Associate Lawyer

The firm

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.

The firm 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.

The department

Our Greek practice in Athens has one of the best-known project and asset finance practices in Athens for the financing of energy, infrastructure, real estate & hospitality and transport, including mergers and acquisitions, project development and project finance, and is at the forefront of large and innovative deals, working with a range of clients from some of the world's leading hotel and real estate, energy and infrastructure companies, banks and key Greek market players. We are also well-known for our excellent working environment. Our lawyers have deep industry knowledge and strong negotiation skills and undertake significant client-facing roles in high value, time-sensitive transactions.

Role overview

You will be actively involved in complex multi-party contractual drafting and negotiation for a range of issues relating to some of the largest and most ground-breaking financing projects in Greece.

Key activities/responsibilities

• Participate in teams for complex finance transactions;
• Draft and negotiate Greek-law agreements (in English and Greek);
• Correspond with all parties involved in a case, including clients, counterparties, lenders, foreign counsel, technical and other experts;
• Conduct legal research on matters arising during a transaction; and
• Respond to queries and comments raised by clients.

Skills and experience – essential

• 3-5 years' PQE;
• hands-on experience in financing transactions;
• Excellent command of the English language; and
• Law degree from a Greek university.

Personal skills/attributes

Enthusiastic, can-do, positive approach to tasks and situations, willingness to take on new legal challenges;

Remaining calm and focussed under pressure, delegating and requesting assistance when necessary;

Ability to take personal responsibility, ownership and behave responsibly;

A team player who works in a flexible manner to assist the group, collaborating with others in sharing work and knowledge;

Listening carefully to instructions and questioning intelligently to ensure all the information required to undertake a task has been gained;

Ability to maintain tact and diplomacy, trust and confidentiality;

Excellent client service;

Using initiative to continually assess where the role can be developed; and

Willingness to broaden skills to meet evolving requirements.

Benefits

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

Additional information

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

Equal opportunities

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.