Debt Finance Associate

**Job description**
A&O Shearman is a global industry-leading law firm, with nearly 50 offices in 29 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 investigations, deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.

**Department purpose**
A&O Shearman’s finance team is renowned as one of the strongest and deepest in the world, with top-tier lawyers located in all the major markets. Our team comprises top-tier practitioners with extensive experience across the spectrum of complex financial transactions.

We regularly advise the world’s leading investment and commercial banks, direct lenders, alternative capital providers, investment funds, corporations, and financial sponsors across all types of debt financings.

Our team provides a full-service offering for senior; asset-based; second-lien; mezzanine; bridge; unitranche; recurring revenue; and PIK debt financings across the syndicated and private credit markets, as well as bank/bond financings; high yield debt offerings; fund finance; structured finance; real estate finance; debtor-in-possession and exit financings; special situations lending; restructurings; and workouts for domestic and international transactions.

Our lawyers have led many of the deals that have shaped and continue to influence the direction of the leveraged finance and high yield market and offer commercial insight across many sectors including real estate, consumer, private equity, infrastructure, energy, life sciences and healthcare, media, and technology.

They work alongside our top-tier practitioners in M&A, financial disputes and securities litigation, financial services regulation, foreign investment controls, restructuring, securitization, and trade finance to support our clients across the lifecycle of their deals.

Our global team spans major financial centres including New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Milan, Madrid, Luxembourg, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Sydney, creating a cross-border network to support our clients’ success.

We advise over 80% of Private Debt Investor’s 2023 top 100 private credit firms across the full spectrum of investment strategies, including venture debt, direct lending, asset-based lending, specialty financing (including fund financing), subordinated debt, special situations, and distressed debt.

**Role purpose**
We are looking for an Australian qualified lawyer with 1 - 4 years of post-qualification experience to join our Debt Finance team in Sydney, on a full-time permanent basis. We offer:

- A dynamic work environment and the opportunity to be a part of a leading international law firm.
- A variety of intellectually exciting work and the opportunity to work with other departments in an interdisciplinary way, in Australia, regionally and globally.
- Opportunity to be a part of a dynamic, high-performing team with a friendly and supportive culture.
- National and international secondment programmes to allow our lawyers to work with other departments, other people and to be exposed to the different cultures that the firm encompasses.
- Dedicated local and global training programmes and professional training on communication, IT skills, management and business development skills.

**Key requirements**
- 1-4+ PQE.
- Training from a top tier law firm with previous banking and finance experience.
- Outstanding academic credentials.
- High level drafting and analytic skills.
- Resilient self-starter with the intellectual curiosity and versatility to continuously acquire, build upon and share knowledge.
- Highly motivated team player with excellent organisational skills.
- Clear and concise communicator with outstanding interpersonal skills and a good eye for detail.
- Entrepreneurial drive and strong commercial acumen.
- A person of sound judgment and core values, able to establish a high level of credibility.

**Equal Employment Opportunity**
A&O Shearman are committed to supporting a culture that drives diversity, equity and inclusion. Every day, we’re working hard to create an environment where everyone feels that they can bring their authentic selves to work. To be comfortable and confident to be who they are in the workplace. To feel like they belong.