Restructuring Legal Director in Manchester

We are seeking a Restructuring Legal Director to join our national team in Manchester. This is a pivotal appointment for a senior, transactional and advisory‑focused restructuring lawyer who wants to play a key role in the continued growth of our practice. You will work closely and report directly to Aneesh Prasad while collaborating with partners and colleagues nationally. The role is suited to someone who is motivated to take ownership of complex restructuring assignments and to help shape the future direction of our Manchester offering. We are looking for lawyers who are invested in their future and in the success of the firm. Please apply if you are ambitious to take the next step in your career.

Our Restructuring team are trusted advisers to a wide-ranging and sophisticated client base, delivering high quality transactional and corporate advisory support across both local and national markets. Our breadth of expertise means the successful candidate will work with - and adapt quickly to the needs of - a diverse portfolio of clients, including:

• secured creditors, asset‑based lenders, invoice discounters, financial institutions, panel clients and surety bond providers.
• restructuring professionals, including national and regional accountants, insolvency practitioners, turnaround specialists and independent restructuring advisers.
• boards, executive teams and regulatory bodies, providing clear, commercial guidance at critical moments.
• clients across our Corporate Platform and the wider Gateley Group, drawing on our legal and non‑legal multidisciplinary offering.

Our Restructuring team brings together specialists across restructuring, transactional solutions, corporate workout and contentious matters. We advise on the full spectrum of financial and organisational restructuring, including solvent and insolvent business sales and exits, distressed M&A, antecedent transactions, asset recovery, enforcement strategies, financial and operational change, stakeholder negotiations, turnaround projects, debt trading, directors’ duties and corporate governance. The team sits within Gateley’s Corporate Platform, working seamlessly with colleagues in Dispute Resolution and Complex International Recoveries to deliver integrated, commercial solutions to our clients. We invest heavily in our people and are committed to recruiting and retaining leading talent. The team offers a genuinely nurturing environment with a clear and structured pathway for long‑term progression - including partnership for those with the ambition and capability to achieve it.

The ideal candidate will have a real passion for restructuring, solid experience, and keen to cement their place as a key advisor in the market. You will take a leading role on local and national restructuring mandates, including:

• Delivering high‑quality transactional and corporate advisory restructuring work;
• Project‑managing multi‑stakeholder work‑outs and financial or operational restructurings;
• Advising boards, insolvency practitioners and lender‑side clients;
• Supervising, developing and mentoring our growing junior cohort, helping to build capability within the team;
• Supporting business development initiatives with Aneesh and the wider Unit.

A strong candidate will bring:

• Established experience in restructuring and advisory work;
• The confidence and capability to act as a senior, visible member of the team;
• Demonstrable experience in supervising and upskilling junior colleagues;
• Enthusiasm for business development and the drive to help shape our market presence;
• A clear vision for their medium‑term career development.

We are forward thinking and straight talking, our approach is to find solutions to the problems that our clients face. Gateley is a legal and professional services group, we are a group of formidable experts in all areas of law and business. Passionate problem solvers, we get our kicks from finding the right answers and getting our legal and business clients where they need to be. We support more than 5,700 active clients, ranging from FTSE 100 companies to private individuals, in the UK and beyond. Being part of Gateley is not just about the expertise that you bring; it’s about attitude too. The ‘Gateley Story’ is the story of our people and our culture. It is what has got us to where we are today as a successful business and it’s the driving force behind the Gateley Team Spirit and the values that have shaped it. We have a set of shared internal values that capture what the Gateley Team Spirit is and this includes five elements that bind us all together as one Gateley: Ambitious for Success, Forward Thinking, Room to Breathe, Trusted to Do and Working Together. Every year across the group, we recognise members of our team that have gone above and beyond and have lived these shared values. They are recognised at our annual Gateley Team Spirit awards.

With support, coaching and feedback from some of the most engaging colleagues around, our great development and progression opportunities will reward your commitment and loyalty. We offer a competitive remuneration package where you’ll be rewarded for your individual performance with an opportunity to receive an annual bonus. In addition, we have a wide range of learning and development opportunities via our Learn platform to develop new skills and progress your career. Our My Flex comprehensive rewards package includes options covering annual leave (and the benefit of purchasing extra days), cycle to work, critical illness benefit, employee assistance programme, group personal pension, health care, season ticket loan and many more benefits (grade dependent). Finally, with Perks At Work/Home you can select a host of retail benefits that suit your needs alongside a Community Online Academy, free courses for all from fitness to coding to languages to hip hop dance.

Diversity, inclusion and well‑being is an important part of Gateley’s culture and values. We recruit talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures, providing equal opportunities for all to join our team regardless of age, sex, race, sexual orientation, disability, or culture. We create an exciting and rewarding place to work that aims to fulfil everyone's potential and together to achieve personal and business goals. We offer flexible working patterns to help our staff achieve a good work/life balance and we encourage candidates seeking flexibility in their next role to apply for any of our vacancies. We are proud to have been recognised by The Law Society as gold standard for our Diversity and Inclusion Charter and to be Stonewall Diversity Champions.

If you are successful in receiving an offer of a role with our company, a variety of pre‑employment screening checks will be completed. Our screening checks can include but are not limited to your eligibility to work, professional and academic qualifications, any criminal records, your financial stability and references from previous employers. The screening that takes place will be relevant to your role and will vary from role to role.