Senior Associate

Overview of role

Walkers is offering a unique opportunity to an ambitious and technically strong lawyer to join its market leading Insolvency and Dispute Resolution ("IDR") team and assist in building out Walkers' Channel Islands' IDR practice.  Our mission is to become the leading practice in the region.

The successful candidate will be based in the Firm's Jersey office and will work alongside the leading practitioners in the IDR team.  The expansion of that business is part and parcel of the general expansion that is continuing across all of the Firm's practice groups in the Channel Islands. Successful candidates will find themselves in a stimulating and challenging role. 

Duties, Responsibilities & Person Specification

• Advising on a wide range of contentious financial services related matters (including trust, funds, corporate and extensive multi-jurisdictional commercial disputes and dispute resolution matters). 
• Working directly with clients (whether local institutions or those based overseas) and also with leading law firms in onshore jurisdictions, frequently with London firms but with others in the Americas, the Middle East, Far East and across Europe).
• Advising a varied client base including insolvency practitioners, banks and other financial institutions, large corporations, directors, shareholders and partners on contentious and non-contentious corporate recovery and insolvency matters and company and partnership disputes;
• Advising trustees, protectors and beneficiaries on contentious and non-contentious trust matters and representing them in a broad range of administrative and hostile proceedings before the Jersey Courts;
• Advising commercial clients and intermediaries on all aspects of commercial litigation in Jersey, from pre-emptive injunction and disclosure applications through substantive matters to enforcement and asset recovery;
• Advising regulated service providers and individuals in respect of regulatory investigations and related issues as well as contentious tax information request cases;
• Providing in all areas of practice, technically sound advice and highly responsive service to clients;
• Providing support to senior colleagues in the IDR practice, including senior counsel and partners, as well as to the Firm's (often in other Walkers offices) corporate, funds and private capital teams working on transactions for clients;
• Supervising on client matters, and supporting the professional development of, associates and paralegals within the IDR practice;
• Proactively assisting in supporting the development and expansion of client and intermediary relationships important to the Firm’s success and undertaking direct marketing and business development activities (including individually, within groups and jointly with more senior colleagues) and at the same time becoming a valued resource to client.

Additional Responsibilities

• Participating in the preparation and delivery of peer-to-peer training for colleagues, clients and intermediaries;
• Participating in the development of the IDR practice’s know-how, by sharing knowledge and actively participating in seminars and internal training;
• Maintaining sound financial practices including accurate and timely time recording; and
• Adhering to the Firm's values and professional ethics.

Education, Skills & Experience

• Qualified lawyer with a minimum of 5 years' qualification experience in insolvency and / or commercial litigation and/or trust litigation in a recognised practice
• Excellent academics.
• Solid legal skills with a high level of technical knowledge, including an ability to analyse legislation and case law and provide advice in a practical manner.
• A competent understanding of relevant markets and clients' industries and of applicable law and regulation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Jersey or other offshore jurisdiction experience preferred but not essential.
• Ambitious and commercially driven.
• Ability to work successfully in a collaborative environment, a team player, willing to support others regardless of personal role or task and to help others in identifying needs and crafting development plans.
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.
• Ability to use legal precedents and timekeeping and billing systems.
• Ability to support efforts to attract new clients and develop new initiatives.