Freshfields is a leading international law firm, with over 2,800 lawyers working in over 150 countries and 70 languages. The world's biggest international organisations rely on us to help them make the right decisions in a fast-changing world.
The Freshfields Hub is responsible for delivering high value, high quality legal solutions, supported by advanced legal technology, to the firm and our clients. The Hub’s Manchester location sits as a strategic part of the firm’s Global Centre there, and is made up of qualified lawyers, Legal Solutions Specialists (“LSSs”) and project management and legal tech specialists. Working closely with other Hub locations in Central Europe and Asia, and with lawyers from around our network, dedicated teams work on complex transactions, disputes and investigations.
Our Antitrust Competition and Trade (“ACT”) practice
Our ACT practice is the world’s pre-eminent antitrust practice offers unrivalled expertise in international, EU and national competition law matters. Competition and antitrust laws around the world are evolving rapidly. Authorities are increasingly using a wide range of powers to investigate mergers, markets, cartels and other behaviour. We have a large, highly integrated team of leading experts in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the US, who work together across multiple locations on a daily basis.
Our clients recognise that this sets us apart, so they come to us with their most significant matters.
With more than 50 partners and 300 lawyers in our worldwide competition team, we are leaders in all aspects of competition law, including mergers, cartel investigations, abuse of dominance, state aid, follow on claims and stand-alone litigation. Freshfields is the only firm to have worked on the leading cases in all these areas.
Qualifications
Role Purpose
There are a number of associates working in the Freshfields Hub in Manchester, with a range of specialisms. This role is for an associate with experience in antitrust, competition and trade.
Our Hub associates ensure the efficient delivery of high quality output from the Freshfields Hub to the firm’s partners, fee-earners and clients. Each utilises experience and knowledge within their core area of expertise to supervise, train and mentor more junior members of the team to deliver service excellence to the firm. They act as a source of knowledge on matters within their area of expertise and liaise with clients or colleagues who are instructing the Hub to ensure that jobs are properly structured and efficiently delivered. They may also be asked to provide standalone advice or assistance on client matters.
This role enables the incumbent to understand our market-leading legal technologies and processes and use them to surpass internal and external clients’ expectations. It also provides the opportunity to identify areas for innovation and development and to help market those to the wider firm and to clients. Our Hub associates work closely with the Quality Assurance and Innovation teams, Continuous Improvement teams and other fee earners around the firm to ensure an efficient and high quality delivery of legal solutions, and to develop the catalogue of solutions provided to the ACT practice from the Hub.
The associate will also be involved in business development activities relating to the solutions that the Freshfields Hub can offer to clients of the firm in the ACT space. For example, they might be asked to participate in pitches to clients for new ACT mandates which would involve a significant Freshfields Hub or legal tech component.
Our Hub associates benefit from a generous compensation package and a clear career path, with opportunities for development and promotion.
Key Responsibilities and Deliverables
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Determine the scope of work required on new ACT mandates in the Hub, in collaboration with the partner, other lawyer or client, including: agreeing deliverables and the appropriate level of project management/oversight; determining the appropriate legal tech solutions that can be used to support the project; and pricing;
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Manage the Hub’s delivery of services on significant cases and investigations, working closely with colleagues in other offices;
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Advising colleagues and clients on a range of competition law and commercial issues, including:
- Working with other fee earners across a range of jurisdictions on merger transactions and competition investigations;
- Analysing merger control scenarios, in particular for the firm’s private equity clients, including managing and actively maintaining relevant client data ;
- Drafting submissions to competition authorities and courts with other parties or the client;
- Assisting with the practical implementation of and compliance with UK Initial Enforcement Orders in completed merger situations; and
- Drafting complex legal documents succinctly and to a high quality standard.
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Take responsibility for the delivery of high quality work product to specification, e.g. by reviewing and analysing the output from the LSSs to ensure a high level of service delivery;
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Proactively identify opportunities for the Freshfields Hub to provide support to the firm’s global ACT practice and supporting the roll-out of relevant solutions;
- Support the firm’s global ACT practice in winning new mandates that involve the use of legal tech and/or the Freshfields Hub;
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Establish effective relationships with partners and clients by displaying a solid understanding of their current and future needs and identifying opportunities for service delivery through promotion of the Freshfields Hub;
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Train/mentor LSSs, trainee solicitors and more junior lawyers;
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Participating in training sessions and team meetings within core area practice groups and with the Quality Assurance, Innovation and Continuous Improvement teams;
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Use ACT expertise to design and deliver training within the Freshfields Hub and to colleagues in the firm’s other offices.
Key Requirements
Essential
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Intellectually strong with a top class academic profile;
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Qualified lawyer;
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A strong technical and commercial background in ACT with the ability to apply this to the needs of the firm’s clients through the services delivered by the Freshfields Hub;
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Interest or involvement in business development activity and innovation, including legal technologies;
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Ability to manage and deliver projects, working across multiple teams and disciplines;
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Ability to advise and influence key stakeholders including partners and the firm’s clients;
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Ability to work internationally, with an appreciation for substantive legal/procedural and cultural differences between jurisdictions;
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A positive role model and team player who actively shares knowledge and contributes to the development of the Freshfields Hub.
Desirable
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Previous experience gained within the relevant areas;
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Proficient in the application of legal technologies.