Our national corporate team provides a comprehensive range of legal services, with a particular focus on corporate transactional work, including mergers and acquisitions, management buy-outs and buy-ins, and trade sales and disposals.  We act on behalf of private equity funds, fund managers and investee companies and their management teams. We also handle company re-organisations and re-structuring, joint ventures, shareholder agreements and investment agreements and offer advice on general company law compliance and corporate governance.

The Legal Director role will showcase the Firm’s commitment to the development of our technical legal expertise and commercial acumen to enhance our offering to clients for  private corporate M&A transactions.

We can consider applications from both Liverpool and Manchester.

 Main duties and responsibilities

• Lead and manage a workload of corporate transactional and company law advisory work (to include structuring and governance) for a variety of clients including owner managed businesses, private and public companies, public sector bodies, LLPs, funds, fund managers, investee companies and their management teams, partnerships and individuals
• To develop and build upon own case load of corporate/company law matters
• Create and deliver excellent technical communications and advice to colleagues, clients and stakeholders
• Acts as a point of contact for clients and colleagues on specialist and/or complex cases.
• Attend, manage and represent Clients or the Firm at required meetings
• Actively become involved in innovation and service delivery projects including AI
• Assist other lawyers in the team with their work as required including supervision of more junior lawyers
• Draft, review and negotiate a variety of transactional and corporate documents
• Train, supervise and develop junior team members
• Ensure the Firm’s financial targets, metrics and practices are adhered to
• Comply with relevant policies and procedures
• Work in accordance with Weightmans’ values

This list is not intended to be exhaustive and you will be expected to perform other duties and have other responsibilities that fall within the wider remit of the role.

About You

• 7 years+ PQE
• An experienced lawyer with proven experience in all aspects of private M&A transactions
• It would also be helpful (although not essential) if the candidate had some experience in private equity
• High level of commercial awareness with strong attention to detail and good drafting skills
• Conscientious, self motivated, hard working, responsive, with critical thinking abilities and excellent communication, organisation and analytical skills
• Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team within the national Corporate teams supporting more senior and junior staff and across the wider firm on larger projects
• Methodical, organised, logical approach
• Passionate about operational excellence generating work opportunities through great service delivery and improving the client experience
• Ability to work to strict deadlines, tight timetables, targets and client protocols while maintaining high standards in terms of accuracy and quality
• Excellent drafting and research skills
• Excellent IT skills

Why work for us

Weightmans is a Top 45 law firm with offices throughout the UK. Having been recognised as the leading legal employer at the annual Britain's Top Employers awards 2021 and achieved record rankings in Chambers UK.

The independent research showed "Weightmans provides exceptional employee conditions, nurtures and develops talent throughout all levels of the organisation."

We are truly committed to fostering a culture of equality and diversity, where everyone in the firm is respected and recognised on merit for the work that they do.

We strongly encourage applications from people of all ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations and disabilities. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustment at any stage of the application process.

Please feel free to note your preferred pronouns in your application.

Work for a firm where people matter – work for Weightmans.

As well as being immensely proud of the work we carry out for our clients and the culture we provide to our people we offer a wide range of benefits including;

28 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays (pro-rated for part time)

Agile / working from home including provision of home office equipment*

Healthcare cover/ Medicash

Pension plan

Life Insurance 4 x salary

Interest free travel loan scheme

Employee Assistance Programme including counselling, legal and consumer advice service

Discounted gym membership

Discounted dental scheme

Cycle to work scheme

Offers & discounts

Great reward and recognition scheme

*there are a small number of roles that cannot be performed from home, your Recruitment Advisor can confirm.

Please note

• Any reference to experience or PQE in our adverts or job descriptions is to be used as a guideline only. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and with different levels of experience who can demonstrate that they fulfil the requirements of the role.

• The successful candidate appointed to this role will be subject to our standard background checking process, and any offer of employment made is conditional upon successful completion of those checks. Further details can be obtained from the Recruitment team.

• We are open to part time/job share applicants.