This is an excellent opportunity for a mid-level associate to join a
team that is recognised as one of the leading Employment law teams in
Belgium, and one that gives pragmatic, commercial advice in a
business-friendly way. Associates work in a professional environment
and can expect a good variety of work. Associates are given the
opportunity to be in regular and direct contact with clients.
We can offer a breadth of work and the successful candidate will be
involved in and have a focus on the whole range of individual and
collective employment law matters including employment litigation
work. This role would suit someone who, in addition to the technical
skills, has the ability to drive the business forward and develop
strong client relationships.
Main Responsibilities:
Advising clients on a wide range of complex employment matters,
often on an international basis, including on:
Day-to-day labor law matters, from recruitment to dismissal;
Individual, multiple and collective dismissals and restructurings;
The drafting of employment agreements, management services
agreements and consultancy related agreements for executive
hiring, including corporate governance aspects;
Employment aspects of corporate projects (including due
diligence processes and post-acquisition harmonisation exercises);
Labor relations with employee representative bodies;
Employment litigation; and
Global mobility queries.
Developing relationships with clients including gaining a good
knowledge of the client's businesses, economic drivers and market
and sector requirements in order to ensure the advice is relevant
and commercial.
Engaging in business development activities, being active in the
promotion of the firm and in identifying new opportunities.
Working as part of a team includes assisting with the supervision
of other lawyers and taking an active part in sharing knowledge and
experience within the team.
There are regular opportunities for secondments with clients and
to other offices abroad under the firm's associate exchange programme.
The Team
Our Employment Practice Group has the global experience and local
knowledge to handle allday-to-day employment issues that arise within
companies. We also represent clients in complex matters such as
collective lay-offs, closings, trade union negotiations, negotiations
related to mergers and acquisitions and high profile employment litigations.
Our employment lawyers work closely together with colleagues in Baker
McKenzie offices around the world to give clients commercially
pragmatic, tailor-made solutions to help them effectively manage their workforces.
We want to offer our clients advice which is ahead of the curve and
pragmatic. Our demand of each lawyer is as high as our clients'
expectations, that is why we invest continuously in developing and
training our legal talent.
We offer a stimulating work environment with an open, friendly and
enthusiastic atmosphere, as well as commitment to personal and
professional development and excellent training.
Key Skills and Experience Required
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate all or the
majority of the following:
Strong academic background (Belgian law degree)
3 to 6 years of relevant experience
Excellent command of English, Dutch and French
High quality work standards
Strong client-service orientation
Excellent communication skills
Ability to work well both in a team and individually
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 78 offices in 46 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.
Baker McKenzie opened its first Belgian office in Brussels in 1957.
In 2002, it opened its Antwerp office. Today, Baker McKenzie has more
than 100 qualified lawyers across the two offices
The strength of the firm and our culture is evidenced by a number of
recent awards, including:
Band 1, Global Multi-Jurisdictional: Employment Chambers Global 2024
Named Acritas' World's Strongest Law Firm Brand
for 12 consecutive years and were named Global Law Firm of
the Year in Europe at the Lawyer European Awards 2020.
Ranked as one of the Stonewall Top Global Employer for
2020, reflecting our commitment to our progressive values
and our collaborative, diverse and inclusive culture.
Top 75 employers in the 2020 Social Mobility Employer Index -
Ranked 10th
2019 Best Law Firm for Women - Working Mother Magazine, Law360
& Euromoney
2019 Lambda Legal Law Firm Leadership Award - for commitment to
addressing the legal needs of homeless youths
Best Law Firm in the Voluntary Carbon Market 2019 - Environmental Finance
Climate Change Firm of the Year - Who's Who Legal Awards
TARGET job awards 2020 - Finalist for most popular graduate
recruiter in law
LCN Best Trainer 2020 - nominee Best Recruiter Large City firm
Have a look at our YouTube
channel to find out more about us!
To Apply
At Baker McKenzie we welcome direct applications. Please click
on the Apply icon to start the online application process for this
role. We will then be in touch with you once we have reviewed your
application. If you are unable to apply online, please contact the
Recruitment Team on belgianrecruitment@bakermckenzie.com
NO AGENCIES PLEASE
Please note Baker McKenzie does not accept unsolicited CVs. Please
click here
for details of our Agency Policy and commitment to sourcing directly.
As the first truly global law firm, diversity and inclusion are
foundational to our culture and strategic vision. Our diversity makes
our global community stronger, more interesting and richer in thought,
and helps us in solving complex problems and designing practical
solutions for our clients.
We view diversity and inclusion as a business imperative,
and seek to engage with our clients to drive diversity
and inclusion both within our Firm and in the broader legal
community. Diverse teams make innovation possible, provide us
greater insight into client needs, and lead to better performance
Our approach is global and inclusive. We have more
than 13,000 employees in 46 countries who speak 80+ languages, and
we want to ensure that all of our people feel included and empowered
The D&I Agenda is championed at the highest
level by our Global Chair and our Global Executive
Committee whose members each have KPIs around diversity
We have a Global D&I Committee who actively
work to drive forward the firm's diversity and inclusion strategy
and monitors progress through regular meetings and leadership accountability
We are proactively cultivating a diverse and inclusive
environment through leadership accountability, policies and
practices and client and community outreach.
In 2019 we enacted global targets of 40% women, 40% men and 20%
flexible (women, men or non-binary persons) by July 2025. The targets
apply to partners, senior business professionals, committee leadership
and candidate pools for recruitment.
