Tax Associate

Freshfields; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Freshfields is seeking an experienced Tax Lawyer to join its leading UK Tax practice in London. The London tax team handles corporate tax for public and private clients, with involvement in high-profile mandates and contentious matters across borders.

You will work on cross-border tax disputes, advisory work, and multi-jurisdictional transactions, with opportunities for secondments and international collaboration.

Qualifications

• Candidates must be admitted as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales.
• Excellent technical and commercial abilities.
• Able to work effectively as part of a team.
• Highly effective communicator (oral and written).
• Able to take on responsibility and manage a challenging workload.
• Committed to providing an excellent service to clients.
• Proactive involvement in business development and knowledge management.
• Committed to supporting initiatives that promote our values and culture.

Responsibilities

• Corporate & Private Capital: full spectrum of public and private M&A, IPOs, demergers, restructurings, returns of capital, joint ventures and private capital transactions.
• Finance and Restructuring: equity and debt-based work, restructuring and refinancing.
• Real Estate: tax advice for developers, institutions, lenders and fund managers.
• Tax Disputes: handling large-scale, multi-faceted disputes in the UK and internationally.

Skills

Technical skills

Commercial acumen

Team player

Communication skills

Business development

Education

England & Wales Solicitor/Barrister admission

Job description

We have an opening for an experienced Tax Lawyer to join our leading UK Tax practice.

Practice and Role Summary

The UK Tax Group at Freshfields continues to excel, providing top quality advice on a broad range of the highest profile and most complex mandates and contentious tax matters. We are (and have for many years been) ranked in the top tier and are consistently recommended as a leading tax firm by the major tax directories, which note our impressive strength in depth. We are the only firm to be ranked as Band 1 by Chambers in both the UK Tax and UK Contentious Tax categories (as well as Band 1 for Europe-wide Tax and Global Tax). Rather than one or two star names, the entire team is of high calibre. It is this which distinguishes our practice and accounts for the quality of the work we attract and the standard of advice we deliver. Our partners feature heavily in the top echelons of various tax directories and rankings and many of our associates are regular contributors to our blogs, podcasts and thought leadership pieces.

The London tax team offers specialist advice on all areas of corporate tax. It provides support for the firm’s corporate clients and also has a strong stand‑alone tax practice, advising on some of the most complex tax disputes and advisory tax mandates in the market. You will have the opportunity to work on challenging, engaging work across the breadth of the team’s practice that will give you the opportunity to make your mark and progress your career. We believe there is no better place to work.

Key Responsibilities

Associates enjoy a wide range of work including:

• Corporate & Private Capital - Our corporate tax practice covers the full spectrum of public and private M&A, IPOs, demergers, restructurings, returns of capital, joint ventures and private capital transactions.
• Finance and Restructuring - Our tax finance and restructuring work covers all types of corporate equity and debt based‑ work as well as innovative solutions for restructuring and refinancing corporate debt in turbulent markets.
• Real Estate - Our real estate tax practice continues to cover a wide range of commercial real estate activity, acting for developers, institutional investors, lenders and fund managers.
• Tax Disputes - Our tax practice works with clients to solve some of their most difficult contentious tax issues globally. We represent clients dealing with large scale and multi‑faceted tax disputes in the UK and internationally and we have a strong track record for successfully resolving disputes in and out of court.

Due to our large international network and the multi‑jurisdictional nature of many of our clients, much of our work has a cross border element, involving a number of our international offices. This gives London tax associates a chance to work with lawyers in different jurisdictions and to gain familiarity with international tax aspects. There are also opportunities for client and international secondments.

Requirements

• Candidates must be admitted as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales
• Have excellent technical and commercial abilities.
• Able to work effectively as part of a team.
• Highly effective communicator (both orally and in writing).
• 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.
• Committed to supporting initiatives that promote our values and culture.

Inclusion

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered on the basis of their merit alone. 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.