This is a team that has "a glowing reputation for commercial litigation" (Chambers & Partners)
We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Associate to join our well-regarded, successful and top ranked Commercial Disputes team in Bristol. We are particularly interested in candidates with experience of acting in high-value, complex High Court proceedings as well as regulatory and internal investigations in the UK and internationally.
The practice
Osborne Clarke's Commercial Disputes practice acts on a wide range of litigation, arbitration, investigations and crisis management mandates for international and domestic clients, including market leaders in the financial services, professional services, technology, media, telecoms, life sciences, retail, energy, mobility and infrastructure sectors both nationally and internationally. We act on:
- High-value, complex High Court proceedings;
- International arbitration
- Disputes arising from allegations of fraud, negligence and other misconduct;
- Accounting and audit-related disputes;
- Practice protection matters, helping clients manage contentious issues affecting their businesses and reputations;
- Contractual and corporate disputes, including post-transaction disputes and defending claims brought by shareholders;
- Regulatory investigations and related enforcement proceedings;
- Internal investigations in the UK and internationally, including those arising from suspected misconduct, whistleblowing concerns or potential litigation and enforcement action; and
- Cross-border disputes and investigations involving multiple jurisdictions, regulators and enforcement authorities.
The team is fully integrated into Osborne Clarke's growing national and international network, enabling us to support clients on complex matters across jurisdictions.
Find out more about our commercial disputes practice here: https://www.osborneclarke.com/services/dispute-resolution
The role
This role will involve working closely with partners and colleagues specialising in commercial disputes and also collaborate with our non-contentious teams where disputes and investigations require advice across practice areas.
We are investing heavily in our disputes practice and the department is growing, increasing the breadth and depth of its expertise and resources as part of the overall strategic growth of Osborne Clarke's UK and international offices.
At Senior Associate level, you will play an important role in managing matters, developing client relationships and supporting the development of junior colleagues.
You will have substantial experience in complex commercial litigation and investigations, with a particular focus on:
- Acting in high-value High Court claims, including complex, multi-party and cross-border proceedings; and
- Advising on and conducting internal investigations, both in the UK and internationally, including matters involving potential parallel civil, regulatory and criminal exposure.
You will take a leading role in the day-to-day management of complex matters, working closely with partners to develop and implement litigation and investigation strategies. This will include managing teams and workstreams, coordinating with counsel, experts and overseas advisers, and providing clear, practical advice to clients.
You will have significant client contact and responsibility, including helping clients navigate sensitive issues and make decisions under pressure. You will also contribute to business development, deepen existing client relationships and help identify opportunities to grow the practice.
Technical skills and experience
We are looking for evidence of strong technical ability and sound judgement, as well as a proven track record in handling complex disputes and investigations.
In particular, you will be able to demonstrate:
- Substantial experience of High Court litigation, including high-value and complex claims;
- Experience advising clients in regulatory investigations and conducting internal investigations;
- Strong analytical, drafting and case management skills, including experience of handling complex evidence and working with experts;
- The confidence to provide commercially focused advice and build trusted relationships with clients;
- Experience supervising and developing junior lawyers, with the ability to manage teams, budgets and competing priorities; and
- An interest in contributing to the continued growth of the practice through client development and wider team initiatives.
Given the nature of the work and the responsibilities of the role, we are looking to appoint at Senior Associate level. However, we are happy to consider applicants with more or less experience who can demonstrate the relevant skills and capability.
Your career development
Like all our lawyers, you will benefit from our multi-award winning career development programme. At each stage of your career this provides you with:
- clear expectations of your role and what it takes to progress;
- high quality clients and work, with early responsibility and client exposure;
- thorough assessment and individual feedback from a range of experienced colleagues;
- robust technical training with early skills based development, increasingly tailored to you; and
- reward for your contribution, progression and potential, rather than PQE or tenure.
Location
Our UK offices are in London, Bristol and Reading.
Salary and benefits
We offer competitive salaries and generous benefits.
For more information or to apply
At Osborne Clarke we welcome direct applications - if you would like any further information about the role, or the firm, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact, in complete confidence, Angharad Jenkins in the recruitment team on [email protected].
At Osborne Clarke we value difference and encourage applicants from all social backgrounds, ethnicities, disabilities, gender identities, and sexual or romantic orientations. We want everyone to feel that OC is a place where you can be yourself and where you belong, and our range of interest groups and diversity networks - not to mention our great teams - are a part of making that a reality.
We support working families via a range of family and caring friendly policies and will accommodate flexible working where we can. We value the health and wellbeing of our people: for example, we're signatories to the Mindful Business Charter, have an active network of mental health champions and offer free initiatives and flexible benefits to all our people.
Being an inclusive employer is important to us. We have made a number of external commitments such as the Race Fairness Commitment and Women in Law Pledge, and are working with organisations like Stonewall to become a more inclusive employer.
Osborne Clarke is a Living Wage Employer, so we're committed to paying everybody in our business enough to live on and to enable them to save for the future.
We want you to be able to show us your best during the recruitment process. If you require any adjustments to be made during the application, interview process or when working with us, please let us know.
Our recruitment process
We welcome direct applications for our opportunities - if you would like any further information about this role or the firm, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact, in complete confidence, Angharad Jenkins on [email protected]
Please note we review and progress applications on a rolling basis. At Osborne Clarke we do not make any recruitment decisions using automated decision-making.
We are committed to providing an environment where you can perform to the best of your abilities at every stage of your recruitment experience and beyond. If you require any adjustments to be made during the application stage, interview process, or when working with us, please let us know in confidence.