Associate
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
About us
Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals and over 600 staff based in Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: Real Estate, Corporate Services, Dispute Resolution and Private Client.
We are defined by our Next Level Law proposition. We work with our clients as a proactive partner, horizon scanning and thinking ahead to the changes, challenges or opportunities that they may face.
Next Level Law is also applied to our people. Our collegiate culture means everyone is encouraged to achieve their next level in everything they do. RollOnFriday recently ranked us as the 6th best law firm to work at in 2026.
With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 45% of our partnership.
The team you will join
This role sits in the Corporate Team within the Corporate Services Division.
The Corporate Team is a nationally recognised and highly regarded team which includes over 60 fee earners, and 19 partners, many of whom are recommended in the latest Legal 500 rankings, often in the Hall of Fame category. The Team is enjoying substantial growth, resulting in the need for extra resource to take forward ambitious plans for the future.
The Team’s size and expertise mean we advise entrepreneurs, private equity and venture capital funds, financial institutions, owner-managed and privately owned businesses, as well as international investors and public companies, all at different stages of the business life-cycle from start-ups through to mergers and acquisitions, buy-outs and buy-ins, development capital fundraisings, EOT transactions, institutional sales/purchases, and management buyouts, to refinancing and exits. We are also highly experienced in international corporate transactions and work with a range of overseas law firms on cross-border transactions.
The Corporate Team includes specialist private equity, venture capital, reorganisations, capital markets and incentives/EOT sub teams, and also benefits from working closely with other service lines in the Corporate Services Division, such as the Banking & Finance, Corporate Tax, Company Secretarial and Commercial and Technology teams.
The Team enjoys the resources of two dedicated professional support lawyers, as well as know-how resources such as FromCounsel and Practical Law, and document automation products such as Clarilis. The Team has a Corporate Innovation Group, evaluating and developing innovation ideas and the adoption of new technologies, including AI, to improve efficiencies and the client experience.
We play a leading role in several firm wide sector specialisms, including our Energy and Infrastructure Team, Food and Beverages Team, Independent Healthcare Team, Private Equity Team, Hospitality & Leisure Team, Transport & Logistics Team, and Automotive Team, amongst others.
The work you will be doing
You will assist the team to advise clients on acquisitions, mergers and disposals of companies and businesses (including international transactions), investments, joint ventures and restructurings as well as shareholder agreements and general corporate governance. You will be assisting with the drafting and review of legal documents, preparing corporate ancillary documents and undertaking, co-ordinating and reviewing due diligence exercises.
As such, your work would include:
- drafting, negotiating and agreeing primary and ancillary documentation for corporate transactions
- undertaking legal research
- providing support to the fee earners in the Corporate Team
- managing your own transactions and files
- liaising with other Team members on larger and more complex transactions
- liaising with members of other teams in the firm, on due diligence and other aspects of transactions
- interacting directly with clients
- attending and participating in meetings with clients, intermediaries and other law firms
- attending business development events
- providing an efficient, professional and friendly service to clients.
Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.
What we are looking for
We are seeking a corporate solicitor, with experience of working on corporate transactions, ideally within a regional, national or City corporate team.
Candidates will need to have:
- a good knowledge of Company law, and the ability to use precedents and know-how resources
- experience of corporate transactions
- strong attention to detail to produce documentation which is consistently of a high standard
- commercial awareness
- a flexible approach to work to ensure client deadlines are always met
- the ability to communicate regularly with clients and intermediaries
- the ability to work with other team members, and to delegate to, and supervise trainees and junior team members
- the ability to record time promptly and accurately
- ownership of personal financial performance, demonstrating accountability and a commercial mindset
- awareness of, and attention to, regulatory requirements such as client onboarding requirements and anti-money laundering requirements
- a willingness to adopt and explore AI and technology innovation in line with the Team’s technology strategy
- an interest in and an aptitude towards business development
Prior experience and/or knowledge of any of the firm’s sector specialisms, or the Corporate Team’s specialist practice areas, such as private equity, venture capital, capital markets and reorganisations is beneficial, but not a requirement.
Birketts has designed a 'Talent Management Framework' which provides a career structure that will help us develop, retain and reward talented people. As an Associate, we typically expect candidates to have between 3-6 years PQE.
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight M&A and private equity deal experience prominently in your Personal Statement, as the advert explicitly names these as core team activities.
📊 Quantify your transactional experience: e.g. 'Advised on 14 M&A transactions totalling £120M in deal value across 3 years'.
🎯 Reference any Legal 500 or Chambers recognition in your CV header or profile, as the team is ranked and values peer recognition.
🤝 Mention experience working with cross-border or international law firms, since the advert specifically highlights international corporate transactions as a key team strength.
🌐 Note familiarity with tools such as Practical Law, Clarilis or FromCounsel, as the team uses these daily and listing them signals immediate productivity.
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Advised on 11 M&A transactions totalling £85M in aggregate deal value, leading due diligence, SPA negotiation and completion across owner-managed and private equity-backed mandates.
- •Structured and completed 3 Employee Ownership Trust transactions for SME clients, coordinating with corporate tax advisers to deliver HMRC-compliant share sale arrangements within 10-week timescales.
- •Supported lead partner on a cross-border acquisition involving counsel in 4 jurisdictions, drafting ancillary transaction documents and reducing completion timeline by 2 weeks through Clarilis automation.
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Letter preview — tailored to Birketts LLP
Dear Hiring Manager,
Birketts LLP's Corporate team is exactly the environment I want my practice to grow in — a Legal 500-ranked group of over 60 fee earners advising on private equity, M&A and EOT transactions at scale. The team's breadth across the full business life-cycle, from start-up fundraisings through to management buyouts and cross-border exits, aligns directly with the transactional experience I have built to date.
My background in corporate law encompasses advising owner-managed businesses and institutional clients on M&A transactions, development capital fundraisings and corporate restructurings. I am experienced in leading due diligence processes, drafting and negotiating transaction documents, and managing completions to tight timescales. I am also familiar with Practical Law and document automation tools, enabling me to work efficiently across concurrent matters.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›Walk us through your experience advising on a management buyout from heads of terms through to completion.
- ›How have you used Practical Law or Clarilis to improve drafting efficiency on a corporate transaction?
- ›What are the key legal considerations when structuring an Employee Ownership Trust transaction?
- ›How do you approach due diligence on a cross-border acquisition involving multiple jurisdictions?
- ›Explain the differences in structuring a private equity-backed deal versus an owner-managed business sale.
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you managed competing deadlines across multiple live transactions simultaneously.
- ›Describe a situation where you identified a significant risk during due diligence that others had missed.
- ›Give an example of how you built and maintained a strong client relationship on a complex deal.
- ›Tell me about a time you contributed to innovation or process improvement within your team.
- ›Describe a challenging negotiation you led and how you achieved a favourable outcome for your client.
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you managed competing deadlines across multiple live transactions simultaneously.
Describe a situation where you identified a significant risk during due diligence that others had missed.