Associate/Senior Associate - Commercial Oxford, England
Job description
The Freeths Group is one of the UK's leading regional law practices. We offer services to both the commercial and private client across the entire legal spectrum. We operate from offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Oxford and Sheffield.
The firm has a wide range of clients throughout the UK with many clients having strong international connections. We have over 150 partners and more than 850 members of staff in total.
Our client base reflects our nationwide strength and our nationwide service delivery. We are committed to continuous improvement and our increasing success as a business is built on achieving success for our clients. We work in close partnership with clients, providing positive, practical solutions and clear, comprehensive advice.
As an equal opportunities employer, committed to diversity and inclusion, our aim is to attract and retain the most talented people. We know this means reaching out to diverse talent and we encourage applications from under-represented groups. We celebrate difference, encourage diversity of thought and are committed to continually challenging our processes to maintain fairness, equity and transparency. But its more than that, providing a great place to work with competitive benefits and encouraging a healthy work-life balance is central to our success. We are committed to creating an environment where everyone has the opportunity to achieve their full potential, and this applies equally during our recruitment process. So, if you would like to discuss any accessibility requirements or reasonable adjustments needs during the recruitment process of for the role, please contact [email protected] we will be happy to discuss.
We are proud that what we have achieved has been recognised over the past few years, being awarded Best Companies star status on a number of occasions and have featured in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For. We are also a silver standard accredited Investor in People Company, which means we are recognised for our efforts to improve work place engagement, leadership, personal growth, wellbeing, team working and our impact on society.
"Lauded extensively for its ‘ innovative and pragmatic’ approach and ‘first-class’ client service, Freeths LLP works with regional, national, and international clients operating across all manner of industries.” Legal 500 2022
We are now looking for an Associate/Senior Associate to join our highly-rated and regarded Commercial team in our Oxford office headed by Partner Rebecca Howlett.
This is an excellent opportunity to join a top-tier Chambers and Legal 500 rated team with wide expertise across a number of sectors, advising clients from FTSE 100 companies to SMEs and start-up businesses, on often cutting edge, complex projects, within a collegiate and inclusive environment where individuals are encouraged to progress whilst confident of full support.
“Rebecca is an integral part of the national commercial team. She supports you to develop your own technical ability and commerciality, deliver an outstanding and forward-thinking work product but also to develop strong business relationships internally and in the wider business community.” Fraser Kane Trainee Solicitor.
The work
We span multiple sectors including Technology, Media, and Telecom, Life Sciences, Retail & Consumer, Financial Services, Transport & Automotive and Beauty & Personal Care.
Some examples of the team’s recent work includes:
- Supporting Travis Perkins with the legal separation of its IT arrangements ahead of its demerger of subsidiary Wickes, and the sale of its plumbing and heating business to HIG.
- Advising Aldi in relation to the contracts for the construction and fitting out of their largest ever distribution centre, at Bardon in Leicestershire.
- Drafting and negotiating a suite of ten commercial agreements for the UK element of a multi-billion-pound corporate divestment. This included agreements for the supply and purchase of raw materials and transitional service arrangements covering I.T., insurance and accounting services and international software licences.
- Supported a global cosmetics brand in establishing their UK route to market and other key partnerships.
- Supported clients in the supply of COVID-19 test development and distribution.
The team
Spanning all 12 of our national offices and working closely together, the Commercial team in Oxford is led by Rebecca Howlett.
Rebecca supports a wide variety of clients – ranging from technology start-ups and farming enterprises, to international cosmetics brands, multinational supermarkets and quoted construction and industrial groups. She also advises clients on the use, development, protection and exploitation of intellectual property rights, in which field she has advised a number of well-known brands. She has experience leading complex projects and building brand strategies for clients, both nationally and internationally.
There will be a wide variety of complex and interesting commercial work for you to support, working closely alongside partners and senior lawyers, with regular exposure to key clients.
Technical skills and experience
The role requires someone with strong analytical skills and the ability to provide concise, commercial advice to clients, whilst really getting to know their business and sector(s), as well as the relevant law.
Candidates with general commercial experience and/or an ambition to specialise are encouraged to apply. You will be enthusiastic about client care and business development and encouraged from an early stage to develop your own contacts and forge strong relationships with clients. Technical skills are important, but we also want you to be yourself – we are a very inclusive team who welcome diversity and enjoy each other's company.
Your career development
Like all our lawyers, you will benefit from our career development pathway. At each stage of your career this provides you with:
- clear expectations of your role and what it takes to progress.
- high quality clients and work, with early responsibility and client exposure.
- thorough assessment and individual feedback from a range of experienced colleagues.
- robust technical training with early skills-based development, tailored to you.
- reward for your contribution, progression and potential, rather than PQE or tenure.
Salary and benefits
We offer competitive salaries and generous benefits.
For more information about this role please do contact Penny Heighway in confidence.
E: [email protected] or M:07794 456 233.
