Leveraged Finance Associate Managing Associate

What we will offer:

• A place where you can be yourself and where there are no limits on what you can achieve.
• Ownership of your career with honest conversations throughout.
• An ambitious firm with a clear strategy for profitable growth, offering early responsibility and involvement in growing the business.
• A competitive and fair reward as well as recognition based on all-round performance.

YOU CAN EXPECT:

• A competitive salary and a host of family-friendly policies.
• Life assurance, private health, and dental care for you and your family.
• A range of flexible benefits including gym discounts and retail vouchers.
• Tech cycle and electric car schemes.
• One day per year off to volunteer with any charity that you are involved with outside of work.
• A wellbeing strategy focusing on preventative measures to maintain overall health and support for physical or mental difficulties.
• Hybrid working arrangements, allowing colleagues to benefit from working in the office and remotely.

We are an equal opportunity organisation committed to having a diverse workforce. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, culture, or any other protected characteristics. We aim to create a culture where everyone can be themselves and is valued for their strengths and unique perspectives.

Team Structure:

The Leveraged Finance team is part of our Debt Finance practice, which is part of our wider Finance practice group. The Debt Finance team deals with a wide range of transactional financings including leveraged finance, real estate finance, asset-based lending, secured and unsecured corporate lending, non-contentious debt restructurings, and distressed situations involving corporate trustees.

This role is for a dedicated leveraged finance associate, but there will be opportunities to deploy your skill set supporting other teams within the Debt Finance practice.

The opportunity:

This role is for an experienced Associate or Managing Associate to join our expanding leveraged finance team. Our team operates in the mid-market, and we are looking for someone who has in-depth experience of that market. You will work on a mix of both borrower and lender side transactions, and the ideal candidate will have experience of both. Your clients will include traditional banks, challenger banks, alternative lenders, private equity sponsors, and corporates.

You can expect to gain experience across a broad spectrum of acquisition financings and cashflow lending transactions including senior unitranche, super senior, mezzanine, and holdco PIK facilities. You would also work alongside our Private Equity team on the financing aspects of leveraged buyouts for our private equity clients.

You will join a team with an ambitious growth strategy backed by our senior leadership in a role which offers room for career progression. There is genuine long-term partnership track for the right candidate. You will work with two highly regarded Leveraged Finance partners as well as a team of Managing Associates and Associates supported by a trainee. Much of the work is cross-border, for which you will be navigating the challenges that can arise in overseas jurisdictions to ensure a smooth process.

You would join a culture that is informal and supportive; we aim to do work of the highest quality in an environment that prizes enjoyment as well as excellence. The Debt Finance team benefits from the support of two dedicated Knowledge Development Lawyers.

Main Responsibilities:

• Drafting and negotiating finance documentation including facilities agreements and intercreditor agreements on a range of deal structures.
• Taking the lead on transaction management and supervising deal teams including delegating work to and managing junior lawyers, trainees, and paralegals.
• Liaising with clients and other law firms throughout a deal process with the ability to run key workstreams independently with limited Partner supervision.
• Building excellent working relationships with clients and peers within the Firm, developing one's own internal and external networks of contacts.
• Active involvement in business development including client entertainment, delivery of client training, and client bulletins.
• Active involvement in know-how initiatives including exploring the application of AI and other technology products to improve the efficiency of a deal process.

Attributes/Skills Required:

• Qualified lawyer with excellent academic and professional qualifications.
• Extensive post-qualification experience of mid-market leveraged finance in the UK gained in private practice is essential.
• Background in a firm with an excellent reputation in the field of banking and finance.
• Ability to acquire, consolidate, and apply up-to-date knowledge of the law.
• Accuracy and attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Enthusiasm for business development.
• Organised and able to work to strict deadlines with the ability to prioritise realistically.
• Willingness to challenge and stretch oneself.
• Resilient with the ability to handle setbacks and pressure.
• Cooperative and collaborative in approach and able to develop excellent working relationships at all levels and roles.
• Ability to operate professionally and proactively at all times.
• Good housekeeping/file management practices; manages and records time promptly and accurately.
• Experience of managing junior solicitors, trainees, and paralegals.

This job description is indicative only and does not represent an exhaustive list of responsibilities. The firm reserves the right to alter or change the responsibilities at any time in line with the firm's strategy and business needs.

About the Firm:

Stephenson Harwood is an international law firm committed to creating positive partnerships with our clients. We represent listed and private companies, institutions, and individuals, building lasting relationships to help them succeed in a complex and ever-changing world. Our focus is on five core sectors: Energy Transition, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Private Capital and Funds, Technology, and Transportation and Trade.

With more than 1500 people including 220 partners across ten offices in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, we combine deep legal capabilities and broad commercial expertise. We have forged close ties with high-quality law firms around the world, blending local knowledge with global savvy for clients in over 100 countries. We understand the power of diversity in delivering high calibre advice to our clients. We want to attract diverse talent and we particularly encourage applications from underrepresented demographics.