Corporate Senior Associate

London – £90,000 - £125,000

Corporate Associate (5–8 PQE) Build a Practice in a High-Quality, Flexible Team, London

This is a corporate role for lawyers who want more than just executing deal documents.

The opportunity is to join a lean, well-regarded corporate team where senior associates are trusted with real responsibility: running matters, owning client relationships, and shaping the direction of the practice over time. The emphasis is on quality, autonomy, and sustainable growth, rather than volume or leverage for its own sake.

You will have the platform to develop a niche, grow a personal profile, and contribute meaningfully to business development, without being micromanaged or expected to sacrifice flexibility to do so.

The Role

You will advise on a steady pipeline of M&A-led corporate work, with a genuinely broad all-rounder remit. The work spans private M&A, investments, restructurings, and general corporate advisory matters, often acting for owner-managed businesses, growth companies, and their advisers.

As a senior associate, you will:

• Run transactions with increasing autonomy, acting as the day-to-day lead on matters.
• Work closely with partners on deal strategy, structuring, and client management.
• Supervise and support junior lawyers, helping develop the next layer of the team.
• Engage directly with the team’s established referrer base (including accountants and corporate finance advisers), helping convert opportunities and deepen relationships.
• Play an active role in business development, whether through networking, relationship-building, thought leadership, or developing a specialist angle.
• Shape your own progression: the team uses individual business plans to support niche-building and longer-term practice growth rather than a one-size-fits-all model.

This is not a role where BD is a buzzword or an afterthought. You are encouraged—and supported—to build something that is yours.

What You’ll Need

• Around 5–8 years’ PQE in corporate law.
• Strong M&A experience, with the confidence to run transactions and manage clients.
• A broad corporate skillset. The team is M&A-weighted and values versatility; very narrow specialisms are considered only where there is clear market traction or a credible plan to build one.
• Confidence working directly with clients, referrers, and other professional advisers.
• A genuine interest in building a practice, whether through referrer relationships, networking, or developing a niche area over time.
• A collaborative mindset, with a willingness to mentor and support junior team members.

The Team

You will join a small, high-quality corporate group made up of partners, associates, and dedicated support. The team is known for being agile, commercial, and pragmatic, with a strategy focused on remaining profitable and adaptable rather than tied to a single market cycle.

The approach is deliberately lean: senior lawyers are trusted, decisions are made quickly, and there is meaningful visibility with partners and clients.

The Firm

The wider firm is multi-office and well-established, with a reputation for treating people like adults.

Key features include:

• Hybrid working with flexibility that is genuine, not performative.
• Openness to an 80% working week for the right candidate.
• A culture built around autonomy, accountability, and quality of output, rather than presenteeism.
• A long-term view on performance, progression, and retention.

Why This Role Is Different

You are not joining to “crunch” a pre-fed pipeline or sit beneath layers of hierarchy.

You are joining to:

• Own client and referrer relationships.
• Develop a niche or market profile with real backing.
• Grow alongside a supportive, established team that wants senior associates to succeed.
• Take advantage of genuine cross-referral opportunities, including alongside an expanding Commercial Property capability.

For the right lawyer, this is a platform role: one that offers responsibility, flexibility, and the chance to build something meaningful within a credible, high-quality environment.

If this sounds of interest, please feel free to reach out to dalton@douglas-scott.co.uk / 07441473265