Senior Legal Counsel

Clifton Search; Bath; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Clifton Search is recruiting a Senior Legal Counsel for our UK head office to join the global L&S team, based near Bath with 3 days on-site.

You will draft and negotiate complex contracts across aerospace, automotive, healthcare sectors, manage external counsel, and mentor junior colleagues.

The ideal candidate is a UK-qualified solicitor with 6+ years PQE, strong M&A experience, and a pragmatic, collaborative approach.

Qualifications

• 6+ years PQE delivering pragmatic legal advice
• Experience in corporate M&A matters and strategic transactions
• Strong drafting and attention to detail
• Ability to influence stakeholders across the business
• Integrity and leadership by example

Responsibilities

• Review, draft and negotiate high-value commercial contracts with customers and suppliers
• Support tenders and customer queries
• Lead change projects in L&S and support day-to-day legal queries
• Maintain templates, playbooks and know-how materials
• Manage external counsel as required
• Provide legal guidance across UK and international teams
• Mentor junior colleagues and contribute to training

Skills

Corporate law

Contract negotiation

M&A experience

Legal advice

Stakeholder communication

Education

Solicitor qualification (UK)

Job description

Senior Legal Counsel

Our client is a global leader in precision engineering, manufacturing, and technology innovation. With a strong heritage in advanced manufacturing and metrology, we deliver cutting-edge solutions across industries including aerospace, automotive, healthcare, and electronics.

We are currently recruiting for a Senior Legal Counsel at the UK head office to become part of the global legal, compliance and secretarial team (“L&S”).

Person specification

As part of the L&S team, your focus will be providing pragmatic legal advice and support across a wide variety of corporate and commercial matters, while supporting our core values of Innovation, Inspiration, Integrity and Involvement.

You will have superior interpersonal skills to influence and inform your stakeholders, both within the L&S team and the wider business.

Key responsibilities

• Review, draft, and negotiate high-value, complex commercial contracts with customers, sales intermediaries, suppliers, service providers, and other key business partners
• Support the business with responses to tenders and customer queries
• Support on L&S change and process improvement projects that underpin the business’s key objectives across multiple disciplines
• Support the business with day-to-day legal queries and issues
• Assist in maintaining templates, playbooks, procedures, and other know-how materials
• Provide practical solutions to complex legal problems as a key business partner
• Procure and manage external specialist counsel (as required)
• Support the wider legal team as required, both in the UK and internationally
• Contribute to the growth of the L&S team by sharing knowledge, delivering training, mentoring, supervising or managing more junior colleagues
• Conduct legal research as necessary

Key requirements

• Qualified solicitor with a minimum of 6 years PQE and experience in delivering pragmatic legal advice in a demanding environment
• Highly experienced in advising on corporate M&A matters and various strategic transactions
• Strong commercial awareness and negotiation skills
• Excellent attention to detail and drafting skills
• Superior analytical skills and a creative, flexible approach to problem solving
• An ability to interact with people at all levels in the business
• Impeccable integrity, a ‘can do’ attitude, and a willingness and ability to lead by example
• An appetite to learn continually and share your experience and knowledge.

Desirable

Experience in any of the following areas of law:

• Real estate and property
• Construction
• Employment
• An understanding of the challenges of a fast-moving, revenue generating business (ideally in the technology, manufacturing and/or engineering sectors).

Location

3 days office presence required. Commutable from Bristol 30-40 minutes close to M5.