Employment Associate

The role

THE OPPORTUNITY

DLA Piper’s global employment practice advises clients worldwide on employment legislation, helping them meet their workforce objectives. We partner with our clients, wherever they do business, to find solutions and manage risk in relation to their employment, incentives and pensions legal challenges and objectives. With lawyers working collaboratively across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, our global employment team is one of the largest in the world, with one of the widest geographical footprints of any international law firm. 

We are currently recruiting for an Associate on a full-time or flexible part-time basis to join the team in our Dublin office.  Our Employment team works as one team across Europe and internationally, and therefore the successful candidate will support Partners across multiple offices regardless of their own location.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

This is your opportunity to become an integral part of the DLA employment team and to deal with a broad range of high profile and complex issues arising in the employment lifecycle of employers in Ireland and internationally. You will work with our global team to drive change, open new opportunities and accelerate growth for both our clients and our people.  

Our Irish clients, and those across the globe, range from start-ups to emerging multinationals and some of the biggest and best-known global brands in the world. We work with our clients locally, internationally and across borders. Our global reach and local knowledge means that we can partner with clients to drive consistency, deliver cost savings and help them identify and manage their priorities and risk across multiple locations.

We assist our clients with acquisitions, outsourcings, expansions or reductions-in-force, local or international employee relations, data protection, local, cross-border or collective litigation, compliance, and risk management issues. 

ABOUT YOU

We pride ourselves on having a collegiate environment and we are looking for down-to-earth but confident lawyers with strong potential. 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 2 – 4 years PQE are likely to have the right level of knowledge and have gained the right level of experience needed to be able to undertake this role. The ideal candidate will:

• have strong Employment experience gained in a leading Irish or international firm
• be able to demonstrate a deep understanding of the issues that are key to our clients
• be commercially astute and stay current on key legal and business news 
• have excellent skills in communication, client relations, and team-working
• be able to work flexibly to tight deadlines within our fast moving environment
• have demonstrable interest in marketing and business development and a desire to be a part of an Irish practice and help to drive the Irish practice forward
• have an interest in and curiosity about employment legislation and case law and an ability to apply it in a pragmatic client-focussed way 

ABOUT US

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers 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 act 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.

We support anyone with a disability or long term health condition to ensure they have the opportunity to perform at their best. If you have not done so already, please let us know if you require any support so we can make the right adjustments and considerations should they be required.

AGILE 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, 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 references from previous employers.