Job description
Role Overview
Associate (Abu Dhabi) - Private Investment Funds at Freshfields, a global elite law firm with well-established regional presence.
Company Overview
Freshfields has one of the leading corporate transactional and advisory practices in the world. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) practice covers M&A (particularly cross-border), joint ventures, securities and capital market transactions, regulatory, restructurings and reorganizations, and general corporate advisory work. The firm acts for sovereign wealth funds, government investment vehicles, leading regional and international corporates, international and regional banks, and successful regional and international private equity houses.
Core sectors include financial institutions, energy (especially oil and gas) and utilities, healthcare, retail and consumer, and telecommunications. The firm advises on outbound investments across the globe and mandates throughout the GCC, wider Middle East and North Africa.
The corporate practice is ranked Band 1 across the Middle East by all leading legal research directories. The Middle East team has over 50 lawyers across the UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai), Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The Global M&A and Capital (GMAC) (Corporate) Practice is Freshfields MENA's largest practice with over 25 lawyers throughout the region.
Role Purpose
To be part of an expanding global funds practice representing sophisticated institutional investors in their global funds investment programmes, regional sponsors on raising DFSA and ADGM-domiciled funds, and global asset managers on their DIFC and ADGM operations, while consolidating and expanding a diversified stream of investment funds work.
Key Responsibilities
Client Representation & Advisory
- Work on a wide variety of investment funds matters for a range of clients, including blind pool investments across multiple strategies and geographies, bespoke funds-of-one or managed accounts, co-investments, LP and GP secondaries, strategic investments in global sponsors including joint ventures, GP stake investments and revenue share arrangements.
- Represent institutional investors in connection with their global funds investment programmes.
- Represent regional sponsors on raising DFSA and ADGM-domiciled funds.
- Represent global asset managers on their DIFC and ADGM operations.
Relationship Management
- Develop and deepen relationships with existing key clients.
- Develop and manage client relationships.
Stakeholder & Team Leadership
- Mentor more junior colleagues and demonstrate leadership on corporate transactions.
Transaction Execution
- Participate in the highest profile transactions in the market, both regionally and globally.
Business Development
- Participate in and initiate specific business development activities, including networking, organizing and delivering seminars, attending conferences, publishing, and proactive involvement in knowledge management.
Qualifications & Experience
- 3 to 6 years post-qualification experience (PQE) in England and Wales terms or equivalent.
- Experience within leading US or UK investment funds practices required.
- Strong academic record and qualifications.
Skills & Competencies
- Strong technical and commercial background.
- Highly effective communicator, both oral and written.
- Able to work effectively as part of a team.
- Confident and self-motivated.
- Committed to providing excellent client service.
- Able to manage a high degree of responsibility and work demands.
- Enthusiastic participant in business development activities.