Corporate Education Solicitor
Here at VWV our corporate team is thriving. Renowned as a firm for our culture and values, we pride ourselves on providing our lawyers with the greatest exposure to high quality work from the earliest stages of their careers. We're now looking for a corporate lawyer with a strong grounding in M&A work (or a willingness to learn), to join the Bristol team of our national offering. We are looking for someone with enthusiasm and confidence to work within our most prestigious sectors - this role has a primary focus on transactions involving our education sector clients.
Perhaps you're approaching qualification and looking for a new role, or maybe you're a few years qualified and feel frustrated by micro-management. If so, then look no further…. Here at VWV, we do things very differently!
About us
Although we have over 500 employees and four offices in Bristol, Birmingham, London and Watford, you'll be struck by our close-knit culture. We believe in integrity and authenticity - in each one of us being ourselves both in our interactions with each other and with our clients. That means you'll join a team and a firm that doesn't do arrogance - you'll join the "VWV family".
As a Top 100 UK law firm you won't be surprised by the quality of our work, but you may be surprised by the breadth of it. Our clients range from family owned business, SMEs, PLCs and multi-national organisations within sectors such as healthcare, education, technology, life sciences, real estate and charities.
The opportunity
Whilst expertise is important, it's your enthusiasm to learn that really matters to us. Regardless of your level, you'll find yourself having direct contact with clients, many of whom will be at CEO, board and governor level. We want you to enjoy building up relationships with our client; to feel a sense of ownership of your tasks and to relish in the satisfaction of a job well done. We know that comes from meeting them first hand, not doing photocopying or writing covering letters…
With our clients coming largely from our education and charities sectors, you can feel confident that your workflow will be consistent and steady, and importantly, the matters on which you're acting, will often be high profile in nature. This is high calibre work for sectors in which we have an enviable reputation - an opportunity for you to accelerate your career faster than in many firms. In working within a fast-paced and dynamic sector, you'll enjoy the collaborative working style that we adopt here at VWV. This means that, upon joining, you'll find yourself quickly getting to know a range of lawyers across the teams and offices.
Our team and reputation
Led by Partners and, both recognised as a Leading Individuals, you'll join a close knit and collegiate Bristol team of around 17 and a total of around 35 experts across the offices.
We are a highly rated corporate team with a national presence in our sector focused transactional work.
Legal 500 (2023) gives a snapshot of our strength and depth.
" At VWV, the corporate and commercial team has a strong focus on the education sector, where (the team) advises on deals involving educational assets as well as the establishment of new schools overseas. The practice also has a niche in advising startups on investments from venture capital funds, with Nathan Guest leading on this work. Robert Collier leads the overall corporate team while Doug Locke heads up the commercial practice."
Legal 500 (2024) describes us as 'Incredibly responsive' and 'a pleasure to deal with'.
Where will I be working?
At VWV we have a truly unique and engaging culture. We work hard but we also love to have fun and we recognise that it's the social interaction between us that really embeds our culture. Whilst recent times have proved we can work effectively as a business from home, we're currently working to a hybrid model of office and home working.
Whilst it's your experience and enthusiasm that for us are key, we'd like you to work from our office for at least 3 days per the week. In this way, you'll benefit first-hand from our warm and friendly culture that no advert can do justice! We're happy to discuss any specific requirements of hybrid working with candidates on an individual basis.
Why choose us?
There are so many reasons to stop and explore us further, and we invite you to watch this short video on the right hand side to see what our own people have to say about us.
We're known for our friendly and welcoming culture where teamwork and collaboration is key. There's no pigeon-holing or glass ceilings here, just a professional yet relaxed culture where you can finally be yourself.
We're striving to create an environment where everyone, regardless of background, can reach their full potential. If you require any special adjustments to be made in order to be considered for this vacancy please call our recruiter as we're happy to make the necessary adjustments and allowances.