Strategic Corporate Legal Director – M&A & Growth

As one of the UK’s leading law firms, we’re here for the people and businesses who rely on us at life’s important moments - made possible by our colleagues who bring the expertise, judgement and care that makes the difference.

Our colleagues bring Irwin Mitchell to life every day, so it matters that you feel valued from the very first day and are trusted with the responsibility, in the right culture, to do the best work of your careers. Everyone’s path here is different, but we share a desire to help our business make a real impact.

Where possible we will support our colleagues to work in a way that works for them, for us and most importantly our clients. Please speak to a member of our Recruitment and Onboarding team for more information.

Our Team

You'll join our highly regarded Corporate team in Manchester, working alongside Partner Adam Kaucher and as part of a wider National Corporate team with real momentum.

We advise ambitious entrepreneurs, owner-managed businesses, private equity investors, management teams and international corporates on the key ownership, capital and growth decisions that shape their businesses, from investment and acquisition through to exit and succession planning.

Your Role and What You'll Be Doing

We're looking for an experienced, commercially minded Legal Director to play a central role in the next phase of growth for our corporate practice in the North West. This is an excellent opportunity for a senior lawyer who wants high-quality transactional work, meaningful client responsibility and the chance to help shape a growing team.

As a senior member of the team, you'll be involved in:

• Leading and managing significant corporate transactions from instruction through to completion.
• Advising on a broad range of corporate work, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital investments, management buyouts, reorganisations, shareholder arrangements and strategic joint ventures.
• Acting for a diverse client base including private companies, entrepreneurs, management teams, private equity backed businesses, institutional investors and international organisations.
• Supporting partners on larger strategic matters while taking day-to-day responsibility for transaction delivery.
• Building and strengthening client relationships and helping to grow our presence across the Manchester market and wider North West region.
• Working closely with colleagues across Banking & Finance, Tax, Employment, Real Estate, Commercial and Regulatory to deliver joined-up advice.
• Supervising, mentoring and developing junior lawyers, helping to build a strong and collaborative National Corporate team.
• Contributing to business development, thought leadership and networking across the corporate and private equity communities.

Recent examples of the work undertaken by our Corporate team include:

• Advising Risk Capital Partners on its acquisition of leading restaurant brand Wahaca, supporting the business as it enters its next stage of growth and expansion. []
• Advising Taoglas, a US-based international antenna and RF solutions provider, on its acquisition of UK technology business Sure Antennas, further demonstrating the strength of our international M&A capability. []
• Advising the management team of Wild Frontiers Adventure Travel on its investment from BGF, supporting the award-winning adventure travel business as it secures investment to accelerate growth, international expansion and continued development of its customer offering. []

We're looking for someone who combines strong technical ability with commercial judgment, confidence with clients and the ability to lead transactions effectively.

You'll ideally have:

• Significant post-qualification experience gained within a recognised…