Associate- M&a

Job Description - Associate
- M&A - Private Equity - Brussels (240001DP)

**Firm Summary**
White & Case is an elite global law firm serving leading companies, financial institutions and governments worldwide. Our long history as an international firm means we are perfectly placed to help our clients resolve their most complex legal challenges wherever they may be.

With lawyers and staff operating from more than 47 locations, working in virtually every country of the world, we have invested heavily in building a high-quality full-service practice competing at the top of the market. We are distinguished by our on-the-ground presence in the world’s key financial markets and our strengths in handling complex cross-border work.

It’s not just about our global network of offices and shared services centers; it’s the global interconnectedness of the Firm that our people, and our clients, value most. We work well together across geographic and practice boundaries. It’s one of the reasons we attract and retain cross-border work. And why we attract a diverse group of people.

Our lawyers are globally minded, enterprising, collaborative and committed to excellence. Diversity is a core value of our Firm and it has been recognized with numerous awards and top rankings around the world. Our people represent 90 nationalities and speak 80 languages.

**Position Summary**
We are currently looking for an Associate to join the M&A - Private Equity team in our Brussels office.

As an associate in our practice, you will be working in an exciting working environment, handling challenging, time-sensitive deals that demand a dynamic approach and a resilience of character. From the moment you join, you can expect to be working with - and learning from - partners and other senior lawyers within our team, as well as with colleagues in groups across the firm, including Private Equity, Investment Funds, Corporate M&A, Tax, Debt Finance, Capital Markets, FRI, Regulatory, Commercial Litigation and Arbitration. Given the strong cross-border dimension to our work, you will also be interacting regularly with lawyers across our global offices, and travelling to international destinations as required.

You will be expected to assist and handle a wide range of deal-focused tasks, such as leading on diligence exercises, drafting documents, and managing outside counsel and teams of trainees and paralegals. A meritocratic practice that places a strong emphasis on professional development, we aim to provide all our associates with significant responsibility at an early stage in their careers.

The work is demanding, but also highly rewarding: supported by your colleagues at every step, you can enjoy the satisfaction of contributing to your team’s success in closing high-profile deals for some of the market’s major private equity players globally.

Working in a client-facing practice, excellent communication and interpersonal skills will also be significant assets - enabling you to form strong professional relationships, and to explain sophisticated legal concepts in clear, precise language that can be easily understood by non-lawyers. Highly organized and deadlines-driven, you should relish the challenge of delivering outstanding work within the short timeframes our clients expect.

**Our Practice Area**
Our M&A - Private Equity practice is a highly integrated, multi-disciplinary group of lawyers who know how to get deals done. Collaborating across our global network, we provide clients with seamless service and deep industry experience, often on complex mandates involving multiple specialties and jurisdictions. Recognized as one of the foremost practices in our field, we are trusted by private equity leaders - established institutions and entrepreneurs, as well as emerging visionaries - to handle market-leading transactions, from strategic add-on deals to ground-breaking, monumental acquisitions.

**Duties and Accountabilities**
- Assisting clients and the team with the coordination of complex, cross-border M&A transactions.
- Drafting tailor-made agreements (including share purchase agreements and shareholders’ agreements) and other transaction documents.
- Conducting legal research and the drafting of memoranda.
- Carrying out and coordinating due diligence, drawing up due diligence reports and communicating the findings to clients and the team.
- Assisting clients with corporate housekeeping.
- Providing direct assistance to senior lawyers and partners on matters arising in the course of day-to-day provision of legal services to leading international and domestic corporate clients.
- Contributing to the Firm’s know-how and databases by sharing knowledge and learning input.

**Qualifications**
- Between 2 and 5 years of experience in M&A at a law firm.
- Strong academic record.
- Intellectual curiosity and strong analytical skills.
- Strong communication, negotiation and drafting skills.
- Team player.
- Proactive and resourceful.
- Fluency in