Associate - Corporate M&A

About the role

Freshfields' Global M&A and Capital (GMAC) practice brings together lawyers specialising in Corporate M&A, Private Capital, Capital Markets and finance in a single transactional group, acting for private and public companies, banks, governments and states. It is consistently ranked at the top of league tables in Europe, Asia and globally, with most work having an international dimension. The firm is hiring an experienced mid-level Associate for its M&A team, which covers public and private M&A, carve-outs, spin-offs, split-offs, joint ventures and strategic alliances across Financial Institutions, Technology, Telecoms, Energy & Infrastructure, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Industrials and Consumer Markets.

Key responsibilities

• Advise on complex corporate transactions such as acquisitions, disposals, mergers, restructurings, carve-outs, spin-offs and joint ventures involving public and private companies.
• Advise companies on strategic acquisitions, reorganisations, shareholder arrangements and governance issues.
• Work on public and private M&A transactions, including takeover bids, schemes of arrangement and competitive auction processes.
• Collaborate with specialist teams in antitrust, finance, tax, employment, regulatory, technology, IP and data protection to deliver seamless client advice.
• Manage due diligence, transaction structuring, drafting and negotiation of key documents, and coordinate multi-jurisdictional deal teams.
• Advise on separation, integration and transformation projects, including post-merger integration and carve-outs.
• Support clients on strategic partnerships, consortium arrangements and joint ventures.

Required profile

• Qualified England & Wales or common law lawyer with a top-class academic record.
• Corporate M&A experience involving cross-border transactions gained at a leading firm.
• Experience handling transactional workstreams with appropriate supervision.
• Genuine interest or experience in the TMT, Energy & Infrastructure or Financial Institutions sectors, with a willingness to build sector-specific regulatory and commercial knowledge.

Required skills

• Strong technical drafting skills and commercial awareness.
• Excellent organisational and project management skills.

The firm is an equal opportunities employer; offers are conditional on the right to work in the UK. It is also a Ban the Box employer.