Mergers and Acquisitions Associate (New York)

About the Firm

Our client is a Vault top-10 firm with a global platform and one of the most prestigious corporate practices in the country. The firm's New York office is a core engine of that platform, home to a deep bench of M&A, private equity, and investment funds lawyers who advise on some of the most sophisticated transactions in the market. This is a firm consistently regarded by peers as among the most elite in the profession — the kind of platform that signals immediate credibility on a résumé and opens doors for the long term, whether an associate's future path leads to partnership, in-house leadership, or the investment side of the business.

The Practice

This search supports a newly built-out practice at the intersection of M&A, private equity, and investment funds, with a particular focus on the fast-growing asset manager M&A and GP stakes space — including minority and majority stake sales, seed and strategic investments in emerging managers, and adjacent structuring and transactional work. This is one of the most active corners of the private capital market right now, as asset managers increasingly sell stakes in their management companies to raise permanent capital and institutional investors compete for exposure to the next generation of fund sponsors.

The practice is being spearheaded by a Partner who joined this Vault top-10 firm from another Vault top-10 firm, bringing an established client base and a live pipeline of GP stakes and asset manager M&A mandates. Because the team is being built out around this practice from the ground up, associates who join now have a rare opportunity to grow with it — shaping the group's reputation and their own, rather than stepping into an already-entrenched hierarchy.

The Role

The firm is seeking mid-level to senior M&A, private equity, and investment funds associates for its New York office. Core responsibilities include:

• Structuring and negotiating asset manager M&A transactions, GP stakes sales, and seed/strategic investments
• Drafting and negotiating purchase agreements, investment documents, and related transaction agreements
• Leading due diligence workstreams and coordinating with tax, regulatory, and funds specialists
• Direct engagement with sponsor and institutional investor clients throughout the deal lifecycle
• Mentoring junior associates as the practice scales

Strong M&A and/or private equity transactional experience from an Am Law 50 or equivalent national/international platform is required. Prior asset manager M&A or GP stakes experience is a meaningful plus but is not required — the firm is prioritizing strong deal instincts and technical grounding over narrow subject-matter overlap.

The Long-Term Benefits to the Candidate

• Ground-floor entry into one of the hottest niches in private capital. GP stakes and asset manager M&A sit at the center of where institutional capital is flowing right now. Building this expertise early positions an associate as a go-to resource in a specialty that will only grow in demand.
• Direct, sustained access to a rainmaking partner. Joining a practice being built around a single lateral partner's book of business means far more direct partner interaction, mentorship, and client-facing opportunity than joining an established group as one of many associates.
• A Vault top-10 platform behind a fast-growing practice. Associates get the brand credibility and institutional resources of one of the most prestigious firms in the country, applied to a nimble, entrepreneurial practice — a combination that's genuinely hard to find.
• Outsized visibility and career compounding. Being an early associate on a build-out practice means outsized credit for wins, faster trust from the partner, and a much clearer path to being seen as indispensable — all of which compounds over a 3-5 year horizon into partnership consideration or a highly marketable lateral/in-house profile.
• Top-of-market compensation , consistent with the firm's Vault top-10 standing, with bonus structures that reward associates for the hours and outcomes this kind of high-growth practice will demand.
• Optionality on the client side. Deep GP stakes and asset manager M&A experience is highly transferable to roles at private equity firms, asset managers, and institutional investors themselves — for associates who may eventually want to move to the buy side.

This search is being conducted on a confidential, retained basis. Firm and partner identity will be disclosed to qualified candidates upon initial conversation.