Senior Associate

Successful businesses rely on a unique set of ideas and people . We help our clients protect and develop those vital assets, unlocking possibilities for future success.

From iconic brands and leading multinationals to pioneering start-ups, we are proud to work with a huge range of inspiring clients, helping them to turn their ideas into reality and get the best from - and for - their people.

Our people are not only exceptional at what they do, they also enjoy doing it and consistently give their best to a firm they’re proud to be part of. This stems from our firm culture and our ethos of bravery and kindness . That ethos runs through everything we do, from our approach to recruitment, business practices, and DEI activities to the day-to-day environment in our office and our relationships with clients.

With an internationally minded team of more than 700 working across key areas of law – plus strategic partnerships around the world – we’ve got both the combination and calibre of legal experts it takes to enable our clients’ businesses to thrive. Whether it is providing global employment law advice, managing a global IP portfolio or piecing together a multijurisdictional corporate transaction, we are able to have the right people, in the right place, at the right time.

About the Employment team

Consistently top-ranked amongst our peers for over two decades, we advise UK and multinational clients of all sizes, with most of our Partners independently rated as leaders in the field. Not only do we have the largest employment team in the UK, we have truly global reach as members of Ius Laboris, the world’s leading employment law alliance, and with our Asia Pacific base in Hong Kong and our Dublin offices.

We help clients realise the potential in their people and navigate their strategic HR and legal issues, with dedicated specialists in all areas of employment law and a track record of leading precedent setting cases on issues of the day.

Our experts advise on the full range of employment services:

• General employment – day to day queries e.g. disciplinaries and grievances, contracts and policies, flexible working, maternity rights, discrimination and support on larger projects such as restructures and redundancies.
• Employment litigation – defending Employment Tribunal claims made against employers (e.g. unfair dismissal discrimination, whistleblowing, equal pay), bringing high value Employment Tribunal claims on behalf of individuals and supporting with dispute resolution through mediation/ arbitration.
• High Court litigation – restrictive covenant litigation, team moves, obtaining/ resisting/ enforcing injunctions, claims relating to misuse of confidential information
• Trade Unions/Collective – advising employers on all aspects of industrial action, collective consultation, union recognition and works councils.
• Transactional support – supporting on the employment aspects (including due diligence and TUPE) of M&A, divestments and outsourcings.
• Atypical working – advising on areas such as agency workers, zero hours contracts, employment status, apprenticeships, the gig economy.
• Global mobility – supporting employers with the relocation of employees for long term periods (covering employment, immigration and tax issues).
• Reward - covering employment tax, cash plan and incentives, shares and options and other aspects of employee reward.
• Health & Safety - implementing policies, conducting risk assessments and advising employers on their legal obligations.
• Senior Executives - high value litigation, bonus/ breach of contract claims and advice relating to entering and exiting businesses.
• Irish employment law - all aspects of Irish employment law.
• Northern Irish employment law – all aspects of Northern Irish employment law.
• Hong Kong employment law - all aspects of Hong Kong employment law and local coordination of matters across Asia Pacific.
• International employment support – coordinating and project managing advice from single country matters to global projects. For larger international clients, we are able to provide platforms to log/track queries.

About the role

We have developed detailed career benchmarks which set out what you will be expected to achieve at each level of your professional development:

• Providing technical legal expertise: you will continually seek to build on your current knowledge and proactively look to improve your advising skills.
• Delivering excellent service: you will analyse legal information to solve problems and formulate arguments or strategy relevant to your clients’ needs. You’ll also use your initiative to proactively manage work and provide regular and appropriate updates to your stakeholders.
• Building relationships: you will proactively develop positive working relationships with colleagues, ensuring that you work collaboratively and that you treat all colleagues with respect and professionalism.
• Developing our business: you will have an awareness of the firm’s goals and clients and have an appropriate level of involvement in building and maintaining relationships with key clients and prospects.

About you

Our ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• 5+ years’ post-qualification experience in an Employment team. Ideally you will be dual qualified and have experience in Employment Laws in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
• Deep technical knowledge of most of the employment areas listed above
• Excellent drafting, analytical and communication skills as well as strong attention to detail.
• Comfortable with taking responsibility for work output, working autonomously and dealing directly with clients
• Experience supervising junior lawyers is helpful
• An ambitious, proactive, curious, commercial, responsive attitude.
• Examples of marketing and business development initiatives they have been involved with
• Experience of acting for employer clients on both general advisory and employment litigation work is preferred.
• A team player who is keen to support others to learn and who is keen to learn and develop their own skills

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 supporting candidates throughout the recruitment process by supporting anyone who requires adjustments, in order to ensure they have the opportunity to perform at their best. All applicants will be considered equally and fairly. If you’d like to request any adjustments throughout the recruitment process, or would like to discuss flexible working patterns, please email the recruitment team in confidence (***email_hidden***).