Associate

Lewis Silkin works with leading businesses to protect and enhance their most important assets - their ideas, their people, their brand and their future. We call it: Ideas. People. Possibilities.

With offices in London, Oxford, Manchester, Cardiff, Belfast, Dublin and Hong Kong, we are recognised by clients and industry alike as being distinct for our unique culture, market-leading practice areas, sector focused approach and for providing solutions to complex, multijurisdictional business challenges, with a pragmatic and human touch. We have two things at our core: people — both ours and our clients’— and a focus on creative, tech and innovative businesses.

Our culture is encapsulated by an ethos of bravery and kindness, guided by our values of Integrity, Clarity, Unity and Excellence (our ‘I-CUE’). We aim to provide a supportive environment for our people, clients and wider community and embrace diversity & inclusion, ensuring people are able to bring their full selves to work.

The core Tax, Reward and Incentives team consists of four people:

• Matthew Rowbotham, the Head of Tax who advises primarily on corporate and commercial transactions, with some incentives work
• Kathy Granby, a Legal Director who advises primarily on share plans and incentive arrangements
• Emma McGrory, a Senior Associate who advises on a variety of corporate, commercial and real estate matters
• Victoria Goode, a Consultant Partner who advises on employment tax, incentives, and some of the regulatory issues associated with incentives in the Financial Services sector

Matthew, Kathy and Emma all sit within the Corporate team.  Victoria’s work is closely tied to the Employment team and so she is a part of the Employment group.

In addition to the core team, Sara Cohen (who previously headed up Incentives work) remains engaged with the firm as a consultant.  In addition Kenneth Leung is a consultant to the Hong Kong office advising on a variety of local law matters including tax and reward.

We are seeking a 2-5-year PQE lawyer with experience of advising on employee share schemes, to work in a small team and take advantage of the opportunity to grow into new areas.  The firm will provide full support in the development of the candidate’s skills and give them the opportunity to do good quality, interesting and varied work based on the firm’s wider Corporate and Employment practices.

The successful individual will work closely with a friendly and supportive Tax, Reward and Incentives team.  The firm is encouraging of growth in the firm’s tax advisory and incentives practice, and the role offers good prospects for personal and career development.  Business development initiatives are encouraged and supported across all levels within the firm and we aim to give all lawyers autonomy where possible to develop their practices within the broader firm strategy.

Prior Experience

Our preferred candidate would have:

• at least 2 years’ experience in a commercial firm with experience advising on the structuring, implementation and operation of employee share incentive schemes
• experience advising on the impact of corporate transactions on such schemes.

We are interested in candidates whether their experience has been primarily with SME private companies or with larger private / listed corporates.  The preferred candidate must be interested in advising, and developing their skills in relation to, a diverse client base.

Experience with more general employment tax matters, would be an advantage but is not a requirement.

IT Skills Required

• Proficient IT skills - Office 365, Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Skype for Business, DocsCorp PDF Docs, Word Compare (DocsCorp CompareDocs), Document Management System (Netdocs), although full in house training will be provided.
• Time recording (Intapp TIME)

Educational and Professional Qualifications Required:

• Qualified lawyer with a current UK practising certificate
• Desire to learn
• Tech savvy and enthusiasm for our sectors
• Team player and sense of fun!

At Lewis Silkin our ethos is simple. We strive to do the best for our clients, our people and the communities in which we operate. We recognise that an inclusive workplace allows for all kinds of ideas and thoughts, a variety of points of view that can trigger discussions or deliver innovative results, and a wide range of versatile skills and expertise. We are proud of the diversity within Lewis Silkin and of our culture that allows people to be themselves at work, ensuring we provide the best possible service to our clients. We are committed to finding the right person for this role and are open to discussing flexible working patterns and office location.