Mills & Reeve
Principal Associate - Restructuring & Insolvency (0656)

How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
We are hiring an experienced Restructuring and Insolvency Solicitor
We are hiring an experienced Restructuring and Insolvency Solicitor into either our Manchester or Leeds office, to be part of our growing national practice. Click the link to learn more and apply!
The role
We are looking for a Restructuring and Insolvency senior solicitor to join our National practice and build and develop that practice in Manchester and Leeds, based in either our Manchester or Leeds offices.
You will have the opportunity to join an expanding team and work with Neil Smyth, and recently joined, Richard Pallot-Cook in our London office. Richard (ex- Simmons & Simmons and Dentons) was recruited seven months ago as a debt restructuring partner and Neil specialises in corporate restructuring and insolvency matters.
You will be based in our national Finance & Restructuring group, which has 12 partners and 35 fee earners across the country. In addition, Richard and Neil are the partners in our 10 strong national Restructuring & Insolvency group specialising in both contentious and non-contentious matters across all of our offices, save for Oxford.
You will undertake predominantly non-contentious advisory and transactional work linked into our corporate, finance and real estate teams across the country, amongst others, helping with advice to all stakeholders in distressed situations including lenders, investors, corporates, directors and individuals, public bodies in addition to acting for insolvency practitioners.
You will also work on a wide range of domestic and international transactions, many of which are high-value and complex.
The person
You will ideally have at least 8 years PQE with experience gained in a firm renowned for high-quality restructuring and insolvency work and be ambitious to progress, develop your contacts and build a practice.
You Will Have
- The ability to win work from clients
- Self motivation and drive to go out and help build a practice
- The ability to build rapport with colleagues and assist advising their clients on restructuring matters
- Experience in managing and supervising junior team members
- Experience of running transactional and other work as the day-to-day fee earner
- A technically strong background
- Excellent drafting and verbal/written communication skills and attention to detail
- An ability to assimilate a lot of information quickly and focus on the key issues
- Good time and file management skills to enable you to juggle lots of different matters
- Dedication to providing outstanding client service
- The ability to work under pressure
- An enthusiasm to work as part of a collaborative and ambitious team in line with the firm's values
Reasons to use Rodeo
I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?
Honest answer — it depends on where you want to end up. A lot of top grad schemes (Big 4, civil service, banking) don’t need a masters. Let’s look at the ones you’d be competitive for now, and we can decide if a masters actually adds anything.
Also worth knowing: most autumn 2026 applications are open now. Timing matters more than you think.
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
Graduate Consultant — 2026 Scheme
Why you're a good match
StrongYour economics background and your summer at a regional bank line up with what PwC looks for on the consulting scheme. Applications close in four weeks.
See breakdownIt searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Why you're a good match
You’ve got the grades and the economics background, and your bank internship is exactly the experience this scheme looks for. Apply soon — deadlines close within the month.
Experience fit
Your summer at the bank plus your econometrics coursework map directly to the day-one responsibilities on this scheme — client modelling, market briefings, and deal support.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Why should I apply?
We are looking for someone with the drive and ambition to leverage off our successful, growing, and full service offerings in both our Manchester and Leeds offices and build a restructuring and insolvency practice across both those offices, as well as, dealing with top quality work under supervision from both Neil and Richard.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
The Benefits
As you'd expect, we offer a competitive salary and a wide range of benefits. Click here to find out more about our core benefit offering.
Pre employment screening
If we offer you a role, we will conduct comprehensive pre-employment screening. This screening will include, but is not limited to, a basic DBS, verification of your right to work, a three year employment history and a self-declaration to assess your character and suitability for the role. Full details of our pre-screening employment process are available upon request.
Use of AI during the recruitment process
Technology is changing rapidly and we are all increasingly using AI software in our day to day lives, as well as using it to support our learning and professional development.
Here at Mills & Reeve, we embrace the use of technology and AI and we recognise that candidates may use AI tools to support their applications. As a regulated industry, we expect candidates to use such tools responsibly, honestly and in a manner that allows us to make a fair and accurate assessment of their individual skills, experience and suitability for the role.


Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Please ensure you have thoroughly read the document attached below to understand what we deem acceptable uses of AI.
The firm
At Mills & Reeve, our 1,450 plus people and over 850 lawyers share one vision – achieve more together. It's a state of mind in every client relationship we start and every choice we make. And it's what clients consistently say distinguishes us from your average law firm.
You can expect a close and attentive working relationship with a team that's responsive when you need them. You'll receive advice tailored to your individual needs. Wherever in the world you or your business needs support, we'll draw on our network to give recommendations.
We're driven by our values – we're ambitious, we're open, we care and we collaborate. We embrace new ideas, communicate honestly and are easy to work with. We're committed to you, our planet, our communities and each other.
We've been listed in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list as one of the best big organisations, and we've recently been reaccredited Platinum Investors in People status – a standard achieved by only 8% of assessed organisations.
And finally
Everyone at Mills & Reeve brings a unique perspective and ideas to the team and we do everything we can to help each person to thrive. We're committed to providing an inclusive and supportive working environment, are happy to consider flexible working arrangements, and want to achieve the right balance for both our people and the firm. We encourage everyone to ask if they feel they need any workplace adjustments, and will do our best to support with these.
To find out more about our diversity and inclusion work, visit our website.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London