Senior Associate (Corporate, MA Practice)

We are seeking a highly skilled and driven Senior Associate to join our Corporate/M&A Team in the Kyiv office.

In this role, you will act as a trusted advisor to clients across a wide range of corporate and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate governance, restructurings, and commercial projects. You will take responsibility for drafting and finalising complex documentation, negotiating key transaction terms, and ensuring technical accuracy throughout the process. Your ability to deliver practical, solution-oriented advice will be essential in navigating sophisticated legal issues and supporting clients' strategic objectives.

As a Senior Associate, you will also collaborate closely with Partners and contribute to business development, client relationship management, and internal knowledge sharing. You will supervise and mentor junior lawyers, review their work for client-ready quality, and play a central role in maintaining a high-performance team culture. This position offers a strong platform for professional development and a clear pathway toward increased leadership responsibilities within the practice.

Responsibilities include:

1. Legal Expertise and Transaction Work

• Lead significant aspects of M&A transactions, including due diligence, structuring, negotiation, and documentation.

• Provide practical, commercially driven legal advice in complex corporate matters.

• Draft and finalise sophisticated transaction documents (SPAs, shareholders' agreements, joint venture agreements, asset/share purchase agreements and related documentation).

• Ensure technical legal accuracy, consistency, and completeness of all deliverables.

• Conduct high-level legal research and provide expert opinions on complex matters.

2. Matter Management

• Independently manage key workstreams in large transactions.

• Coordinate with clients, counterparties, and internal teams to ensure smooth transaction execution.

• Identify risks and propose mitigation strategies.

• Plan timelines, delegate tasks effectively, and monitor progress to ensure timely completion.

• Maintain close communication with the responsible Partner and proactively provide updates on progress, risks, and next steps.

3. Client Engagement

• Serve as a primary day-to-day contact for clients on assigned matters.

• Provide strategic, solution-oriented advice tailored to client needs.

• Anticipate client issues and deliver proactive recommendations.

• Participate in client meetings, negotiations, and conference calls with limited Partner oversight.

• Support business development by maintaining strong client relationships and identifying new opportunities.

4. Supervision and Team Leadership

• Act as a key resource for junior associates and trainees on substantive legal questions.

• Review, correct, and enhance junior team members' drafts to ensure client-ready quality.

• Provide constructive feedback and mentoring to support the development of junior colleagues.

• Lead due diligence teams, oversee workflow, and ensure the accuracy of final reports.

• Promote a collaborative and knowledge-sharing team environment.

5. Internal Development and Knowledge Sharing

• Contribute to internal legal training, workshops, and knowledge initiatives.

• Assist in the preparation of templates, internal guidelines, and practice tools.

• Monitor legal developments and communicate updates relevant to the Corporate/M&A practice.

• Support firm-wide initiatives, including pro bono, compliance, and operational projects.

Key skills and experience required:

• Ukrainian-qualified lawyer (Master's degree in Law).

• 5+ years of relevant legal experience in corporate/M&A, preferably at an international or top-tier local law firm.

• Strong knowledge of Ukrainian corporate, commercial, and contract law.

• Experience with legal research and legal drafting in English and Ukrainian.

• Excellent command of English, both written and spoken.

• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple deadlines.

• Proactive, collaborative, and eager to develop a specialization in M&A and transactional advisory.

Only candidates who meet all the requirements set out above will be considered for the position.

What we offer

At Kinstellar, we prioritize your goals. We begin by understanding your strengths and ambitions as an employee and strive to create opportunities that unlock your full potential. By joining our team of exceptional talents, you become part of our high-performance culture, where we are committed to your personal and professional growth. We offer:

High-level corporate culture: Our culture comes to life through our five core values: Excellence, Insight, Integrity, Team Spirit and Drive. At Kinstellar, we place a premium on integrity and are the only regional law firm with a dedicated risk and compliance team, along with a comprehensive anti-corruption compliance program.

Learning & development: Benefit from professional development and training in a leading Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Southeast Europe (SEE) and Central Asia (CA) law firm, engaging in interesting work for reputable local and international clients.

Wellbeing: Experience comprehensive benefits tailored to individual needs, fostering your mental and physical wellbeing. We prioritize your work-life balance with firm-wide days off and offer competitive compensation, including future salary growth and an annual performance bonus.

Social impact: Engage in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives for both local and global impact. Our employee-driven Community Investment program includes pro bono work, volunteering, donations, and sponsorships.

Why Kinstellar?

At Kinstellar, we provide premium legal services and pride ourselves on having a collaborative, team-oriented, future-looking culture, providing unique development opportunities to grow in a highly supportive working environment throughout all stages of your career. At Kinstellar, you will have the opportunity to work with outstanding lawyers of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Southeast Europe (SEE) and Central Asia (CA) and with some of the world’s greatest referring law firms on highly complex cases. We are a purpose-driven organization, with outstanding sector and service line expertise, knowledge, and commitment to client service and innovation.

We know our people value flexibility around when and where they work, so we are committed to offering a more adaptable way to work, balancing the way you work and your lifestyle with hybrid working options.

We will support your career aspirations by offering access to mobility programs such as intra-office secondments and secondments with referring law firms where possible. These programs give you the chance to travel to other countries, engage with international clients and lawyers, and develop your networks.

Equal opportunities

Kinstellar provides equal opportunities to all employees and applicants and strictly prohibits discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other protected characteristic.

Joining Kinstellar means working with some of the finest legal minds in CEE, SEE & CA on the region’s most challenging mandates. We attract the best and brightest talents to help us continue our stellar growth.

Do you consider yourself Stellar? Apply now!

To apply

At Kinstellar, we welcome direct applications. Please send your application (CV and cover letter) in English to Kateryna Kryvozub at []. We will then be in touch with you once we have reviewed your application. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

By submitting your application, you agree to provide us with your personal data for the purposes of the recruitment process at Kinstellar. Your personal data will be processed with utmost confidentiality by Kinstellar solely for the purposes of selection and recruitment and will not be transferred to other data controllers unless required by law.

By submitting your application, you understand and consent to Kinstellar retaining your personal information for a period of up to 12 months. This allows us to consider you for future career opportunities.

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