Financial Services Associate (1-3 PQE) | Elite US Law Firm

• High Quality Broad Training: The firm actively rejects rigid practice-area silos and you will gain exposure to premium private equity work covering public and private M&A aspects, P2Ps and sponsor represented buyouts.
• Unrivalled Deal Exposure: You will work directly with market-leading partners on multi-billion dollar, front-page transactions.
• Lean Team Structure: High partner-to-associate contact guarantees accelerated professional development, direct mentorship, and early client-facing responsibility.
• Top-of-Market Compensation: Competing at the absolute peak of the London market, offering a top-tier US salary scale alongside an exceptional benefits package.

• Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating principal transaction documents (such as SPAs, SHAs, and investment agreements).
• Managing multi-jurisdictional due diligence processes and coordinating specialist teams (Tax, Finance, IP/Tech, etc.).
• Taking a lead role in transaction management, closing processes, and post-closing integration.
• Interfacing directly with sophisticated private equity sponsors, management teams, and investment banks.

• Experience: Corporate / M&A / Private Equity Associate from the Class of 2025. You will have completed your training and gained foundational transactional experience within a top-tier Magic Circle, Silver Circle, or major US law firm in London.
• Academics: Impeccable academic record (minimum 2:1 or equivalent from a top-tier university).
• Skills: Strong foundational knowledge of corporate law, excellent commercial acumen, and a rigorous attention to detail.
• Attributes: A high degree of resilience, intellectual curiosity, and the confidence to operate autonomously within small, fast-paced deal teams.

Private Equity M&A Associate - 2021/2022 Qualified

We are instructed by an elite global law firm seeking to strategically expand its Private Capital and M&A capability in London.

Long recognised as one of the world's most prestigious and selective law firms, our client is currently executing a focused, ambitious growth plan for its London corporate practice. The team has recently been strengthened by the arrival of several of the City's most respected and top-tier market leaders in the private equity space.

This creates a highly unique environment for an incoming associate: you will benefit from the massive institutional backing, resources, and unmatched global brand of an elite firm, combined with the energetic, high-growth momentum of a team entering a new phase of market dominance. The practice handles premium, cross-border, and exceptionally complex financial sponsor mandates, offering exposure to sophisticated large-cap transactions.

The firm pays full cravath scale salaries and bonuses with no hours target.

• Deal Execution: Lead on workstreams for large-cap, premium cross-border private equity transactions, including leveraged buyouts, carve-outs, consortium investments, and complex divestitures.
• Drafting & Negotiation: Draft, review, and negotiate principal transaction documents, shareholder agreements, management incentive schemes, and related corporate documentation.
• Sponsor Management: Act as a direct point of contact for premier global financial sponsors, sovereign wealth funds, and their portfolio companies.
• Team Leadership: Supervise, mentor, and delegate to junior associates and trainees within the transactional corporate team.
• Collaboration: Work seamlessly as part of a high-performance, integrated multidisciplinary team alongside market-leading specialists in leveraged finance, transactional tax, and restructuring.

Experience Level: You will ideally be a UK or Common Law qualified solicitor who qualified in 2021 or 2022 (approx. 4-5 years post-qualification experience).

• Background: Currently practicing within a top-tier US firm, Magic Circle, or leading international practice in London known for premium Private Equity or high-end M&A.
• Technical Skillset: Demonstrable experience executing complex corporate transactions for sophisticated financial sponsors. Exceptional drafting ability and deep commercial acumen are required.
• Culture Fit: Ambitious, highly collaborative, and comfortable operating in a high-calibre environment. A proactive professional who enjoys a leanly staffed deal structure that offers massive runway for growth and direct, regular partner contact.

• Unrivalled Prestige: Put one of the world's most elite corporate legal names on your CV.
• Market-Leading Pay: Full New York/Cravath-scale compensation package, placing you at the absolute top of the London market.
• Lean Deal Teams: Unlike overstaffed mega-teams, this firm utilises a lean execution model, ensuring you get meaningful, front-line experience, heavy client visibility, and close mentoring from elite partners.
• Momentum: Join a team in active growth mode, backed by significant institutional investment and the market-leading reputations of its newly arrived leadership panel.

An exceptional opportunity has arisen for a talented Structured Finance Associate to join a highly regarded global law firm in London.

The team advises leading financial institutions, sponsors, asset managers and corporate clients on a broad range of complex and innovative structured finance transactions. Associates benefit from exposure to market-leading work, significant client contact and a genuinely collaborative environment.

The Role

You will advise on a variety of structured finance matters, including:

• Securitisations and asset-backed financings
• Warehouse financings
• Risk transfer transactions
• Fund finance and NAV facilities
• Derivatives-linked structures
• Private credit and alternative capital solutions
• Cross-border financing transactions

The team works closely with colleagues across banking, derivatives, funds and capital markets, providing associates with broad exposure to sophisticated transactions and high-profile clients.

Candidate Requirements

• England & Wales qualified (or common law qualified with relevant experience)
• NQ-5 years' PQE
• Strong structured finance, securitisation, banking OR derivatives experience from a leading law firm or in-house experience
• Excellent academic credentials
• Strong drafting and transactional skills
• Commercially minded with a collaborative approach

For a confidential discussion and further information, please get in touch.