Corporate In-House Lawyer (M&A)

Corporate In-House Lawyer | 2-4 PQE | Brighton | £60,000 – £80,000+ (+ Generous Bonus)

We’re working with a highly ambitious investment business offering a rare opportunity for a Corporate Lawyer to step into a hands-on in-house Corporate M&A role in Brighton.

This is a standout chance to join a fast-moving investment environment and work directly alongside an experienced deal team, gaining genuine exposure to live transactions and the full lifecycle of investments. You’ll be embedded in the heart of the business, where legal input is closely tied to commercial decision-making.

Want a role where your legal advice genuinely shapes investment decisions?

This is not a traditional in-house role. You will sit as part of a small but highly ambitious team, working side-by-side with investment professionals on live transactions and portfolio matters. Within this In-House Corporate Lawyer role, the focus is on speed, pragmatism, and commerciality; helping deals get done efficiently, without losing sight of legal risk where it really matters.

You will be trusted to operate as a key legal point of contact for transactions, with strong support available from senior colleagues and a paralegal. Over time, you’ll take increasing ownership of execution, particularly on smaller and mid-sized deals.

What will this In-House Corporate Lawyer role involve?

You’ll be embedded in a busy deal environment, supporting and leading on a broad range of transactional and portfolio work, including:

• Buy-side M&A work on UK acquisitions, including structuring support and transaction implementation
• Drafting and negotiating NDAs, heads of terms, and ancillary deal documents
• Managing targeted legal due diligence focused on key commercial risks
• Drafting and negotiating SPA/BPA documentation and associated disclosure materials
• Supporting equity documentation including shareholder arrangements, incentive structures, and related investment instruments
• Assisting on sell-side processes alongside external counsel, including transaction preparation
• Providing ongoing legal support to portfolio companies, including integration issues, management exits, and corporate structuring matters

To excel in this In-House Corporate Lawyer role, you will ideally bring:

• 2-4 years’ PQE in corporate/M&A law (strong UK qualification required)
• Solid experience in transactional corporate work, ideally including exposure to private equity or similar deal environments
• Confidence handling legal workstreams with increasing autonomy
• Strong drafting skills and the ability to translate legal complexity into clear commercial advice
• A proactive, commercially minded approach with the ability to work at pace
• The ability to engage confidently with non-lawyers in a deal-driven environment

The working environment:

You’ll be joining a close-knit and highly collaborative team within a larger, ambitious investment organisation. The culture is open, direct, and fast-moving, with a strong emphasis on getting deals done efficiently and constructively. The legal team sits directly alongside the investment professionals, meaning constant exposure to live deal activity, investment discussions, and strategic decision-making.

This is an office-based role in a highly social, energetic environment, where collaboration and proximity to the deal team are central to how the business operates.

Location: Brighton (office-based)

Salary: £60,000-£80,000 + bonus

If you’re someone who thrives in a commercial, fast-paced environment, enjoys variety, and wants direct exposure to how investment decisions are made and executed, we’d love to hear from you.

Please reach out to Hayley Rose or Chloë at Harvey John for more information about this In-House Corporate Lawyer job in Brighton.

Harvey John is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy. The salary bracket advertised is FTE, for guidance only. We are committed to continued improvement in terms of diversity and inclusion practices. Please get in touch with any questions concerning reasonable adjustments, accommodations, or diversity practices.