Senior/Principal Associate - Commercial Regulatory

Mills & Reeve; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Mills & Reeve is seeking a Senior/Principal Associate to join our Commercial Regulatory team across the UK offices. The role focuses on advising clients on regulatory issues in food, consumer protection, digital, e-commerce, advertising, and anti-discrimination, including potential investigations and multi-jurisdictional work.

You will have 4+ years PQE in a large firm, strong regulatory expertise, and a commercially minded approach to developing client relationships.

Qualifications

• 4+ years post-qualification experience in a large regional, national, or international firm.
• Strong regulatory law technical skills with interest in food and beverage, education, and/or technology sectors.
• Commercially-minded lawyer eager to grow own practice.
• Excellent written English and ability to build relationships with clients and multipliers.
• Desirable: Supervisory skills.

Responsibilities

• Advise clients on regulatory issues across food, consumer protection, digital, e-commerce, anti-discrimination, and advertising law.
• Work on regulatory investigations and ASA complaints; provide risk-based pragmatic advice.
• Collaborate with national team and international lawyers on multi-jurisdictional projects.
• Help grow the regulatory practice and client base within the firm.

Skills

Regulatory law

Commercial regulatory

Client relationship

Research skills

Team collaboration

Job description

Senior/Principal Associate - Commercial Regulatory

Closing Date: 12 October 2026

Location:

• Birmingham
• Cambridge
• Leeds
• Manchester
• Norwich
• Oxford

Office:

Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds, Manchester, Norwich or Oxford

Contract Type:

Permanent

Reference:

0384

About the Role

Mills & Reeve is looking to recruit a Regulatory Solicitor to join our leading Commercial team, as we continue to grow! If you have a regulatory specialism within a Commercial practice, we would love to hear from you!

The Role

We are seeking a regulatory solicitor to join our national commercial team, focusing on advising clients on regulatory issues. This includes issues under food, consumer protection, digital, e-commerce, anti-discrimination, and advertising law. This role is ideal for someone interested in digital, product regulation, labelling, and advertising. The work is mainly advisory but includes some regulatory investigations.

The practice has experienced significant growth over recent years, and Mills & Reeve is building a team dedicated to this area. We serve many household names and collaborate with international lawyers to provide multi-jurisdictional advice. The team currently focuses on the food and beverage and technology sectors but aims to expand outside these core areas.

The Person

• You will have 4+ years post-qualification experience gained in a large regional, national, or international firm.
• You will possess excellent technical skills in regulatory law with an interest in the food and beverage, education, and/or technology sectors.
• You will be a commercially-minded lawyer eager to grow your own practice.
• You will have:
  • Excellent written English and a keen eye for detail
  • Ability to build relationships with clients, potential clients, and multipliers
  • Self-starting attitude, with common sense and initiative
  • Excellent interpersonal and team skills, including the ability to work with others, influence, and persuade
  • Good research skills, including the ability to use online information sources
• Desirable: Supervisory skills

The Activities

This role offers an opportunity to work in a supportive and friendly environment that encourages bright ideas and innovation. You will learn new areas of law and consider how current laws apply to future products and consumer experiences. The work is diverse, covering a wide range of subject matters, including analyzing and applying regulation to client problems and devising practical solutions. It involves understanding regulatory approaches, providing risk-based pragmatic advice, handling investigations, ASA complaints, regulatory enforcement, and advising on consumer and trading law. We assist businesses entering new markets or launching new products, often involving international coordination and multi-jurisdictional projects.

Why Should I Apply?

Mills & Reeve has strong national commercial and regulatory teams with a leading market profile in the food and beverage, technology, and life sciences sectors. This role provides a platform to apply your knowledge and skills within a successful and expanding team. It offers career progression opportunities as the team continues to grow. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if sufficient applications are received, so early application is encouraged.

The Benefits

We offer a competitive salary and a wide range of benefits. Additional details about our core benefit offering are available upon request.

Pre-employment Screening

If appointed, comprehensive pre-employment screening will be conducted, including a basic DBS check, verification of your right to work, employment history over the past three years, and a self-declaration of character and suitability for the role.

The Firm

Mills & Reeve is committed to achieving more for clients, their businesses, and the wider community. We deliver knowledgeable, tailored advice and build personal relationships based on trust and understanding. Our 1,450+ people and over 850 lawyers share a common vision: achieving more for clients.

By joining Mills & Reeve, you will develop your skills within a top UK law firm ranked in the top 50 and recognized as a great place to work. We are ranked in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list and have received Platinum Investors in People accreditation.

Our mantra is "Achieve more. Together."

Our values include ambition, openness, care, and collaboration, guiding our daily work and interactions.

We are committed to providing an inclusive, supportive environment, considering flexible work arrangements and workplace adjustments. For more about our diversity and inclusion initiatives, please visit our website.