Corporate Associate – Mergers & Acquisitions

LeoForce; Portland (ME); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonuses

Comprehensive benefits package

Hybrid schedule

Direct partner access

Job summary

Portland law firm seeks a Corporate Associate with 3–5 years of transactional experience to join its M&A practice in Portland, Maine. The role handles sophisticated middle-market deals and offers direct partner access, client interaction, and meaningful responsibility.

You will work across a broad corporate practice including formation, governance, financing, and private equity with a supportive, collaborative environment and flexible scheduling.

Qualifications

• Approximately 3–5 years of corporate transactional experience.
• Meaningful experience handling mergers and acquisitions is required.
• Strong drafting, negotiation, analytical, and organizational skills.
• Experience managing due diligence and transaction closings.
• Familiarity with formation, structuring, and governance of entities.

Responsibilities

• Represent buyers, sellers, investors, and owners in M&A and related transactions.
• Draft and negotiate purchase and merger agreements and related documents.
• Manage transaction processes from diligence through closing.
• Coordinate legal due diligence across contracts, financing, employment, and regulatory issues.
• Advise on formation, governance, restructuring, and ongoing business operations.
• Draft operating and shareholder agreements, bylaws, consents, and resolutions.
• Counsel on commercial contracts, fiduciary duties, and ownership transitions.
• Assist with private equity, debt financing, and other investments.
• Collaborate with tax, employment, IP, finance, real estate, and regulatory teams.
• Communicate with clients, opposing counsel, and financial advisers.

Skills

Mergers & Acquisitions experience

Drafting & negotiating

Due diligence coordination

Client service

Team collaboration

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Job description

Corporate Associate – Mergers & Acquisitions

Location: Portland,ME, US

Job Description

Experience: Mid Level

Salary: $100,000 - $200,000 per year

Key Responsibilities

• Represent buyers, sellers, investors, and business owners in mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, and other strategic transactions.
• Draft and negotiate purchase agreements, merger agreements, disclosure schedules, letters of intent, ancillary agreements, and closing documents.
• Manage transaction processes from initial diligence through signing and closing.
• Conduct and coordinate legal due diligence, including review of organizational documents, commercial contracts, financing arrangements, employment matters, and regulatory issues.
• Advise corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, and other business entities regarding formation, governance, restructuring, and ongoing operations.
• Draft operating agreements, shareholder agreements, partnership agreements, bylaws, consents, resolutions, and other organizational documents.
• Counsel clients on commercial contracts, corporate governance, fiduciary duties, ownership transitions, and general business matters.
• Assist with private equity, debt and equity financing, and other investment transactions.
• Collaborate with attorneys across tax, employment, intellectual property, finance, real estate, and regulatory practices.
• Communicate directly with clients, opposing counsel, financial advisers, and other transaction participants.
• Take increasing ownership of transactions as experience and familiarity with the firm develop.

Qualifications

• Approximately 3–5 years of corporate transactional experience.
• Meaningful experience handling mergers and acquisitions is required.
• Strong drafting, negotiation, analytical, and organizational skills.
• Experience managing due diligence and transaction closings.
• Familiarity with the formation, structuring, and governance of corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies.
• Experience with private equity, finance transactions, or general business counseling is preferred.
• Securities law knowledge is helpful but not required.
• Excellent judgment and the ability to translate complex legal issues into practical business advice.
• Strong client-service skills and the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues across practice areas.
• Maine Bar admission is preferred. Candidates able to obtain admission promptly may also be considered.

A bit about us:

Portland, Maine

A highly regarded, full-service regional law firm is seeking a Corporate Associate with approximately 3–5 years of experience to join its Business Practice Group in Portland, Maine.

This is an excellent opportunity for an attorney who wants to handle sophisticated middle-market transactions while working in a collaborative environment that offers meaningful responsibility, direct partner access, and regular client interaction. The group advises privately held companies, investors, entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses, and other sophisticated clients throughout New England and nationally.

The successful candidate will have a strong foundation in mergers and acquisitions and an interest in developing a broad corporate practice that may also include entity formation, governance, financing transactions, private equity, and general business counseling.

Why join us?

The firm is recognized throughout the Northeast for the sophistication of its work, quality of its client base, and strong reputation across corporate, litigation, real estate, energy, environmental, employment, and regulatory practices.

Unlike firms that rely on rigid class-year, billable-hour, and compensation formulas, attorneys are evaluated more holistically based on performance, productivity, client service, leadership, professional development, and contributions to the practice.

Highlights include:

• No formal billable-hour requirement.
• Sophisticated M&A and corporate work within a respected regional platform.
• Direct partner access and meaningful client interaction.
• Substantive responsibility from an early stage.
• Individualized compensation and bonus consideration.
• Strong performers may earn significant discretionary bonuses.
• A hybrid schedule generally allowing two remote days per week, with Tuesday typically serving as a firmwide in-office day.
• A collaborative culture with a strong emphasis on long-term attorney development and succession planning.
• Clear opportunities to progress toward partnership based on overall experience and performance rather than a rigid lateral class-year designation.
• The ability to build a sophisticated transactional practice without the bureaucracy commonly associated with much larger national firms.

Compensation

Compensation is competitive and determined individually based on experience, qualifications, performance, market considerations, and the overall strength of the candidate’s background.

The firm also offers discretionary bonus opportunities and a comprehensive benefits package.