Associate (Commercial Litigation)

This full time (35 hrs a week), London based, Associate level role, is to work within our Legal 500 ranked Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department. The department is split into three teams: commercial disputes, property litigation and housing & leasehold management.

This Associate level role is to support the commercial litigation team, who act for a diverse set of high-calibre corporate clients, including some of the country’s leading housebuilders and housing associations, several of the country’s most significant leisure trusts and multi-academy trusts, and large multinational corporations. The team also acts for smaller businesses, often in niche sectors, and for well-known high-net-worth individuals. This range of client types reflects the wide range of specialist areas of practice within the firm, with many of the cases that the team work on involving collaborating with colleagues in other departments in the firm – for example:

• Commercial and Corporate
• Employment, Public Sector Enterprise and Charities
• Education
• Real Estate
• Ecclesiastical
• Parliamentary and
• Private Client.

The varied range of practice areas that the team support, results in an incredibly varied and intellectually stimulating caseload.

If you are looking to progress your commercial litigation experience and are confident with running your own files (under supervision), then this could be a great role for you. You will be able to confidently discuss your experience with a wide range of commercial litigation, ADR and risk advisory work. 

In return, you will have direct access to a very experienced partner as a mentor, as well as an experienced senior associate and two solicitor level candidates. The team are close knit and work together to obtain commercially astute outcomes for their clients.

Winckworth Sherwood is an exciting, diverse, and growing business. We are a full-service law firm with a diverse client base, that prides itself on providing advice across a broad range of sectors and markets. Delivering a first-class service is key to everything we do.

Our clients range from some of the UK’s largest businesses and institutions, housebuilders and developers through to investors, professional partnerships, family offices, not for profit organisations and private individuals – all of which benefit from the flexible, practical approach of our lawyers.

We recognise that our people play a key part in our success and as a result we are committed to their development and well-being. We promote a healthy work-life balance and flexibility, keeping our people motivated and stimulated to deliver great things.

Application review

Your profile will be screened by a member of the WS recruitment team. If you CV is shortlisted, you will be invited to have a short call with our recruitment manager, Ash Evans, to discuss your interest in the vacancy. No AI is used in our application screening process! Every candidate who applies to this role will be told if they have been successful or not in moving to the next stage.

1st interview (in person at our London office)

This will be with the head of the commercial litigation team and Ash Evans, who will discuss your interest in the role, what you are looking for professionally, and ask some competency/behavioural questions that relate to the key skills/behaviours needed for this position.

Every candidate who reaches this stage will be offered the chance to have a feedback call with our recruitment manager to understand why they weren't progressed to the next interview stage, so that you can use this feedback to help with other job applications.

2nd interview (in person at our London office)

At this stage, we will ask you to complete a short technical exercise, which you will then discuss with the head of the team and another litigation & dispute department partner. After this, you will get the chance to have a more relaxed conversation with the senior associate and other team members (depending on availability).

This is also a good opportunity to ask any final role/firm specific questions.

Every candidate who reaches this stage will be offered the chance to have a feedback call with our Recruitment Manager to understand why they weren't offered the position, so that you can use this feedback to help with other job applications.

Offer of employment

If you are successful and accept our offer of employment, we will submit your details to our background screening company (Giant), who will conduct a series of background checks. Once these have been completed and we have separately validated your proof of right to work in the UK, a start date can be agreed, and your onboarding schedule can be planned.