Banking & Finance Senior Associate

The role

DLA Piper’s Finance team is one of the largest dedicated global practices. We provide pragmatic and actionable solutions to the most pressing challenges for our clients, and we represent leading investment and commercial banks, credit funds, financial sponsors, public and private companies, and regulatory authorities that actively help shape the market. 

Our practice advises on all aspects of financing – including real estate finance, corporate debt finance, leveraged finance and asset-based lending – across a broad range of sectors. Our extensive network allows our clients to tap into the deep resources of our global organisation, taking advantage of our lawyers’ understanding of the particular legal risks and business opportunities that prevail in all major world markets.Our real estate finance clients include banks, credit funds, insurers, local government investment funds, property developers and global property investors.We now present an opportunity for a Senior Associate at 4 – 7 years’ PQE to join DLA Piper’s Global Finance Group to be based in our Leeds and/or Manchester offices.

Our team advises lenders and borrowers on complex, high value and high-profile financing transactions in the UK and internationally. The team has particular expertise in leveraged finance, real estate finance (across a broad range of sectors), corporate finance for PLC borrowers, and assetbased lending.Our Finance Group are a close-knit, collegiate team with an emphasis on developing talent and finding opportunities for our Associates to stretch themselves.

Recent transactions include:

• Advising our lender client on over £200,000,000 of sustainable green debt facilities to a group of companies in order to refinance over 50 logistics assets across the UK. Advising one of the world’s largest provident funds on a £135,000,000 financing of a number of supermarket outlets
• Advising our lender client on the financing of a hotel and members’ club in the City of London
• Advising a pan-European private equity real estate platform on a €185,000,000 financing of the acquisition of several portfolios of affordable residential assets across Spain
• Represented a syndicate of lenders on £115,000,000 of facilities provided to a Company
• Assisted our Client to implement a £50,000,000 ABL facility to provide working capital
• Advised local lenders on the establishment and deployment of their rescue funding schemes such as CBILS and CLBILS
• Advised our Client on a £50,000,000 receivables finance facility, generating working capital for the business following its recent acquisition
• Advised our Client with regards to a $20,000,000 borrowing base facility, generating general corporate and working capital for the business in the UK and USA

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
By joining one of the largest teams of dedicated finance lawyers in the world, you will receive support from Partners devoted to developing and achieving your goals. Candidates will enjoy a uniquely dynamic range of work, acting for borrowers and creditors at all levels of the capital structure. Responsibilities will include, but not be limited to: 

• Working on a broad range of Finance transactions with an emphasis and focus on real estate finance (across a range of sectors) but with opportunities to also work on leveraged finance, corporate finance for PLC borrowers, asset-based lending and general banking work
• Representing lenders and borrowers in complex finance transactionsInternational deal exposure, advising regularly on cross border mandates alongside DLA Piper colleagues in other offices 
• Involvement in drafting a wide range of Finance Documents, including credit agreements, intercreditor agreements and security documents
• Business development activities and contributing to client growth
• Opportunities to develop specialist sector knowledge
• Opportunities to work with Finance partners in both Leeds and Manchester, and from across the UK, not just in your ‘home’ office
• Potential for client or interoffice secondments

ABOUT YOU
We do not set upper or lower limits of PQE for any of our vacancies. We have however given an indicative PQE as an approximate guide for applicants. Candidates who have between 4 – 7 years’ PQE are likely to have the right level of knowledge and have gained the right level of experience needed to be able to successfully undertake this role.
The ideal candidate will: 

• Be a Solicitor, qualified in England & Wales or a Commonwealth jurisdiction
• Be an experienced finance lawyer within at least one of the practice areas mentioned above 
• Demonstrate strong technical skills in finance work, with an international awareness and focus to their work
• Be comfortable acting as the ‘lead lawyer’ in a transaction team, taking responsibility for the key documents, reporting to the matter partner and supervising junior associates
• Demonstrate good financial hygiene on transactions and understand their role in winning and delivering profitable work
• Be willing to work in areas of Finance outside of their direct experience to become a more rounded finance lawyer
• Be commercially astute and stay current on key legal and business news
• Have excellent skills in communication, client relations, and team-working 
• Provide a professional, quality service in a timely manner, and responds effectively to requests from internal and external clients 
• Experience of multi-jurisdictional transactions would be preferable but is not essential
• Be able to handle multiple priorities, working to sometimes conflicting timescales in a fastpaced and challenging environment
• Be able to build trust and rapport to develop effective relationships, internally and externally
• Be keen to get involved in business development (with the right support from Partners and colleagues)
• Comply with professional standards and all relevant regulatory obligations
• Comply with the firm’s systems, policies and procedures in all matters, including compliance, financial systems and time recording.
• Maintain a controlled, objective and flexible approach under pressure 
• Be proactive and innovative

ABOUT US
DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers and business service professionals located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Our global reach ensures that we can help businesses with their legal needs anywhere in the world. We strive to be the leading global business law firm by delivering quality, service excellence and value to our clients and offering practical and innovative legal solutions to help them succeed. Our clients range from multinational, Global 1000, and Fortune 500 enterprises to emerging companies developing industry-leading technologies, as well as government and public sector bodies.

OUR VALUES
In everything we do connected with our People, our Clients and our Communities, we live by these values:

• Be Supportive – we are compassionate and inclusive, valuing diversity and acting thoughtfully
• Be Collaborative – we are proactive, passionate team players investing in our relationships
• Be Bold – we are fearless and inquisitive, challenging ourselves to think big and find creative new solutions
• Be Exceptional – we are strategic and driven, exceeding standards and expectations

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
At DLA Piper, diversity and inclusion underpins how we live our values and everything we do. We believe that everyone has a voice, and that everyone’s voice counts. We know that the rich diversity across our firm makes us stronger, more innovative and creative, which helps us to better serve our clients and communities. We are committed to providing an inclusive working environment and culture across our global firm, where everyone can bring their authentic self to work.
Diversity of perspective, thought, background and culture combine to make us the leading global law firm; that’s why we actively seek to build balanced teams. We welcome the unique contribution that you will bring to our firm and actively encourage applications from all talented people – however your talent is packaged, whatever your background or circumstance and regardless of how you identify.

HYBRID WORKING
We recognise that people have responsibilities and interests outside of their career and that as a business, we all benefit from working flexibly. That’s why we are open to discussing with candidates the different ways in which we are able to support requests for agile working arrangements.

PRE-ENGAGEMENT SCREENING
In the event that we make an offer to you, and where local legislation permits and where relevant, we will conduct pre-engagement screening checks that may include but are not limited to your professional and academic qualifications, your eligibility to work in the relevant jurisdiction, any criminal records, your financial stability and work-related references.