emissions litigation. Increasingly, we are working with the tech sector to help them manage product liability and related litigation.
• Our life sciences practice complements our wider firm’s strong and growing market reputation and we have worked on several of the leading life sciences-related product liability related mandates in the last decade.

The team has a strong complementary regulatory practice across all our core strengths, including helping clients manage consumer protection investigations brought by bodies such as the Competition and Markets Authority, the Office for Product Safety and Standards and the Advertising Standards Authority. We also help clients challenge regulatory decisions by way of judicial review.

We are recognised as a market leader in consumer, product liability and ESG-related litigation. Our strong international litigation capabilities have allowed us to act on the most significant cases in the market and with some of the most exciting clients.

Key Responsibilities and Deliverables

• Draft complex witness statements, expert reports and pleadings.
• Run project processes on significant cases and work towards being the lead associate.
• Develop litigation skills, both procedural and substantive, and work closely with leading barristers and other expert witnesses.
• Draft letters/emails to client/other side.
• Run document reviews and disclosure projects.
• Attend mediation/settlement discussions and draft settlement agreements.
• Learn about key governing regulatory frameworks and assist clients in their engagement with regulators.
• Work on business development ideas and plans.
• Delegate to and mentor junior associates and trainees.
• Participate in seminars/training to clients and other associates.
• Establish profile and relationships with partners and clients, and in the market, including with opportunities to produce external-facing content.

Key Requirements

• Qualified lawyer qualified in England & Wales or a common law jurisdiction, ideally 2-4 PQE.
• Strong technical and commercial abilities.
• Intellectually able with top class academics.
• A tenacious and enthusiastic approach to surpass the expectations of our clients.
• Able to work effectively as part of a team and supervise more junior lawyers/trainees.
• Highly effective communicator (both orally and in writing).
• Strong, innovation-centred approach to client work and business development, including confidence in using approved AI tech and supervising the work of others who do so.
• Able to take on a high degree of responsibility and manage a challenging workload.
• Committed to providing an excellent service to our clients.
• Proactive involvement in business development and knowledge management.

Inclusion

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered by the firm on the basis of their merit alone and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing.

Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case by case basis and take a number of factors into account (eg the role you are applying for and the circumstances of the offence). You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision.