A&O Shearman is a new global industry-leading law firm, with 48 offices in 28 countries worldwide. Our fluency in English law, US law, and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets, enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. We work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.
We offer exceptional opportunities for our people; opportunities to work for the world’s leading businesses; to transform the status quo, and to deliver your best work, helping you and your career to thrive, while delivering unparalleled outcomes for our clients.
Whether you’re helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the ways we manage our business, or ensuring the smooth-running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. We provide first-rate training and development, we are committed to an inclusive environment, and we provide support and ways of working that help you optimise your wellbeing.
What truly defines a career with us? We recruit the best and ask for the best of you. And together, we will redefine success.
Department purpose
A&O Shearman’s Global Antitrust Group comprises nearly 180 specialist antitrust lawyers located in 26 offices in Europe, the U.S., Asia Pacific and Africa. The Group includes many leading practitioners and its industry specialist teams advise a wide range of high-profile international clients. We advise across sectors, with a particular emphasis on communications, media, technology, life sciences, automotive, energy and infrastructure, and financial services.
We are involved in some of the most significant antitrust cases in the market and work on cutting-edge issues at the forefront of antitrust policy. Areas of practice include antitrust investigations/cartels, merger control, abuse of dominance, antitrust litigation, state aid, foreign subsidies, sector-specific regulation and foreign investment control.
Role purpose
This is an exciting opportunity to play a key senior role in a high-performing global practice. Your role will be to work with the other Antitrust Knowledge Lawyers (based in the U.K.) to provide the Group and its clients with up-to-date technical knowledge across the full range of antitrust areas.
You will also collaborate closely with the Business Development team, to lead on/support EU-focused or global knowledge-based marketing initiatives. You will monitor the rapidly evolving global antitrust legal and regulatory landscape, mastering new developments and sharing/applying your insight. You will produce core materials and provide training and advice.
The Knowledge Lawyer would preferably be based in Brussels, but also providing support to other antitrust teams in the EU.
Role and responsibilities
As an EU Antitrust Knowledge Lawyer, you will play a pivotal role in A&O Shearman’s ambition to become the go-to firm for antitrust-related matters. You will closely monitor legal developments, primarily in the EU but with a strong view of global trends and developments. As part of the knowledge team, your role will be truly critical in assessing the relevance and interpreting the implications of developments for our teams, clients, and markets. On that basis, you will ignite and drive pan-European initiatives, ranging from client-facing webinars and publications, to training and other legal work products for internal use. You will also provide support to lawyers throughout the A&O Shearman network on antitrust matters, working closely with the other Antitrust Knowledge Lawyers. We would also expect the Knowledge Lawyer to be well connected to relevant bodies outside the firm.
Key tasks and responsibilities of the Antitrust Knowledge Lawyer are:
- To lead the strategic thinking at EU level, in terms of developing internal know-how materials and client publications/thought-leadership reports
- To bring our internal know-how to the EU market, including but not limited to preparing and presenting client trainings/workshops/webinars, and bridging internal know-how and marketing initiatives
- To liaise closely with Business Development and clients, contributing ideas and enhancing marketing materials by providing expertise on market or legal developments
- To serve as the internal contact person for current insights including legislative changes and forecasts. This responsibility extends to a proactive evaluation of legal developments impacting the Antitrust Group and other practice groups within the firm as well as delivering internal trainings on these developments
- To interact across offices and practice groups on antitrust questions such as queries from fee-earners and knowledge lawyers in other areas of the firm, providing a unified response to client-centric issues through knowledge materials for clients and internal teams alike
- To drive a collaborative approach within the A&O Shearman network throughout and beyond the EU offices
- To develop and contribute to legal tech initiatives
Key requirements
- Qualified lawyer in the European Union/U.K. with minimum 4-5 years’ experience post-qualification in private practice
- Strong technical knowledge of antitrust law with a significant EU-level focus, plus knowledge of global and regional developments
- Will have worked successfully as a lawyer or Knowledge Lawyer in a leading law firm, large corporate organisation or in government departments or NGOs
- Excellent academic credentials
- Self-starter with the desire and ability to continuously acquire, build upon and share knowledge
- Sound experience of working with senior management within a complex international organisation
- Strong commercial/business acumen with the ability to deliver creative and pragmatic solutions and advice
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interface at all levels and particularly to win the respect of the partner and fee-earner community, building and developing strong (internal and external) client relationships
- Excellent attention to detail
- Strong organizational skills, with the ability to deal effectively with competing priorities
- Very good command of Microsoft Office, in particular PowerPoint
- Collaborative team player with the ability to develop and work in a fast-paced, intellectually rigorous environment
- A person who enjoys both the operational and strategic sides of this role and shows great flexibility and resilience
- A person of sound judgment, able to establish a high level of credibility in the organisation and act as a trusted adviser to fee-earners
- Native or near-native English speaker, preferably with strong knowledge of at least one other major EU language
Application process
Please upload your application on our website (careers.aoshearman.com). Thank you for adding your CV, cover letter and Bachelor and Master transcripts to support your application.
As part of our recruitment process, and in order to comply with our legal obligations and internal policies, we require successful candidates to undergo a background screening, which includes the candidate providing information on its criminal record. We will only process information that is necessary and relevant to the position you are applying for. Access to the criminal record information you will provide will be strictly limited to the local recruitment officer responsible for your application. This data will not be stored in our systems and, if provided in writing, it will be deleted immediately, no later than 24 hours after receipt. Please see our data privacy notice for further information. If you have any questions, please contact HRBelgium@aoshearman.com.