Corporate M&A Associate Attorney

Lateral Link; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 310,000 - 365,000; Full time

Job summary

Lateral Link in the Bay Area is hiring a mid-level corporate associate (3–5 years) in Palo Alto. Base salary ranges $310K–$365K, with a discretionary year-end bonus.

You will work on integrated deal teams across public and private M&A, with direct client contact, drafting and negotiating purchase agreements, due diligence, and closing mechanics.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of public and private M&A experience at a peer firm.
• Comfort running workstreams across practice areas on a live deal team.
• High level of academic achievement.

Responsibilities

• Public company M&A work: mergers, tender offers, take-privates.
• Private acquisitions, carve-outs, sponsor-backed deals.
• Deal execution: due diligence, disclosures, closing mechanics.
• Drafting and negotiating purchase agreements and related documents.

Skills

M&A experience

Deal ownership

Client contact

Job description

Bay Area M&A associates come out with a broader deal sheet than their East Coast counterparts — public company mergers and venture-backed private targets in the same year, often for the same client.

An elite global firm with a top-ranked M&A practice is hiring a mid-level corporate associate (3–5 years) in Palo Alto. Base salary $310K–$365K depending on class year.

You'd work on integrated deal teams alongside tax, antitrust, benefits, and IP specialists, running your own workstreams with direct client contact rather than through three layers above you.

The work includes:

• Public company M&A — one-step mergers, tender offers, and take-privates
• Private acquisitions, carve-outs, and sponsor-backed transactions
• Deal execution: due diligence, disclosure schedules, HSR filings, and closing mechanics
• Drafting and negotiating purchase agreements and ancillary documents under the DGCL and federal securities rules

What you bring:

• 3–5 years of public and private M&A experience at a peer firm
• Comfort running workstreams across practice areas on a live deal team
• High level of academic achievement

What you get:

• A top-ranked M&A platform with both public company and emerging-growth deal flow
• Public deal reps that travel with you — the part of an M&A résumé that holds its value through any cycle
• Base salary $310K–$365K depending on class year, plus discretionary year-end bonus