Associate

Watson Farley & Williams is an international law firm advising on complex disputes and transactions through local knowledge and an integrated international network.  We have a strong sector focus, combining our technical excellence with deep industry knowledge across Energy, Transport and associated Infrastructure.

WFW has achieved rapid expansion and year-on-year growth owed almost entirely to a focused strategy, strong leadership and the quality of its people.  The next stage in the firm’s growth plan is to achieve full-service strength within core sectors across the global platform.

We strive for excellence in all that we do and view investment in our people as key to achieving our business goals and values, which rest on developing deep and long-lasting relationships externally and internally through respect, sharing, communication and integrity.

Our global practice is integrated across our offices in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and North America delivering consistently high levels of service across borders and locally through a deep understanding of local business customs and culture.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace to attract and retain the most talented people from all backgrounds and cultures.  We believe in celebrating difference and that people from any background can rise to the top, ensuring opportunities to develop and progress are available for all from day one.

With one of the largest dedicated asset finance legal practices in the world, we have a presence in all the major asset finance centres and have over 100 specialist lawyers across our international offices.

Asset finance has been a core part of our business from the beginning and we have one of the leading practices in the international legal market.  Our Assets & Structured Finance group comprises over 150 lawyers spread throughout our offices internationally.

Our team is particularly strong in London, New York, Paris, Greece and Hamburg, which enables us to advise on all aspects of cross-border asset financings between the respective jurisdictions.  In Chambers we have been reported as being “a first class player” in asset finance.

Utilising the depth and breadth of our combined finance and sector expertise, our lawyers have the distinct advantage of understanding not only the finance-related mechanics of the transactions in which we advise, but the complexities and specific considerations relating to the underlying assets.

Our Assets & Structured Finance group acts for all parties involved in financing transactions: lessors, lessees, arrangers, lenders, borrowers, trustees and others.

We advise on all aspects of asset financing including:

• export credit backed financing;
• syndicated and bilateral debt;
• project and asset financing;
• advising on distressed asset finance transactions;
• tax planning and structuring;
• maximising NPV benefits and minimising risk for lessees;
• reducing credit and structure risk for lessors;
• cross border leasing;
• off-balance sheet structures;
• defeasance arrangements;
• operating leases;
• sale and purchase of leasing companies;
• sale and purchase of lease and shipping portfolios;
• vendor leasing documentation including lease/rental agreements and programme agreements receivables financing;
• currency swaps and other hedging arrangements;
• asset sale and purchase;
• insurance issues.

We would be interested in speaking with asset finance lawyers who:

• are qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales (or another common-law jurisdiction) with 4-7 years of relevant and high quality post-qualification experience in maritime finance or commercial shipping contracts.
• have relevant and significant experience of acting on major, multi-party transactions, domestically or internationally or both.

Gary Walsh and Robert Platt - London Assets & Structured Finance Group Co-Heads.

We offer a competitive benefits and wellbeing package for all employees.

The Firm promotes a culture of agility and flexibility and is fully supportive of flexible working arrangements where these can be accommodated.

In addition, the Firm provides a supportive environment for associate development with dedicated PSLs and structured training career development programme including WFW University (aimed at NQs), WFW MBF (aimed at 3 PQE), WFW Senior Associate scheme and WFW Partner Candidate scheme.

Respect for different backgrounds and perspectives is at the heart of our firm’s core values and we recognise the importance of fostering an inclusive environment that allows everyone to reach their full potential. This is a key feature of our Global Code of Conduct, which places diversity and inclusion at the centre of our firm’s ways of working.

We believe that exceptional client service can only be delivered by exceptional people. For this reason, we aim to attract, retain and develop the best talent from a wide range of backgrounds. All decisions relating to employment will be objective and based on merit and ability.

We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are as inclusive and barrier-free as possible. This includes making adjustments for candidates with a disability or long-term health condition.  If you require adjustments to be made at any stage of the recruitment process, we’d encourage you to get in touch with a member of our team who would be happy to discuss options with you.