Senior Associate - Corporate, Capital Markets

Howard Kennedy LLP; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Howard Kennedy LLP is seeking a Senior Associate to join the Capital Markets practice within Corporate Transaction Services. You will contribute to growing our equity capital markets offering and work on IPOs, fundraisings, placings, and public M&A for UK and international clients.

The role involves advising on regulatory compliance, coordinating with brokers and advisers, and mentoring junior lawyers while developing your own practice in a dynamic team environment.

Qualifications

• Significant post-qualification experience in corporate and/or capital markets.
• Strong advisory experience on capital markets transactions and listed company matters.
• Solid understanding of UK capital markets regulations and related governance.

Responsibilities

• Lead and advise on equity capital markets transactions including IPOs and fundraisings.
• Oversee disclosure obligations and compliance with market rules.
• Draft, review and negotiate transaction documents (admission documents, prospectuses, placing agreements).
• Manage due diligence and disclosure exercises.
• Coordinate brokers, nominated advisers, and accountants across transactions.
• Manage client relationships and provide commercially focused advice.
• Support business development and profile-raising activities.
• Mentor and develop junior lawyers within the team.
• Ensure efficient matter management and pragmatic solutions.

Skills

ECM expertise

Capital markets knowledge

Drafting and drafting controls

Project management

Client relationship building

Commercial awareness

Business development interest

Team leadership/mentoring

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity for a Senior Associate to join a growing and ambitious Capital Markets practice within our Corporate Transaction Services team. You will play a key role in developing our broader equity capital markets offering, working alongside experienced partners on fast paced transactions for UK and international clients, while also being given the opportunity to build your own practice.

The foundation of our practice is our market leading Venture Capital Trust (VCT) offering where we have the ability to act as both legal advisor and sponsor, providing our staff with unique experience for a City law firm. This has been expanded in recent years to be a wider listed closed-ended investment funds practice with the addition of investment trust and REIT clients. While there will be opportunities to get involved in this work, the principal focus of this role will be on the continued growth of our general ECM practice. You will advise companies at pivotal stages in their development on a broad range of transactions, including IPOs, secondary fundraisings, placings, public M&A, corporate governance and ongoing regulatory compliance.

While we have a particular strength and focus in the natural resources sector, the practice is generally sector agnostic and we act for businesses raising capital across a wide range of industries. The role will offer substantial exposure to international clients, as well as the opportunity to build relationships with industry leaders, listed companies, investors, brokers, nominated advisers and other market participants. This is a genuine opportunity to help shape a growing practice, take on meaningful responsibility, and develop into a trusted adviser in a dynamic and evolving team.

As well as being a growing and ambitious practice, we are already well established. Adviser Rankings Ltd has recently confirmed Howard Kennedy as the law firm acting for the highest number of Main Market listed company clients. We are also ranked seventh in the FTSE Financials & Real Estate client count rankings, placing us ahead of four of the five Magic Circle firms.

Main responsibilities

• Leading and advising on equity capital markets transactions, including IPOs, secondary fundraisings and public M&A.
• Advising listed companies on ongoing disclosure obligations and compliance with applicable market regulations, including the UK Listing Rules, AIM Rules and market abuse regime.
• Leading the drafting, review and negotiation of transaction documentation, including admission documents, prospectuses, placing agreements, shareholder circulars and announcements.
• Managing legal due diligence and disclosure exercises.
• Leading verification processes in relation to public documents.
• Coordinating brokers, nominated advisers, accountants and other professional advisers throughout transactions.
• Managing client relationships and acting as a trusted adviser on a range of capital markets and corporate matters.
• Supporting and contributing to business development initiatives and profile-raising activities.
• Supervising, mentoring and developing junior lawyers within the team.
• Managing matters efficiently and providing commercially focused, pragmatic legal advice.

About you

Ideally you will be able to demonstrate;

• Significant post-qualification experience gained within a corporate and/or capital markets practice.
• Strong experience advising on capital markets transactions and listed company matters.
• A strong understanding of UK capital markets regulations and listed company advisory work.
• Excellent drafting, technical and analytical skills.
• Strong project management skills, including coordinating multiple workstreams and managing internal and external stakeholders.
• The ability to build and maintain effective relationships with clients, intermediaries and colleagues.
• Commercial awareness combined with a proactive and collaborative approach.
• A commitment to delivering exceptional client service and developing innovative solutions for clients.
• An interest in business development and contributing to the continued growth of the Capital Markets practice.

At Howard Kennedy we believe that everyone deserves the space to thrive. We’re committed to creating an inclusive recruitment experience that reflects the diversity of both our people and our clients.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and identities, and we’re committed to ensuring that our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and accessible to all.

We understand that every candidate’s needs are different If there’s anything we can do to make your application journey more comfortable - whether for interviews, assessments, or onboarding - please let us know. We’ll work with you to remove any barriers and ensure our recruitment process is comfortable for you.