Corporate ECM, M&A, PE Lawyer – Sydney

Corporate (ECM, M&A, Private Equity) Lawyer/Senior Associate – Sydney

Job description
A&O Shearman is a global industry-leading law firm, with 48 offices in 28 countries worldwide. Our fluency in Australian law, English law, US law, and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets, enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. We work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.
 
We offer exceptional opportunities for our people; opportunities to work for the world’s leading businesses; to transform the status quo, and to deliver your best work,  helping you and your career to thrive, while delivering unparalleled outcomes for our clients.
 
Whether you’re helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the ways we manage our business, or ensuring the smooth-running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. We provide first-rate training and development, we are committed to an inclusive environment and we provide support and ways of working that help you optimise your wellbeing.
 
What truly defines a career with us? We recruit the best and ask for the best of you. And together, we will redefine success.

Department purpose
Recognised as a leading adviser on Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Private Equity (PE), Equity Capital Markets (ECM) and other corporate transactions we are able to combine exceptional transactional skills with specialist expertise including antitrust, technology, regulatory, and tax. This enables us to handle the numerous issues that can arise in a single corporate transaction. We have an exceptional track record in every sector and particular strengths in highly regulated industries.

A&O Shearman is a truly global adviser and we boast an enviable geographic footprint. Our corporate team spans all of our offices and works seamlessly with a global community of relationship law firms giving us access to a further 118 countries. This platform provides our clients with the confidence that they will receive the highest quality advice in both their domestic markets and as they expand into new territories.

Cross-border work is where we excel and the majority of our transactions have a multi-jurisdictional focus. Strong teamwork and efficient working practices and uniform approaches enable us to manage cross-border deals effectively and seamlessly.

A&O Shearman is the only 6- time winner of the FT Innovative Lawyer Awards.  The firm was the first law firm to implement AI tool Harvey at an enterprise level, saving staff 2-3 hours a week on average on routine tasks.  ContractMatrix is the firm’s own drafting tool, created in partnership with Microsoft and Harvey. It is a contract negotiation tool that uses AI and other techniques to free lawyers from processing and allows them to focus on strategic questions. In some cases it saves around seven hours when negotiating a contract. Expert human decision-making, and judgement, is at its heart.

Globally, A&O Shearman has the highest total unique individual lawyer band 1-5 rankings across Chambers directories, and the highest proportion of partners ranked in the BestLawyer rankings.  This means you have the highest possible chance of working for someone that is rated by their peers as a leading lawyer.

Role purpose
We are looking for an Australian, New Zealand, UK or US qualified Lawyers with 3 to 8 years experience to join our corporate team in Sydney, on a full-time permanent basis. We offer:
•             A dynamic work environment and the opportunity to be a part of a leading international law firm with a leading local practice.
•             A variety of intellectually exciting work and the opportunity to work with other departments and offices in an interdisciplinary way, both in Sydney and internationally.
•             Opportunity to be a part of a dynamic team, closely involved in domestic, cross-departmental and cross-border transactions.
•             International and client secondment opportunities to allow our lawyers to work in other environments and offices, and to be exposed to the different cultures that the firm encompasses and serves.
•             Dedicated local and global training programmes and organise professional training on communication, IT skills, management and business development skills.
•             An opportunity to work with and help develop leading legal technology platforms

Key requirements
•             Outstanding academic credentials.
•             Training from a leading law firm with strong ECM, M&A, Private Equity experience
•             Resilient self-starter with the intellectual curiosity and versatility to continuously acquire, build upon and share knowledge.
•             Highly motivated team player with excellent organisational skills.
•             Clear and concise verbal and written communicator with outstanding interpersonal skills and a good eye for detail.
•             Entrepreneurial drive.
•             Strong commercial/business acumen.
•             Clear understanding of law firm economics and an understanding of the firm’s strategic priorities.
•             A person of sound judgement and core values, able to establish a high level of credibility.

Equal Employment Opportunity
A&O Shearman is committed to supporting a culture that drives inclusion. Every day, we’re working hard to create an environment where everyone feels that they can bring their authentic selves to work. To be comfortable and confident to be who they are in the workplace. To feel like they belong.

We welcome applications from people of all ages, genders, sexual orientation, cultural backgrounds, family or caring responsibilities, and people living with a disability.  If you need any support to fully participate in the application process, please contact Australian Recruitment for guidance.