Associate, Competition Disputes

Herbert Smith Freehills

London, United Kingdom

The Role

Our Competition, Regulation and Trade group is consistently rated as one of the leading practices in its field, with a team of lawyers based in Europe (London, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Madrid and Paris), Asia and across Australia. Amongst our clients are leading financial institutions, top Fortune and FTSE companies from all industry sectors, regulatory bodies and national governments.

Our team covers the full spectrum of contentious and non-contentious competition, regulation and trade work globally, including:

cartel and other behavioural investigations;
competition litigation (private enforcement and appeals);
merger control;
antitrust advice;
regulatory matters;
state aid, public procurement, WTO and trade.

This role will have a significant focus on contentious matters, in particular private enforcement and other competition disputes.

We have a market-leading competition litigation practice integrated within the Competition, Regulation and Trade group (working with the firm's wider Dispute Resolution division, our unique QC-led advocacy unit, and our innovative Belfast-based document review and management function). We have particular expertise in defending follow-on, hybrid and stand-alone claims across multiple jurisdictions. This includes acting on many of the most complex recent and on-going cases in the UK, as well as providing expert strategic advice on private enforcement risks and the relationship with the public enforcement process.

The role would involve – in addition to other matters – assisting in the defence of damages actions in the High Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal, and managing the response to multi-jurisdictional claims.

Primary objectives:

Deliver excellent client service and manage and deliver discrete pieces of legal work;
Make an effective contribution to the firm’s work by aiming to meet and exceed target hours;
Build a solid foundation of commercial and legal expertise within a chosen area of law and strengthen relationships with clients, frequently acting as a direct point of contact;
Be responsible for some management and delegation of work to and support of junior colleagues.

Key responsibilities:

Manage work to support optimal utilisation; assist senior lawyers as required, acting as lead lawyer, where appropriate; delegate and provide feedback to juniors and communicate progress on tasks to supervisor and team members, consulting and offering solutions on difficult technical client issues; and manage the billing process as appropriate;
Manage, develop and strengthen client relationships through anticipating client needs and expectations; and provide prompt responses and updates on progress;
Support the firm and others - establish effective relationships with individuals and groups, across the global network; uphold the firm’s values; contribute to the firm’s initiatives (e.g. corporate social responsibility and diversity and inclusion activities); mentor and support juniors; raise profile by being involved with external bodies and supporting and attending marketing/industry events; and assist with internal training and preparation of legal precedents;
Comply with risk requirements, firm policies and all relevant professional responsibilities and legislation and contribute to billing, engagement and client acceptance processes.

Key internal relationships:

Supervising lawyer, other group partners, solicitors/associates, trainees/graduate solicitors, paralegals, secretarial staff.

Key external relationships:

Clients, peers, contacts, other firms and professions (eg financial advisers, intermediaries, experts and local lawyers).

Qualifications, skills and experience:

We would expect the successful candidate to have had between two and five years of post-qualified experience in this area, but are willing to consider those with less or more experience providing they meet the required competencies. Please note however that we cannot accept applications from newly qualified solicitors for this position;
Academic excellence is essential for all positions within Herbert Smith Freehills. We would always expect a 2:1 degree (or equivalent) and solicitors' examinations to have been passed first time. All applications should include full academic details including grades, subjects and transcripts where appropriate;
Hands-on competition experience is essential, including of competition disputes in the High Court and/or the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Candidates will need to be bright self-starters looking for a challenge;
All candidates will be expected to display excellent interpersonal skills and be able to communicate with individuals at all levels;
All candidates must be willing to supervise and develop Junior Associates and Trainees within the group.

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