Description
The Team
Employee Benefits Group
The team consists of one Partner, one Counsel and 2 Associates. The team, led by Jeremy Edwards, has significantly developed its client base in recent years and is a prominent UK team, a position that is reflected in the calibre of the group's UK client base. The team is also part of a wider international share plan team (Baker McKenzie's Global Equity Services), forming a leading global share plan team.
The Employee Benefits Group has been and is envisaged to continue to be busy over both the core areas described below and more specialist employee/ employer tax areas, including:
- The corporate tax deduction position of companies operating net withholding for RSUs (which is attracting a considerable amount of audit activity from HMRC);
- Employment tax risks arising from misclassification;
- The operation of growth share plans; and
- Other employee tax related areas.
It is also envisaged that there could be considerable takeover/ deal activity within the next year, in which the Employee Benefits Group will be called upon to provide share plan support.
Core areas
The core practice of the Employee Benefits Group includes advising on the implementation of share plans for numerous UK, US and European multinationals and advising in connection with employment tax issues and tax planning for expatriate employees and their employers. The core practice continues to grow. Regular client instructions continue as before and we have seen an increase in initiatives relating to the launch of international share plans.
There is a continued focus on assisting companies understand and comply with their tax withholding and reporting obligations in relation to employee share plans. This is particularly the case with respect to internationally mobile employees, and we expect this to continue. Allied to this, we expect increased focus on global mobility issues, working alongside colleagues in our market-leading Employment team and our Immigration practice as a combined mobility offering.
The Employee Benefits Group also advises companies on takeovers, redomestications and IPOs- with the Employee Benefits Group supporting both the London corporate and corporate tax groups and providing support on overseas transactions led by other offices (and sometimes for stand alone clients).
The London practice puts considerable effort into getting to grips with new areas of law and considers it important to be at the cutting edge of developments. This emphasis is reflected in the internal and external training courses that it provides (see below). As well as mobility issues, another current area of focus is remuneration structures in increasingly regulated sectors, such as financial services.
The London practice is particularly known for its ability to service the needs of international companies launching share plans into both the UK and internationally.
International strength
The Employee Benefits Group is part of Baker McKenzie's leading international global share plan practice, the Global Equity Services Group.
The Global Equity Services Group has 8 dedicated partners in the USA alone and a dedicated partner in each of the other leading European and Asian jurisdictions (and many more partners who provide input into specialised employee share scheme areas, as needed). The global group also has a strong continental European practice, which the London practice is actively involved in. Our European and US practices work together closely and our global and European groups undertake many joint initiatives such as seminars and webinars.
Wide client base
The Employee Benefits Group deals with a wider range of clients than most London share plan teams as a result of the firm's international network. As a consequence, the London practice prides itself on its ability to provide detailed tax and legal advice which is both practical and delivered efficiently.
The Employee Benefits Group's client base includes many of the world's leading companies. The leading practitioners in the London practice will advise over 100 clients each in the course of a year. The list of clients named in the submission is only intended as a sample of our extensive client base.
The role will be complex and wide-ranging, it will include (for instance):
- Advising on all aspects of the implementation and operation of share plans for UK, US and European multinationals;
- Advising on PLC development and advising on takeovers and mergers and other transactions;
- Advising on complex employee tax issues and tax planning;
- Advising on tax withholding and reporting obligations in relation to employee share plans;
- Assisting on international reviews and international launches of plans;
- Understanding and communicating trends in the sector and their impact on the client's position to clients;
- Undertaking some BD activity consistent with the team's wider strategy, including attending industry training and networking events;
- Preparing client updates on developments of interest to our client base;
- Drafting legal documents that are structurally consistent and accurately reflect relevant instructions;
- Taking responsibility for thinking ahead and checking that matters are progressing according to the timetable and communicating appropriately with clients;
- Maintaining regular dialogue with the Partner/Senior Associate on performance against budget;
- Recognising actual or potential sensitive client issues;
- Matching 'time spent' to value and interpreting financial data to understand individual/matter profitability;
- Taking a role in analysing and interpreting billing/realisation data to assess level of profitability and reviewing pre-bills where required; and making preliminary recommendations on difficult ethical/conflict issues and referring to Partner(s)
Key Skills and Skills Required
- A qualified lawyer with excellent academic credentials
- Strong technical skills
- Share plan practitioner
- With particular focus on supporting corporate tax on transactions - must be pragmatic and have sound commercial judgment and have earn out experience
- With knowledge and interest in supporting Private Equity and funds-
- Must be ready and able to provide business development support (especially to corporate tax/ Private Equity area of practice)
- Internal liaison skills
- External facing
- Must be interested in building practice and assisting development of other members of the team
- Significant experience of employee share plan issues together with wider employee tax expertise (ideally including mobility issues)
- Will consider candidates from an accountancy background
- Must be able to pro-actively take forward matters
- Will be a team player, able to forge strong working relationships with external and overseas departments
- Will be a highly credible individual with gravitas and high level of intellectual ability
- Will have strategic awareness of business and commercial issues
- Genuine interest in business development
- Will have a pro-active commercial outlook
- Respects and enjoys the diversity of cultural, social and academic backgrounds found in the Firm.
Why join us?
Baker McKenzie is a truly global law firm. Founded in 1949, we advise many of the world’s most dynamic and successful business organisations through our 13,200 people in 74 offices in 45 countries. Yet big does not mean impersonal. We work hard to ensure that everyone knows their role and has the support they need to perform it to the highest standard. Our culture encourages this - how we work, think and behave in a collaborative and fulfilling way.
In London you will be part of a 950 person office, which is also our largest office globally. Originally opened in 1961, Baker McKenzie London is well established in the UK as a leading international law firm and is regularly involved in some of the country's most high-profile legal matters. We can offer you the work, pride and experience of being part of a leading law firm but in a local office environment that is hardworking, yet friendly and supportive.
The strength of the firm and our culture is evidenced by a number of recent awards, including:
- Ranked in Law.com’s 2024 UK A-List of best firms to work at
- Included in The Times 2024 list of Best Law Firms
- Ranked in the Financial Times Most Innovative Law Firms in Europe 2024 list
- Listed in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers 2024-2025
- Winner: Pro Bono Initiative of the Year – The Lawyer Awards 2024
- Winner: Finance Team of the Year – Legal Business Awards 2024
- Ranked as one of the top 5 largest US law firms in London in The Lawyer’s 2024 US 50.
To Apply
For more information about this position or to discuss any adjustments you may require during the process please contact, in confidence, David Roberts, Recruitment Manager, on 020 7072 5752
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Our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
Our global strategy is focused on our people, our culture, our clients and the communities where we operate. In 2019 we enacted ambitious new targets related to gender, racial and ethnic diversity at the Firm. These targets are viewed as a floor, not a ceiling, to advancing underrepresented groups, and they are backed by a variety of strategic initiatives aimed at achieving our goals. Our strategic vision is supported in London by six active employee led networks which champion diversity, lead on a number of internal campaigns and deliver a range of activity to celebrate differences in identity, inclusion, and key dates throughout the year including: LGBT+ History Month, International Women’s Day, International Trans Day of Visibility, Mental Health Awareness Week, Pride, Black History Month, Social Mobility Week, International Day of Disabled Persons and many more!