Corporate Associate - Private Equity; Jr to Mid-Level

Private Equity Associate (3rd-6th year)
San Francisco or Menlo Park | Sponsor-side deals

Our AmLaw 100 client is building in its Bay Area private equity group and wants a midlevel associate who can run sponsor-side work with real responsibility. This platform stays busy across the cycle and is consistently at the top of global M&A and private equity league tables.

Role summary

• Represent leading PE sponsors and portfolio companies on acquisitions, dispositions, add-ons, and exits.
• Draft and negotiate core deal documents (LOIs, purchase agreements, equity rollover, management incentive, ancillary agreements).
• Coordinate diligence, deal execution, and closings across specialists (finance, tax, antitrust, exec comp) and across offices for cross-border work.
• Exposure to sophisticated carve-outs, take-privates, and complex sponsor mandates when the deal requires it.

Candidate profile

• 3rd-6th year associate (minimum 2 years of private equity transactional experience).
• Strong sponsor-side M&A reps. If your experience is more general M&A but you have meaningful PE exposure, that can still work.
• Comfortable driving work streams, turning comments quickly, and owning documents without hand-holding.
• California bar preferred for Bay Area-based practice (or a clear plan/timeline to get there).

Why this role

• Deal volume and market access: the PE group runs a massive annual sponsor deal load (500+ deals; $500B+ in aggregate value is the stated scale).
• Training and trajectory: you will work directly with partners who stay close to execution, with room to step up as a true deal lead.
• Platform strength: recognized in Chambers for elite corporate/M&A capability, and regularly credited for top-tier results in major league tables.
• Benefits and support: the firm’s long-running well-being program is built to be used, not just marketed.
• Comp:
  Cravath-scale base, plus discretionary bonus (posted scale includes $225k to $310k base for the relevant classes).

Interested?

Reply here or message me for a confidential discussion. If you send a resume, include your deal sheet or a short summary of sponsor-side reps.

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