Senior/Managing Associate - Emerging Companies/Venture Capital

Job description

The firm

We are a dynamic, multifaceted law firm that provides a wide range of legal services to a creative and entrepreneurial client base. We partner with the big and the small, from cutting edge startups to global corporations, early-stage entrepreneurs to established industry leaders, and household names to private individuals and their family offices. We are renowned for our sector specialisms which we combine with expertise across all the traditional practice areas to provide our clients with tailored solutions that truly add value.

We offer a collegiate, vibrant and supportive environment, a clear path for career progression and a strong platform from which to learn and grow. We look for high performing, committed and innovative people who aren't afraid to push themselves to be the best they can be. We take an active role in helping our people be at the top of their game. We believe our people make us stand out and we empower them to meet their ambitions. We invest time in developing their skills and knowledge and run several development and training programmes throughout the year, as well as encouraging and supporting personal involvement in other areas of expertise.

The group

The Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Group (EVCV) sits within the firm's wider market-leading Corporate Group. The group advises on a broad range of transactions, providing specialist and strategic advice to emerging companies and investors. We regularly work on mergers and acquisitions, investment transactions and joint ventures, as well as early-stage financings, including startup matters and initial SEIS/EIS or other angel investments, through to later stage investments and beyond. We have a strong reputation for advising entrepreneurs and startups through every step of the investment lifecycle, alongside an impressive investor facing practice.

The role

We are seeking a senior or managing associate to join our ECVC Group. The successful candidate will be in the region of 6-8 PQE+.

Key responsibilities:

- Leading and managing complex venture capital and corporate transactions, including early-stage financings, later-stage investments, and exits/M&A.

- Acting as a trusted adviser to founders, entrepreneurs, and investors, providing strategic and commercially focused advice.

- Structuring and negotiating investment rounds, including drafting and negotiating key transaction documents such as subscription agreements, shareholders' agreements, term sheets.

- Providing ongoing corporate and commercial advice to venture-backed companies as they scale, covering matters such as governance, fundraising, and employee incentives.

- Advising VC funds and other institutional investors on their portfolio investments and exits.

- Taking a leadership role within the team, including supervising and mentoring junior lawyers, managing deal teams, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality advice.

- Playing an active role in business development, including building and maintaining strong relationships with clients, intermediaries, and the wider venture capital community.

- Contributing to thought leadership, marketing initiatives, and the overall strategic growth of the ECVC Group.

As well as good technical skills, the successful candidate will need the right interpersonal skills, pragmatism, commercial sense and have an entrepreneurial spirit such that they are keen to contribute to the business development and growth of the group. They should also have a thirst for learning and development.

Most of the firm's partners are consistently recognised as leaders in their fields of practice, and the Corporate and EVCV Groups are no exception. The successful candidate should expect to work with all of the partners within the Corporate Group albeit with a particular alignment with the work done by the ECVC Group.