Senior Associate - Banking & Finance

Senior Associate – Banking & Finance

A rare opportunity to help build a growing practice alongside a new Partner.

Are you a Banking & Finance lawyer looking for more than your next move? Would you welcome the opportunity to help shape and grow a practice, build lasting client relationships and play a pivotal role in an ambitious team?

We’re looking for a Senior Associate to join our growing Banking & Finance team at an exciting stage of its development. This is a newly created position offering the opportunity to work closely with our new Partner, helping to grow the core practice in line with the firm’s long-term ambitious growth plans.

For the right person, this is an opportunity to make a genuine impact from day one, with the autonomy to take ownership of high-quality work, the scope to develop client relationships and the potential for accelerated progression as the team grows.

The opportunity

Working closely with the lead Partner, you’ll play a key role in delivering a broad range of Banking & Finance transactions while helping to shape the future direction of the practice.

You’ll have the technical grounding to manage matters confidently and independently, alongside the commercial awareness and interpersonal skills to develop trusted client relationships. As the team expands, you’ll have the opportunity to take on greater responsibility, contribute to business development and help build a strong, sustainable offering.

This role will suit someone who is entrepreneurial, commercially minded and excited by the prospect of building something.

What you’ll be doing

• Leading on transactions: Manage a varied caseload of Banking & Finance matters, delivering technically excellent, commercially focused advice to borrowers, lenders and other stakeholders.
• Working closely with the lead Partner: Take ownership of day-to-day matters, providing reliable support and allowing the lead Partner to focus on strategic growth and developing the practice.
• Advising across a broad range of finance work: Handle corporate lending, acquisition finance and real estate finance transactions, working with borrower clients, UK clearing banks and alternative lenders.
• Building client relationships: Work directly with clients, understand their commercial objectives and develop relationships that generate repeat instructions and long-term opportunities.
• Contributing to growth: Identify opportunities with existing and prospective clients, support business development initiatives and help raise the profile of the team in the market.
• Collaborating across the firm: Work with colleagues across different practice areas to deliver a seamless service and identify collaboration opportunities to grow relationships across the wider business.
• Supporting the next generation: Share your knowledge and experience, supervising and supporting junior lawyers and other team members where appropriate.
• Helping shape the practice: Contribute ideas, energy and commercial insight as we develop our Banking & Finance offering and continue to grow our London presence.

About you

We’re interested in hearing from Banking & Finance lawyers who combine strong technical ability with commercial instinct, confidence and a genuine interest in developing a practice.

You’ll ideally have 4–7 years’ PQE, although we’re open to considering exceptional candidates outside this range. You’ll have gained experience within a recognised Banking & Finance practice and be comfortable managing transactions with a degree of autonomy.

Your experience is likely to include:

• Borrower-side and lender-side transactions.
• Corporate lending and acquisition finance.
• Real estate finance, including development finance, private capital and property-backed lending.
• Transactions involving a variety of lenders, including UK clearing banks and alternative lenders.
• Exposure to sectors such as hotels, care homes and wider property investment or development.

Just as importantly, you’ll be someone who:

• Is technically strong, commercially astute and solutions focused.
• Can confidently take ownership of matters without needing close supervision.
• Enjoys working directly with clients and building long-term relationships.
• Is adaptable, comfortable working across different sectors and keen to broaden their experience.
• Has an entrepreneurial mindset and wants to contribute to business development.
• Is collaborative, proactive and excited by the opportunity to help grow a team.

You don’t need to be a specialist in one particular sector. We’re looking for someone with the versatility to work across a broad range of transactions and the confidence to build their own reputation as the practice develops.

Why join us?

A genuine opportunity to shape a growing team. Join at an early stage of the practice’s development and help influence how it grows, rather than stepping into a fixed structure.

A close working relationship with the lead Partner. You will have direct access, meaningful responsibility and the opportunity to play a central role in delivering the team’s ambitions.

High-quality work and client exposure. Take ownership of interesting transactions and build relationships with a diverse client base across lending and finance markets.

A clear opportunity to progress. As the practice grows, there is genuine scope to increase your responsibility and develop your career alongside the team.

The chance to make a difference. Bring your ideas, commercial thinking and relationship-building skills to a role where your contribution to the success of the practice will be visible and valued. Cripps is a B Corp! Read more here: Certified B Corporation™ | Cripps

Ready to take the next step?

If you’re a Banking & Finance lawyer who wants to combine excellent legal work with the opportunity to build client relationships, contribute to business growth and help shape a developing practice, we’d love to hear from you.

This is a chance to take on a role with real influence, working alongside a Partner who is building for the future and helping create the next chapter of our Banking & Finance offering.