Overview
Junior Partner / Partner – Corporate Law Jobs in Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands at New Skills
Title: Junior Partner / Partner – Corporate Law
Company: New Skills
Location: Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Build, lead and grow an international corporate practice
About the opportunity
Our client is a high-end international advisory boutique with an established reputation in complex cross-border legal, tax and compliance matters. Its client base is anything but one-dimensional: from automotive groups in Asia and retailers in the UK to high-end agribusinesses in the Middle East. In other words, if you are looking for a practice where every client looks the same, this may not be the one.
As a result of continued growth and increasing demand from this diverse international client base, the firm is looking to further build its Dutch corporate law practice. This creates an opportunity for an experienced Junior Partner, Counsel with a strong commercial track record, or Partner who wants to take ownership of a practice and play a leading role in its further development.
This is not primarily an execution-focused Legal Counsel position. The mandate is broader: to build and lead a corporate practice, develop existing client opportunities, generate new business and, as the practice grows, recruit and develop a team around you.
Our client already has an established international client portfolio with a recurring need for corporate legal advice, providing a strong platform from which to build. At the same time, an existing book of business is an important element of the selection process. We are looking for someone who already originates work, owns senior client relationships and can bring a meaningful client portfolio to the firm.
The opportunity therefore lies in combining your existing business with the substantial cross-selling potential available within our client’s broader tax, legal and compliance client base.
In short: you bring an existing book of business; our client provides the platform, existing client demand and multidisciplinary network to significantly expand it.
The opportunity is particularly attractive for a senior lawyer who has reached a stage where greater autonomy, client ownership and influence over the development of a practice are more important than operating within an established partnership structure.
The mandate
You will take a leading role in developing the firm’s Corporate practice and will be responsible for:
- building and positioning the corporate law offering;
- converting opportunities within the firm’s existing international client base;
- developing new client relationships and generating additional revenue;
- growing and further developing your own client portfolio within the firm;
- acting as lead adviser to boards, shareholders and senior management;
- leading complex Dutch and cross-border corporate matters;
- working closely with the firm’s tax, litigation and compliance specialists;
- identifying future team requirements and recruiting lawyers as the practice develops;
- mentoring and developing junior lawyers;
- contributing to the wider commercial and strategic development of the firm.
The expectation is that you will operate with a high degree of independence and take genuine ownership of the practice.
The practice
The work is broader than a traditional transaction-driven M&A role. The emphasis is on corporate advisory, governance, structuring and complex corporate matters, often in an international and multidisciplinary context.
Typical matters include:
- Dutch corporate law and Book 2 Civil Code matters;
- corporate governance and shareholder arrangements;
- international group structuring;
- cross-border reorganisations and restructurings;
- holding and financing structures;
- board and shareholder decision-making;
- directors’ duties and liability;
- joint ventures and strategic partnerships;
- corporate aspects of transactions and investments;
- multi-jurisdictional governance and legal entity management.
M&A experience is valuable, but this is not a pure M&A position. We are particularly interested in lawyers who combine transactional understanding with a broader corporate advisory practice and who enjoy building long-term relationships with clients.
Client base
The firm’s clients include:
- multinational groups;
- internationally active entrepreneurs and privately owned businesses;
- private equity-backed companies and investment structures;
- international holding companies and SPVs;
- international investors and corporate groups.
A significant advantage of the opportunity is the ability to work from an existing client and referral base generated by the firm’s established tax and advisory practices.
Your own client portfolio will therefore not be the sole engine of growth. At the same time, our client expects the successful candidate to bring a meaningful book of business that can form part of the foundation for the further development of the practice.
This combination — existing client demand, cross-selling opportunities and an incoming partner with an established client base — is central to the proposition.
Candidate profile
We are particularly interested in speaking with candidates currently operating at Junior Partner, Partner, Counsel or highly experienced Senior Associate level within a leading, well-regarded or specialist corporate law firm.
You will typically have 10+ years of relevant experience, although seniority will ultimately be assessed on the basis of track record rather than years of qualification.
You combine strong technical expertise with commercial and leadership capability.
In particular, you will bring:
- a strong background in Dutch corporate and company law;
- experience advising boards, shareholders and international businesses;
- broad corporate advisory experience beyond purely transactional M&A work;
- the ability to independently lead complex matters and senior client relationships;
- demonstrable business-development experience and a track record of originating work;
- an established professional network and a demonstrable book of business that can form part of the foundation for the further development of the practice;
- evidence that key client relationships are genuinely yours and can credibly be developed within a new platform;
- experience in building client relationships, a practice area or a team;
- the ambition and ability to recruit and develop lawyers as the practice grows;
- a commercial, entrepreneurial and forward-looking mindset.
A demonstrable book of business is an important selection criterion. We are therefore particularly interested in candidates who already have responsibility for client origination and who can combine their own portfolio with the business opportunities available through the firm’s existing client base.
You are likely to be someone who wants greater ownership over clients, people and strategy and who is attracted by the opportunity to build something rather than inherit a fully developed practice.
What makes the opportunity distinctive?
An existing platform from which to build
Unlike a traditional greenfield proposition, the firm already has an established international client base with demand for corporate legal services.
You will have direct access to clients and referral opportunities through closely integrated tax, legal and compliance practices.
This means that you are not expected to build a practice solely from your own book of business. Rather, the objective is to combine your existing client relationships with a strong existing platform and create a significantly larger practice over time.
Genuine practice ownership
You will have substantial influence over:
- the positioning of the Corporate practice;
- client development;
- recruitment and team composition;
- the type of work the practice develops;
- the longer-term strategic direction of the practice.
Entrepreneurial environment
The firm’s lean structure allows experienced lawyers to operate with considerable autonomy.
There are short decision-making lines, direct access to clients and limited internal bureaucracy.
Commercial initiative is expected and rewarded.
Multidisciplinary and international work
You will work closely with tax and other specialists on sophisticated cross-border structures and corporate matters.
This creates a differentiated proposition compared with a conventional standalone corporate or M&A practice.
Partnership and economics
For the right candidate, this is a genuine Junior Partner / Partner opportunity rather than an open-ended promise of future progression.
The precise entry level and economic arrangements will depend on experience, client following, commercial track record and the ability to contribute to the development of the practice.
Our client is open to discussing an appropriate structure with senior candidates who can demonstrate both a meaningful existing book of business and the ability to build sustainable additional business from the firm’s existing client platform.
Interested?
This search is being conducted on a confidential basis.
We would be pleased to speak with experienced corporate lawyers who are considering a next step involving greater autonomy, commercial ownership and the opportunity to build and lead a practice.
An initial conversation can be exploratory and entirely confidential.
