Senior Associate - Corporate

gunnercooke LLP is a Top 75 UK law firm recognised across 28 disciplines, with over 50 individually ranked lawyers. Since launching in 2010, the firm has grown to more than 450 solicitors, including 360+ Partners, and has established a market-leading corporate and transactional practice advising owner-managed businesses, private equity sponsors, and high-growth companies.

With offices throughout the UK, Germany, and the US, gunnercooke combines genuine international reach with a partner-led, entrepreneurial culture. The firm acts on domestic and cross-border M&A, growth capital, and corporate finance transactions for clients ranging from founder-led businesses to institutional investors.

The firm’s innovative revenue-share model gives each Partner genuine autonomy over their practice and client relationships. This entrepreneurial structure means Partners work closely with the clients they choose, originate their own deal flow, and set fees that reflect the complexity and value of each transaction.

Due to continued growth in deal flow, our Corporate Partner is looking to add a Senior Solicitor to a high-calibre transactional team of six that consistently advises on mid-market M&A, private equity, and growth capital transactions.

The Role

We are seeking a Senior Associate (6+ PQE) with strong M&A and private equity experience to join our Corporate Partner’s transactional team in London.

The ideal candidate will be a technically excellent transactional lawyer who thrives in a fast-paced deal environment. You will be comfortable leading workstreams on live transactions, managing due diligence processes, drafting and negotiating transaction documents, and coordinating with multidisciplinary advisers to drive deals to completion.

You will bring deep experience across the full transaction lifecycle, including buy-side and sell-side M&A, private equity investments (primary, secondary, and co-invest), management buyouts, venture capital funding rounds, and corporate reorganisations.

This is an outstanding opportunity for an ambitious transactional lawyer looking to work on high-quality mid-market deals, develop direct client relationships, and help build a practice with genuine autonomy.

Core transactional work includes:

• Buy-side and sell-side mergers and acquisitions (share and asset deals)
• Private equity transactions, including MBOs, LBOs, and growth equity investments
• Venture capital and early-stage funding rounds
• Corporate reorganisations and group restructurings (solvent and distressed)
• Management incentive plans, EMI schemes, and carried interest arrangements
• Portfolio company corporate governance and post-acquisition integration
• Shareholders' agreements, subscription and investment agreements, and co-investment structures
• Completion accounts, locked-box mechanisms, and warranty and indemnity insurance
• Due diligence coordination and management across legal and financial workstreams

The team advises on the full spectrum of mid-market transactions, from competitive auction processes and take-privates through to bolt-on acquisitions, carve-outs, and exit events.

Personal Specification

To be successful in this role, you will have a minimum of 6 years' post-qualification experience gained at a Top 200 firm, with a demonstrable track record of autonomously running M&A and private equity transactions from origination through to completion.

You will be proactive, commercially minded, and confident managing multiple live deals simultaneously. A portable client following and strong business development pipeline is essential.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to identify and negotiate key deal points.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to produce clear, precise transaction documentation.
• Meticulous attention to detail, particularly in due diligence review and disclosure exercises.
• Proven ability to build trusted relationships with clients, co-counsel, and counterparty advisers, including private equity sponsors and management teams.
• Confident with transactional technology, including virtual data rooms, document management systems, and Microsoft Office.
• Ability to manage competing deal timetables and prioritise effectively under pressure.

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