Senior or Mid Level Associate

Job description

We are looking for an experienced lawyer to occupy the position of a Senior Associate or Mid-Level Associate with a focus on one or more of the 3 key practice areas: M&A, Banking & Finance, Litigation. The successful candidate will lead his or her own practice, communicate directly with clients throughout all cycles of projects and instructions, manage client relationships with the help of a partner, develop individual and team expertise and support the growth of junior lawyers who will help him/her with their tasks. The candidate is also expected to participate proactively in Business Development efforts.

Requirements for the employee

Candidate Seniority
The candidate should be at least 3 years after the Slovak Bar Exam (Advocate Exam) or if coming from an in-house position have total duration of legal experience of at least 6 years after Master’s Degree.

Education of Candidate
Slovak law qualified or Czech law qualified with Slovak-law experience.
Master’s Degree (or higher) in Slovak Law or Czech Law.

Main areas of practice of the Candidate
We want a candidate with one or more of the following being his or her main areas of practice and experience:
Employment
It Contracts

Secondary areas of practice of the Candidate
Besides the main area(s) of practice, candidates with one or more of the following as their secondary areas of practice will be preferred:
Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical Regulation
Intellectual Property
Telecommunications
Technology Law (software, hardware, blockchain, data governance, etc.)
M&A transactions and corporate law
Banking and Finance, including Financial Regulation
Dispute Resolution – civil law disputes, arbitration

Language Skills
Fluency in Slovak (or Czech) and English at a sufficient level to communicate in these languages with clients and colleagues, as well as to draft, review and revise documents

Hard Skills
Advanced knowledge of candidate’s areas of legal expertise
Knowledge of specific sectors (e.g. automotive, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, retail, banking, etc.) is valued advantage
Market-standard IT skills and experience with most commonly used law-firm software, websites, search engines.

Soft Skills
Ability to work individually and independently, to manage and process client instructions and projects
Ability to work in a team and to lead and manage small teams
Ability and willingness to teach and supervise junior lawyers
Clear communication internally with colleagues and externally with clients
Willingness to learn new know-how and skills
Willingness to participate in business development and marketing projects and initiatives (written articles, LinkedIn posts, presentations at conferences, seminars and webinars)
Appropriate, fair and polite behaviour and interactions both internally within the team and externally with other Bird & Bird offices and with clients
Organizational skills (deadlines, time management)

Own team
If the candidate has their own mini team (1 or 2 lawyers), the firm is willing to consider the hire of the whole team, provided that the other team members would also have suitable profiles

Employee perks and benefits

Remuneration and benefits
Monthly fee in the wide range of EUR 3,500 – EUR 6,000, depending on the experience, seniority and profile of the candidate.
Potential for annual pay rise and/or annual bonus, depending on performance – we are open to agreeing on a tailored bonus scheme with the candidate.
The successful candidate will become a cooperating advocate (not an employee) of the law firm and will issue invoices in the amount of the monthly remuneration

Benefits – life-style related
High level of Work-Life Balance, as judged by current and former team members
Working time flexibility, including home office, remote working, sick days, etc.
20 – 25 days of paid holidays per year, depending on seniority and age
Full-Time position preferred, but Part-Time position also possible
Special flexibility arrangements for working parents
Monthly contribution to sports activities

Benefits – related to career and development
Perspective of further career growth (Counsel, Partner)
Firmwide sectoral and practice group retreats and offsites (e.g. Corporate Group Retreat, Banking and Finance Group Retreat, Life Sciences Group Retreat)
Local and international informal team-building trips, international football tournament
Local and international training, especially in soft skills

Benefits – work-related
Friendly and inclusive team
Informal and welcoming working environment
Support of international network in terms of client work, know-how sharing, experience sharing and cooperation on projects
Use of company equipment (notebook, mobile phone, further related hardware and equipment)
Use of premises, possibility to have an official registered seat at company premises
Subsidised parking in the underground garage of our office building
Modern and new office premises

Company on whose behalf the position is being filled

Our client is an international law firm.