Associate - Singapore qualified 4-6PQE (2-4PQE E&W notional)

Watson Farley & Williams is an international law firm advising on complex disputes and transactions through local knowledge and an integrated international network.  We have a strong sector focus, combining our technical excellence with deep industry knowledge across Energy, Transport and associated Infrastructure.

The firm has achieved rapid expansion and year-on-year growth owed almost entirely to a focused strategy, strong leadership and the quality of its people.  The next stage in the firm’s growth plan is to achieve full-service strength within core sectors across the global platform.

We strive for excellence in all that we do and view investment in our people as key to achieving our business goals and values, which rest on developing deep and long-lasting relationships externally and internally through respect, sharing, communication and integrity.

Our global practice is integrated across our offices in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and North America delivering consistently high levels of service across borders and locally through a deep understanding of local business customs and culture.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace to attract and retain the most talented people from all backgrounds and cultures.  We believe in celebrating difference and that people from any background can rise to the top, ensuring opportunities to develop and progress are available for all.

The Hotels & Hospitality practice

A tight-knit group of six lawyers, our Hotels & Hospitality Team is a leading hotels and resorts transactional team, with an unrivalled list of deals and projects across Asia Pacific, Middle East and Indian Ocean. 

For five years in a row, our Hotels & Hospitality Partners Robert Williams and Lada Shelkovnikova have been recognised as “Global Elite Thought Leaders in Hospitality - APAC” by Who’s Who Legal 2020-2024.

With Hospitality lawyers based in Sydney and Singapore, we act for hotel owners, investors (private and institutional) and hotel operators on:

• hotel and resort sales, acquisitions and financing;
• hotel management agreements, acting for both hotel developers/owners, and hotel operators;
• comprehensive project structuring of branded residences projects, full-fledged support with transaction agreements between hotel developers/owners and hotel operators, and buyer facing documents, including rental program arrangements;
• hotel development - advising on fund and project structuring, including for mixed use sites and joint ventures;
• hotel operating platform acquisitions / M&A;
• investment structuring and capital raising for hotel funds; and
• hotel operating leases, franchise and manchise arrangements, including master franchise/platform transactions.

Our industry leading team delivers unrivalled strategic and commercial insight and leverages their long-standing relationships in the hotels sector – their experience includes working on transactions in:

Japan | Singapore | Australia
Thailand | UAE | Saudi Arabia
Malaysia | Maldives | Vietnam
Cambodia | Indonesia | South Korea
Hong Kong | Philippines | New Zealand
Kuwait | French Polynesia | Georgia
Egypt | New Caledonia | Kenya
Oman | Jordan | Qatar
Seychelles | India | Bahrain
Sri Lanka | Turkey | Fiji

As an associate in our team, you will be heavily involved in advising a wide range of our clients across a diverse range of areas within the Hotels and Hospitality sector. You will also work on general corporate/commercial and M&A matters within the Projects and Corporate Group. You will be required to stay updated on relevant legal developments and industry trends and conduct legal research for the Group.

In order to provide our outstanding client service, we need to understand, anticipate and fulfil the needs and expectations of each of our clients. We are therefore looking for an associate who is able to demonstrate the core competencies required for success – strong communication skills; the ability to work both autonomously and in a team environment; excellent technical and drafting skills; and a demonstrated commerciality and client focus.

This is an exciting opportunity to work directly with industry leading partners Lada Shelkovnikova and Robert Williams, to learn from their experience and to contribute with your initiative and hands-on approach within the team.

To be successful in this role, you will have to bring with you the following experience, skills, and attributes:

• Singapore qualified 4-6PQE (2-4PQE E&W notional) with sound experience working on corporate real estate transactions and corporate M&A deals. A background in funds experience is a real advantage;
• the ability to work autonomously and effectively manage multiple and often competing priorities;
• enthusiastic, and able to demonstrate a keen interest in our clients' businesses;
• pro-active in identifying issues and able to work with clients in solving them;
• experience and understanding in how to deliver a transaction to clients that meets their objective in a time critical manner;
• excellent legal drafting skills with the ability to consider innovative and commercial solutions for our clients;
• communication and interpersonal skills which highlight your ability to collaborate and build relationships across all levels of the organisation;
• able to maintain tact and diplomacy, exhibit sound judgement, build trust and maintain confidentiality; and want to fit into the Firm’s culture of being collaborative, enterprising, inquisitive and hard-working.

We offer a competitive benefits and wellbeing package for all employees.

The Firm promotes a culture of agility and flexibility and is fully supportive of flexible working arrangements where these can be accommodated.

Respect for different backgrounds and perspectives is at the heart of our firm’s core values and we recognise the importance of fostering an inclusive environment that allows everyone to reach their full potential. This is a key feature of our Global Code of Conduct, which places diversity and inclusion at the centre of our firm’s ways of working.

We believe that exceptional client service can only be delivered by exceptional people. For this reason, we aim to attract, retain and develop the best talent from a wide range of backgrounds. All decisions relating to employment will be objective and based on merit and ability.

We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are as inclusive and barrier-free as possible. This includes making adjustments for candidates with a disability or long-term health condition.  If you require adjustments to be made at any stage of the recruitment process, we’d encourage you to get in touch with a member of our team who would be happy to discuss options with you.