Competition Associate

An excellent opportunity to join one of the largest Antitrust, Competition & Trade teams in Europe. You can be based in London, Edinburgh or Glasgow.

About the Role

The team handles a broad range of high-quality work including competition investigations, behavioural advice, merger control, competition litigation and a wide range of regulatory and trade work, including export control/sanctions. The team also advises extensively on public procurement matters, subsidy control / State aid and consumer enforcement issues.

The team is currently expanding and we are looking for a motivated, ambitious associate to be based in London, Edinburgh or Glasgow. We are looking for candidates with a passion for competition and regulatory law and with an interest in working closely with our highly rated Technology, Media, Life Sciences and Energy & Utilities teams where we are seeing a continued increase in competition-related instructions.

The UK team comprises 7 partners and a team of 15 other fee-earners, plus a dedicated Professional Support Lawyer. The team is based largely in London, but also in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Brussels. It is part of a wider Antitrust, Competition & Trade Group across CMS comprising more than 225 competition lawyers worldwide. The role provides an excellent opportunity for someone looking to further their career in a dynamic and internationally focused competition team, with a balanced practice across transactional, contentious and advisory work.

Associates are encouraged to take on high levels of responsibility and client contact is encouraged. From day one your role will include being embedded in client relationships and involved in business development activities within the team and across the firm’s sector groups. The team undertakes a significant volume of cross-border work, cooperating on a daily basis with our international offices and the role will include travel. We are committed to investing in our team and we provide comprehensive training to develop knowledge and skills.

About You

The ideal candidate will have

2-4 years of PQE

a solid background and experience/training in UK and EU competition law, and ideally FDI

a willingness to learn one or more of public procurement, state aid/subsidy, consumer and/or trade law

a general desire for a balanced practice across transactional, contentious and advisory work

excellent communication and drafting skills – the ability to communicate succinctly is a must

strong commercial acumen and the ability to provide clients with focused strategic advice

good commercial awareness and curiosity about market developments

a collaborative and supportive approach, with the ability to build strong relationships

a positive, service-delivery mindset

What’s in it for you?

We want to reward you today and help you plan for tomorrow. We appreciate that everyone is different, therefore we have designed a benefits system that offers choice and flexibility based on individual needs and lifestyles. To name a few, these include:

Competitive basic salary (reviewed annually)

Flexible, hybrid working policy

Generous bonus scheme

Up to 25 days holiday (rising to 28 days with service)

Holiday exchange scheme

Private medical insurance

Enhanced parental leave

Reasonable adjustments and accommodation for disabled talent in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.

If you would like to read more information regarding our range of benefits, please visit our Rewards & Benefits page on our website.

Please note that we have a preferred agency panel in place. Only applications submitted via the portal at the point of instruction will be accepted.