Employment Senior Associate - Leading Law Firm

Overview 

Hunters Legal is working with a Leading Law Firm to recruit a Senior Associate to join its highly regarded Employment Department, following continued growth and increased demand for complex advisory and contentious employment work.

The Opportunity 

A Leading Law Firm is seeking to appoint a Senior Associate to join its established Employment Department. The successful candidate will join a high-performing team and play a key role in advising on a broad range of employment matters, spanning both contentious and non-contentious work. The role requires an individual who can operate with a high degree of autonomy, while also contributing to the supervision and development of junior team members.

About the Employment Team

The Employment Department is a well-respected practice comprising Partners, a Legal Director, Senior Associates, Associates, Legal Assistants, and wider support staff. The team is known for delivering high-quality advice to a sophisticated client base across a range of sectors, including senior executives, employers, and corporate clients.

The Role

The Senior Associate will take responsibility for a diverse and complex caseload, including but not limited to:

• Acting as a lead advisor on complex contentious and non-contentious employment matters.
• Drafting and negotiating executive employment contracts and associated documentation.
• Advising on workplace policies, restructurings, redundancies, and broader HR strategy.
• Managing Employment Tribunal litigation and related court proceedings.
• Providing strategic employment law advice in the context of corporate transactions, including M&A due diligence and integration support.
• Advising senior executives and corporate clients on sensitive and high-value employment issues.
• Supporting corporate transactions through employment law input and risk analysis.
• Supervising, mentoring, and delegating work to junior lawyers and trainees to ensure consistently high-quality output.
• Contributing to the continued growth and development of the department through client engagement and business development activity.

The Individual

The ideal candidate will:

• Have significant experience in employment law gained within a reputable practice.
• Demonstrate a strong track record across both contentious and non-contentious employment matters.
• Have experience acting for both employers and senior executives.
• Possess excellent academic credentials and high-quality training.
• Be confident working independently on complex matters while also operating as part of a collaborative team.
• Have experience supervising or mentoring junior team members.
• Be commercially aware, proactive, and keen to contribute to business development initiatives.
• Demonstrate discretion, strong client-handling skills, and the ability to manage sensitive matters effectively.
• Be personable, articulate, and able to build trusted client relationships.
• Show ambition, resilience, and a strong work ethic.

Key Skills and Attributes

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines effectively.
• Proactive and solution-focused approach to client matters.
• Strong technical knowledge of employment law and awareness of legal developments.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, high-quality legal environment.
• IT literate and adaptable to new systems and processes.
• Team-oriented with the ability to support and develop junior colleagues.