Employment Senior Associate

Genuine capacity hiring into a high-profile, employer-side litigation practice — up to four roles available

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A leading national law firm is actively hiring into its London Employment team (c.40 lawyers, part of a larger national practice), with up to four Senior Associate or Legal Director-level positions available. This is a genuine, active search driven by a strong pipeline of high-value incoming work the objective is to build capacity so the current team can focus on its most complex matters, not a speculative or reactive hire.

This is an employer-side only practice, with a workload weighted heavily towards genuinely substantive, high-stakes work:

• 50–60%: Employment tribunal litigation multi-day, complex cases including discrimination, whistleblowing, and matters of real strategic and reputational importance
• 30–40%: Employment advisory, investigations and regulatory advice board-level issues, sensitive investigations, with a particular focus on financial services clients
• A small remainder of corporate support work

The client base is genuinely sophisticated and international, spanning major global names across financial services, technology, healthcare and insurance offering exposure to board-level advisory and high-stakes investigations, often in collaboration with top US law firms.

What This Offers You

• Real ownership, not just support work. Genuine end-to-end case ownership from client advice through to advocacy on multi-day, strategically important tribunal matters.
• Merit-based progression, no quotas. No caps on partnership promotions — recent internal promotions to partner took place earlier this year, with further opportunities aligned to national growth plans.
• Genuinely realistic hours culture. Sensible hours targets with actual utilisation running close to target a deliberate effort to avoid the excessive overwork culture common elsewhere in the market.
• Exceptional retention. Departures from the team are rare and typically for personal rather than firm-related reasons a genuine marker of a team people want to stay in.
• Flat, collaborative, low-ego culture. Many team members are ex-Magic Circle, with long-term client relationships and a genuinely non-hierarchical, supportive working environment.
• Transparent, multi-component bonus structure, rewarding chargeable hours, exceptional client work, and contributions beyond day-to-day billing, plus a firm-performance uplift when broader targets are met.
• A genuinely rare combination. Magic Circle-quality, high-profile work paired with a people-focused, sustainable working environment not something candidates typically have to choose between.

What They Are Looking For

• Qualified in England & Wales (essential non-E&W common law qualifications not considered)
• Ideally 5+ years PQE, though strong candidates with 4 PQE and solid tribunal experience will be considered (including after career breaks or lateral moves)
• Significant employment tribunal litigation experience, with the ability to manage complex, multi-day claims independently
• Experience supervising junior associates or paralegals on tribunal matters is highly desirable
• Exposure to high-value, high-profile or reputationally sensitive matters
• Experience advising board-level clients or senior management on employment issues preferred
• Strong academic background, with real emphasis on intelligence and aptitude
• Collaborative, resilient under pressure, and comfortable working autonomously within a flat team structure
• Strong client-facing skills and high emotional intelligence for handling sensitive, confidential matters

Compensation

£135,000–£165,000, with a transparent bonus structure combining a financial element (sliding scale based on chargeable hours), a discretionary element (contribution and business development), and a firm-performance uplift.

Working Pattern

Hybrid working three days per week in the office (with one fixed day), flexible beyond that.

Process

Typically one to two interviews for senior roles, with no formal tests or technical assessments. xwzovoh Initial conversations may be informal for standout candidates, and the process is designed to move quickly for high-demand profiles.