The Role
Job Overview
Our Restructuring and Insolvency Group works on the entire range of corporate restructuring and insolvency assignments, from advising private equity, financial investors, bank and bondholder creditors, governmental bodies and debtors in 'work-out' situations to advising officeholders, creditors and other counterparties in the context of insolvency proceedings. The group also provides advisory support to other areas of the firm on complex financial instruments and corporate and financial transactions.
Who you will work with
The Practice
The Clifford Chance Global Restructuring & Insolvency team is led by a core group of 44 partners who regularly advise all types of stakeholders on some of the most complex and high-profile restructuring situations across the globe. The breadth and depth of our practice allows our clients to benefit from restructuring and finance expertise across a full spectrum of products and structures, providing access to specialists in areas which are often pivotal in distressed situations, such as pensions, tax and derivatives.
The Group
Our team frequently partner with clients through all stages of the transaction - strategic planning, negotiation and implementation - and, where required, use our cross border expertise to give practical guidance on jurisdictional variances and issues. Our overall depth, scope, experience and detailed understanding means we are well placed to provide proactive legal and technical advice of a consistently high quality, irrespective of the scale and complexity of the transaction.
The Restructuring and Insolvency Group sits within the Finance and Capital Markets practice in our London office and comprises of 6 partners and 15 lawyers. The Group regularly partners with teams across a range of practice areas (eg, leverage finance, real estate fine, structured debt) as assignments require.
What you will do
The work profile offered by this group has a strong international bias. Candidates will be working closely with our insolvency practices outside London - especially the US, Asia Pac, The Netherlands, France and Germany. The group is currently involved in a number of high profile restructuring assignments, as well as international insolvencies. We have been retained on these matters because of our ability to service clients' needs for genuine cross-border insolvency capability. This trend will only increase given the fact that most major restructuring and insolvency assignments now have significant cross border elements.
The group's clients include all the major domestic and international financial institutions, a number of private equity and financial investor clients, as well as key insolvency practitioners at major financial advisory firms and the Official Receiver (UK Government appointed insolvency officeholder of "last resort").
Key attractions
- You will work on ground-breaking deals for top tier clients.
- The range, calibre and international scope of our deal flow is unique and makes us stand out from our competitors.
- We are committed to working with clients as integrated team members - which means that, from day one, our lawyers have hands-on client contact.
- We offer all our lawyers real opportunity for secondment, whether to one of our overseas offices or to a London-based client.
- We are proud of our reputation for being a very informal, meritocratic and diverse group and reinforce this with regular social events - both ad hoc and organised.
- We run a sophisticated internal training programme through our "Academy" including "foundation courses" focusing on relevant areas of banking law, off site "immersion courses" and ad hoc lunchtime lectures.
Your experience
Experience:
The successful candidate will have good to solid working knowledge of insolvency and restructuring from a City or equivalent overseas practice or a leading provincial practice. A strong transactional bias would be a distinct advantage, but we will consider applications from lawyers who have had a mix of contentious and non-contentious work. Non-UK qualified lawyers will also be considered.
Qualifications: A strong academic record is essential.
Client Focus:
In order to provide outstanding client service, we need to understand, anticipate and fulfil the unique needs and expectations of each client. We call this "Client Focus" and to help deliver this core part of our business strategy, we want to recruit lawyers who not only have the very highest level of technical skills but are also Client Focused.
We are looking for lawyers who:
- can demonstrate a keen interest and enthusiasm to learn about our clients' business;
- can work in teams, sharing knowledge and motivating and coaching their juniors and contributing to overall success;
- are empathetic, responsive and reliable;
- are commercial and innovative in the solutions they deliver to clients;
- are good at fostering relationships with clients;
How we will support you
From your first day with us, you will have varied opportunities to continuously grow and development your skills and knowledge. From formal training, informal coaching and mentoring through to skills-based and technical training and on the job learning.
Who we are
We are one of the largest international law firms in the world. With over 30 offices across the globe, we strive to exceed the expectations of our clients, providing them with the highest-quality advice and legal insight, which combines the firm’s global standards with in-depth local expertise.
Our firm, work and people span jurisdictions, cultures, and languages. We offer our clients a truly international perspective. We believe every career should be rewarding and stimulating - full of opportunities to learn, thrive, and grow. That’s why we’re so proud of our inclusive, friendly, and team-based approach to work.
Our one firm global strategy is focused on targeted growth led by the needs of our core clients, those who we can best support with the breadth and depth of Clifford Chance expertise, across the sectors and geographies, which matter most to them.
You’ll find our clients in commercial and industrial sectors, the financial investor community, governments, regulators, trade bodies, and not-for-profit organisations. But no matter who they are or why they’ve reached out to us, we provide a world-class service every step of the way. And that’s possible thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and conscientious approach to work that you’ll find across all of our teams.
Whichever area of the business you join, you’ll become an integral part an innovative, diverse and ambitious team of people. Clifford Chance is a place where the brightest minds and the best of colleagues meet.
Hybrid Working
This role follows our 'balanced' hybrid working approach and as long as business needs allow, you will be supported to work in a hybrid way with the expectation of working from the office for a minimum of 50% of your time
Equal opportunities statement
At Clifford Chance, we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team and their families, our firm and society.
We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age. This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment including pay, promotion, training, transfer and every other aspect of employment.
We have a variety of flourishing employee networks. These networks are a place for colleagues to share experiences and advocate for change wherever they see an opportunity for improvement.
Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our firm.
Find out more about our inclusive culture here.