M&A Legal Counsel

Gallagher; City Of London; On-site; GBP 75,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading insurance company based in London is seeking an experienced Legal Counsel. This role involves handling Corporate/M&A transactions across various jurisdictions and providing strategic advice to the executive team. The ideal candidate has extensive experience in managing M&A deals and strong negotiation skills, offering a chance to make a significant impact within a collaborative environment.

Benefits

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

Defined contribution pension scheme

Life insurance

Health cash plan or Private medical insurance

Employee Stock Purchase plan

Volunteer days

Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer with extensive post qualified experience.
• Direct 'hands on' experience managing M&A transactions.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Work with commercial teams to execute transactions.
• Draft and negotiate transaction documents.
• Manage stakeholder expectations with flexibility.

Skills

Excellent contract drafting

Negotiation skills

Commercial awareness

Stakeholder management

Autonomy

Education

Tertiary qualifications LLB or equivalent

Job description

Introduction

At Gallagher, we help clients face risk with confidence because we believe that when businesses are protected, they’re free to grow, lead, and innovate.

You’ll be backed by our digital ecosystem: a client‑centric suite of consulting tools making it easier for you to meet your clients where they want to be met. Advanced data and analytics providing a comprehensive overview of the risk landscape is at your fingertips.

Here, you’re not just improving clients’ risk profiles, you’re building trust. You’ll find a culture grounded in teamwork, guided by integrity, and fueled by a shared commitment to do the right thing. We value curiosity, celebrate new ideas, and empower you to take ownership of your career while making a meaningful impact for the businesses we serve.

If you’re ready to bring your unique perspective to a place where your work truly matters; think of Gallagher.

Overview

At Gallagher, we are looking for an experience Legal Counsel to work, from inception to completion, on Corporate/M&A transactions across the UK, EMEA and other international jurisdictions.

This is an opportunity to work across all business divisions, including the provision of strategic advice to the Gallagher Executive team in each jurisdiction and the broader Gallagher group legal teams.

How you’ll make an impact

• Work with commercial teams (including internal M&A commercial team) to execute transactions.
• Consider legal structures and corporate documentation such as confidentiality agreements, letters of intent, term sheets and board and shareholder consents.
• Co‑ordinate and oversee the legal due diligence process.
• Work alongside the compliance team to secure requisite regulatory approvals.
• Draft, negotiate and review signing/completion documents for transactions, including share purchase agreements, business purchase agreements, merger agreements, shareholders’ agreements, disclosure letters, escrow arrangements, transitional services arrangements and other ancillary documents, with the assistance of external legal advisers;
• Instruct, manage and oversee external legal advisers.
• Draft reports used in Board and Committee meetings and provide legal input on internal investment papers.
• Work alongside key support functions including Company Secretarial, Human Resources, Risk and Compliance, Project Management, Communications, IT, Marketing, Products & Partnerships, Tax, Real Estate and Finance throughout the M&A process to assist in the evaluation, structuring, delivery and documentation of business opportunities / M&A transactions.
• Ensure effective and efficient management of the legal briefs from the business, including appropriate escalation and reporting.

About You

• Qualified lawyer with extensive post qualified experience.
• Tertiary qualifications LLB or equivalent.
• In‑house/insurance experience would be useful but is not essential.
• Direct ‘hands on’ experience managing and dealing with M&A transactions.
• Commercially astute and able to manage competing priorities and deadlines.
• Ability to manage stakeholder expectations with an open and flexible approach.
• Ability to work autonomously with ability to elevate appropriately.
• Ability to deal with sensitive issues and always maintain discretion and confidentiality.
• Excellent contract, drafting and negotiation skills.
• Fantastic verbal and written skills to communicate and influence business personnel at all levels.
• Ability to work under pressure in a fast moving and dynamic organisation.
• Solutions focus and mindset - ability to demonstrate strong commercial awareness with a “can‑do” approach to advising the business.
• Relevant experience working with senior leaders and Executive team members.

Compensation and benefits

On top of a competitive salary, great teams and exciting career opportunities, we also offer a wide range of benefits.

minimum core benefits you’ll get, depending on your job level these benefits may improve:

• Minimum of 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays, and the option to ‘buy’ extra days
• Defined contribution pension scheme, which Gallagher will also contribute to
• Life insurance, which will pay 4x your basic annual salary, which you can top‑up to 10x
• Income protection, we’ll cover up to 50% of your annual income, with options to top up
• Health cash plan or Private medical insurance

Other benefits include

• Three fully paid volunteering days per year
• Employee Stock Purchase plan, offering company shares at a discount
• Share incentive plan, HMRC approved, tax effective, stock purchase plan
• Critical illness cover
• Discounted gym membership, with over 3,000 gyms nationally
• Season ticket loan
• Access to a discounted voucher portal to save money on your weekly shop or next big purchase
• Emergency back‑up family care
• And many more…

We value inclusion and diversity

Inclusion and diversity (I&D) is a core part of our business, and it’s embedded into the fabric of our organisation. For more than 95 years, Gallagher has led with a commitment to sustainability and to support the communities where we live and work.

Gallagher embraces our employees’ diverse identities, experiences and talents, allowing us to better serve our clients and communities. We see inclusion as a conscious commitment and diversity as a vital strength. By embracing diversity in all its forms, we live out The Gallagher Way to its fullest.

Gallagher is Disability Confident Committed. We have pledged to make sure our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible, in addition to supporting our existing employees with any long‑term health conditions or disabilities.

We understand that applicants may have disabilities, if you do, you may find some parts of the recruitment process more challenging than others. Don’t worry, we’re here to help, however, we can only do this if you let us know.

Should you require reasonable adjustments to your application, please get in touch with [e-mail]. If you’d prefer to speak on the phone, please request a call back, leaving details, so we get in touch.

Our employing entity, Arthur J. Gallagher Services (UK) Limited, is proud to be accredited as a Living Wage employer with the Living Wage Foundation. We are committed to diversity and opportunity for all and are opposed to any form of less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender or gender identity, marital status, civil partnership status, parental status, race, ethnicity, colour, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, religion/ belief, age and those with caring responsibilities.

Gallagher believes that all persons are entitled to equal employment opportunity and prohibits any form of discrimination by its managers, employees, vendors or customers based on race, color, religion, creed, gender (including pregnancy status), sexual orientation, gender identity (which includes transgender and other gender non‑conforming individuals), gender expression, hair expression, marital status, parental status, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, genetic information, veteran or military status, citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected (herein referred to as “protected characteristics”) by applicable federal, state, or local laws.

Equal employment opportunity will be extended in all aspects of the employer‑employee relationship, including, but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, transfer, demotion, compensation, benefits, layoff, and termination. In addition, Gallagher will make reasonable accommodations to known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified person with a disability, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of our business.