Associate - Banking in Cambridge

Here at Mills & Reeve, we are hiring a Banking Solicitor into our national team, to be based in either Cambridge or Norwich.

Due to significant and continued growth of our dedicated banking & finance teams in East Anglia, we need an ambitious banking & finance associate to join our banking team. The banking & finance practice is headed up by Frances Churchard and Sarah Seed in Cambridge and Zak Virgin in Norwich, and this is a fantastic opportunity for an ambitious junior lawyer to help to build this practice. You will work closely with Frances, Sarah, Zak and the rest of the team, but can also expect to work with our national banking & finance team.

You will ideally have between 0 and 4 years' PQE with experience gained in a firm renowned for banking and finance work. Your experience will be substantially or wholly gained working in the banking and finance sector, and you will be ambitious to progress. We are looking for someone with:

• Excellent communication and organisational skills
• A self-starting attitude, common-sense and initiative
• Strong attention to detail
• The ability to build good working relationships with existing and potential clients
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of a team.

Your Responsibilities Will Include:

• Advising banks, alternative lenders, funds and other corporate and institutional clients (both borrowers and lenders) on a range of national and international financing transactions. You will be given the opportunity to work on corporate banking, real estate investment and development finance, acquisition and leveraged finance, asset-based lending, government finance and debt capital markets transactions.
• Advising universities and other not-for-profit institutions on a range of financing transactions. Our work in the higher education sector is a particular focus for the team and one for which we're widely recognised.
• Supporting the corporate and real estate teams on the financing aspects of private equity deals, mergers and acquisitions, property development and investment financings and more.
• Being actively involved and participating in business development – both independently and with the wider team - with new and existing clients and taking responsibility for developing and sustaining relationships directly with clients.

Our client base covers a broad spectrum of the UK market, including clearing banks, challenger banks, alternative lenders, debt funds, international banks and asset-based lenders, together with other not-for-profit, corporate and institutional clients. You'll get the opportunity to work closely with our clients; we believe in giving junior associates lots of client contact and a broad range of work.

You will be based in either our Cambridge or Norwich office but will work with members of our national banking team. The cross-office banking team is part of the wider Corporate and Commercial National Service Line, currently headed by William Roles. If you want to join a supportive and collaborative team, dealing with high value complex and cutting edge domestic and international banking work, this is a role for you.

Our banking and finance team is rated by both Chambers UK and Legal 500 and each of the team's partners are ranked as leading individuals in Chambers UK. We have a proven track record of acting on “first of a kind” transactions where we have developed new structures and solutions to help clients with particular requirements to access financing. We see innovation in financing structures as crucial to our continued success and growth in a rapidly changing finance sector.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

As you'd expect, we offer a competitive salary and a wide range of benefits.

If we offer you a role, we will conduct comprehensive pre-employment screening. This screening will include, but is not limited to, a basic DBS, verification of your right to work, a three year employment history and a self-declaration to assess your character and suitability for the role. Full details of our pre-screening employment process are available upon request.

Mills & Reeve is centred on achieving more for clients, their businesses and the wider communities we serve. Our clients and their industries benefit from our knowledge and learning, and receive consistent experiences with no surprises. We build personal relationships, with advice individually tailored to individual need.

By joining Mills & Reeve, you'll have the chance to build your skills and experience within a firm that's not only ranked in the top 50 UK law firms, but also one that truly values their people. We're also ranked in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list, and have been awarded Platinum Investors in People. Our mantra is “Achieve more. Together.”, which we feel embodies our purpose and is more than just a catchphrase!

Our values are the principles that help us fulfil our purpose. Our people shaped them and live them every day.

• We're ambitious - We aim high, we embrace new ideas and we're passionate about our work
• We're open - We communicate openly and honestly to build trust, and we do what's right
• We care - We're committed to each other, our clients, our communities and the planet
• We collaborate - We're easy to work with, we offer help willingly and we get things done – together

Everyone at Mills & Reeve brings a unique perspective and ideas to the team and we do everything we can to help each person to thrive. We're committed to providing an inclusive and supportive working environment, are happy to consider flexible working arrangements, and want to achieve the right balance for both our people and the firm. We encourage everyone to ask if they feel they need any workplace adjustments, and will do our best to support with these.