Senior Associate/Partner

We are a top 50 law firm with 191 partners and around 1,700 staff in total.  We have 12 locations in the UK and a significant international network.  Our clients include some of the largest financial, automotive, telecoms and technology businesses in the UK.

We champion diversity and inclusion, and our mission is to attract and nurture a diverse group of people and to create an environment and culture that is genuinely inclusive, in which every member of staff feels valued for their contribution.  We have been awarded Gold status in the Law Society Diversity and Inclusion Charter in recognition of our commitment to this.  We were also the first major law firm to achieve “Gold Standard” Investors in People.

We have received many awards which reflect the quality and efforts of the firm, including perhaps most notably the Regional/National Law Firm of the Year in the Legal Business Awards 2018.

Our national technology and telecoms team is one of the largest dedicated IT and telecoms practices in the UK, comprising over 20 lawyers (including 7 partners) who regularly act on high profile IT and telecoms transactions for well-known corporate purchases and global suppliers. The team works within the national Commercial Practice Group (of approximately 70 lawyers), which also contains Privacy & Data, Commercial, IP, Financial Services and Projects & Infrastructure teams. 

The team is considered one of the premier IT and telecoms practices in the country, being noted as a “Thriving team that draws on a deep bench of expertise to handle the complete range of IT matters” (Chambers UK Guide 2019).   The team is ranked Band 1 by Legal 500 in all core locations and one of only 9 firms in the country to be recognised as “National Leaders outside of London” by Chambers UK Guide in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

The team advises on all forms of IT and telecoms transactions and strategy, both customer and supplier-side, and is known as a “go-to firm for complex, large projects” (Chambers UK Guide 2019).

Many of the team are individually recognised as leading IT practitioners by legal directories, but, more importantly, the team prides itself on its extensive in-house experience with nearly every team member having spent significant time as an in-house lawyer (employed or seconded).  This gives a unique balance of technical expertise and commercial experience, meaning the team has the capability to handle the most complex projects, whilst always delivering pragmatic, real-life solutions.

We are immensely proud of our client roster, which varies from small SMEs (across a wide range of technology and media sectors) to household names and major multinationals (those that we are permitted to disclose include Volkswagen Group, YouGov, Mercedes-Benz, Travelodge and H&M).  We rely on all of our team members to foster and develop those relationships, and to build new ones.

We are now recruiting for a key hire to our TMT offering, to be based in Thames Valley. For this pivotal role in the team we would like to hear from Partners or aspiring Partners (from a private practice or in-house background) who want to work with us to grow TMT nationally and support and supervise the local team.

We can add to your existing experience with the full spectrum of high quality work - from advising on large multinational outsourcing arrangements and complex IT projects to more routine software development and licensing arrangements.  Your experience should include advising in respect of large IT system and software procurements, agile and waterfall software development methodologies, technology-enabled BPOs, system integration projects, cloud services contracts and software licensing arrangements.  Particular involvement within some (or all) of the telecoms, financial services, automotive and retail sectors would be preferable. 

However, it is just as important that you have the enthusiasm and ambition to drive the business forward, working alongside like-minded TMT and commercial lawyers, to develop new products and services which reflect the changing needs of the in-house legal community who require much more than technical excellence.  Our products such as our Convergence toolkit to effectively manage large projects, our Resource Solutions product suite which is tailored to meet the individual needs of our clients, and Matters+, our matter management solution for in-house teams which has been short listed for two legal innovation awards, are examples of our forward thinking to providing best-in-class legal services to our clients.

We set huge store by providing outstanding client service, along with excellent technical know-how. Whilst providing this, you will have the ability to drive performance and influence strategy from the day you join us. We expect you will be passionate about business development and have your own network of clients and contacts. We will nurture your individual skills and strengths and encourage and support you in being innovative and ambitious in how you deliver services for our clients.

We place a lot of belief in culture and community, and genuinely think we have something different to offer you at Shoosmiths.   This is reflected in everything we say and do from our use of technology to enable effective cross-office working, to the team spirit and culture (and the many events and activities we organise).

This role is considered to be at competency Level 4 in our internal framework.

If you have any queries about this prospect or life at Shoosmiths before deciding whether to apply, we are always happy to have a confidential discussion with you so please get in touch with Rachel Charlton in our recruitment team (Rachel.charlton@shoosmiths.co.uk).

Shoosmiths is a committed Equal Opportunities employer promoting equality of opportunity. This means that everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, whatever their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, disability, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.