Baker McKenzie

The EMEA Tax Knowledge Lawyer plays a pivotal strategic role in delivering high-value legal insights across the EMEA Tax Practice Group. Collaborating closely with Tax Partners and the broader Knowledge team, this role requires deep expertise and the capability to drive the creation of client-facing content, thought leadership, and contributions to proposals and business development initiatives. Key responsibilities include monitoring and communicating legislative developments and impacts, designing and delivering training, and curating industry-specific know-how. The role also supports lawyers with the development of complex precedents, responds to lawyer queries, and leads efforts in policy engagement and the adoption of knowledge systems. With a strong focus on collaboration, innovation, and service excellence, the position cultivates a culture of continuous learning and operational effectiveness across the Group.

Main responsibilities:

Knowledge and Expertise:

• Client-facing knowledge: Provide legal input into client-facing and demand-generating initiatives, including client training and legal content for proposals and other business development resources. Identify Tax hot topics and write, commission, and deliver content such as alerts, thought leadership reports, and talking points
• Current awareness and commercial/industry know-how: Swift identification, curation, and explanation of key changes in tax legislation and case law of significance to our client base. Apply an understanding of key clients' industries and businesses to all activities. Work with other Practice Groups (“PG”) and Industry Groups (“IG”) to provide the most holistic legal, commercial, and industry know-how possible. Leverage industry periodicals and media to enhance industry knowledge. Involve yourself with industry bodies, including by coordinating attendance at meetings and calls and by joining working groups and subcommittees
• Client-facing sessions: Guidance on agenda formation for client-facing sessions and conferences, as well as providing baseline presentations for speakers.
• Lawyer requests: Respond to ad hoc inquiries from lawyers. Develop a reputation as a go-to expert on firm and Group resources
• Precedents. Review, draft, develop, and automate the Group's precedents including for EU-wide tax filings, advice or presentations, and other legal content
• Know-how development: Collect and input the Group's know-how into the firm's global repository of knowledge and populate global, multi-jurisdictional databases and resources. Identify gaps in know-how and work to fill them, ensuring content development is progressive
• Training: Identify the Group's training needs and meet them by delivering, participating in, and promoting training. Leverage firm resources and processes to produce training materials and courses efficiently and of the highest possible quality
• Policy initiatives and capacity-building: Participate in and respond to policy consultations and regulatory developments

  
  

Service Orientation:

• Relationships: Promote and identify ways to strengthen the Group's knowledge culture. Build lasting relationships throughout the firm through collaboration, mutual respect, and a reputation for competence. Advocate and be a positive spokesperson for Knowledge. Nurture relationships with trainees and junior lawyers. Support diversity and inclusion, CSR, and pro bono activities    

Work Management:

• Operations and innovation:  Proactively seek ways to improve your own and your team's service and efficiency and contribute to best practices.  Actively participate in Knowledge projects
• Systems: Support and drive the adoption of Knowledge systems. Take ownership of delivery. Schedule one-on-one meetings and presentations to promote Knowledge systems
• Strategy, alignment, and integration: Understand and promote the Group's business and Knowledge plans. Structure time and priorities per the Group's business and Knowledge plans and provide input into them

Skills and experience:

• Law degree
• Current license to practice law (or eligibility for one)
• Substantial experience as a practicing lawyer with a high level of tax technical ability in key areas of corporate tax, international tax, and transfer pricing
• Excellent English language skills (verbal and written) and the confidence to communicate in a multi-cultural, multi-level environment
• Experience working directly with senior counterparts on strategy and execution
• Excellent time management and organizing skills; ability to prioritize and manage time to meet deadlines
• Strong word processing and spreadsheet skills
• Experience in, or willingness to learn legal technology, including AI/GenAI, document automation, and other legal tech

Function:

The Knowledge function is a Firm-wide team of nearly 300 professionals, including Knowledge Lawyers, Information & Research professionals, and various other functional specialists. The Knowledge function helps the Firm deliver better legal solutions by producing and providing easy access to high-quality, relevant legal information for lawyers and clients. The focus is on the following areas:

• Content - creating, collecting, and providing access to market-leading precedents, sample documents, practice notes, training materials, and other know-how for our lawyers and clients, reviewing and updating regularly, to ensure that the content is current and market-leading. 
• Systems - working with the Technology function to design, develop, and build user-friendly and flexible platforms to store know-how and deliver it intuitively to lawyers and clients, adopting common systems across all offices and practice/industry groups.
• Culture - striving to establish Knowledge as a core part of every lawyer's role, engaging actively with all lawyers in the firm and encouraging them to share their knowhow and expertise with colleagues as openly as possible; embracing a "one team" culture within the Firm's Knowledge community ensuring that all team members create and develop high-quality local content while being aligned with our global strategy and approach.

Key relationships:

Your clients are the partners, lawyers, economists, tax practitioners in the Group, and practice group lawyers with expertise relevant to the Group. You will receive day-to-day project assignments and overall direction from the Group's Lead Knowledge Lawyer, Senior Knowledge Lawyer(s), and the Group's chair and steering committee.

You must liaise closely with other members of the Business Professional team, especially within the Knowledge function to ensure that Knowledge projects and initiatives are carried out consistently with the firm’s overall business objectives and its Knowledge strategy.

Locations: London, Amsterdam or Milan

Reports to:  Lead Knowledge Lawyer for the Tax Group

Position Type:  Specialist

Development Framework:  Senior Manager

At Baker McKenzie we are different in the way we think, work and behave. With our team of 13,000 people, including over 6,500 locally admitted lawyers, in over 70 offices worldwide, we have a passionately collaborative community of 60 nationalities and are committed to world-class career development to everyone in every job at every level. Baker McKenzie can offer you both the uncompromising commitment to excellence expected of a top firm paired with a passionately global and genuinely collaborative working environment.

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 either 020 7919 1000 or Recruitment.London@bakermckenzie.com

For more information about this position or to discuss any adjustments you may require during the process please contact in confidence, Hannah Ritchie, Recruitment Manager, on Hannah.Ritchie@bakermckenzie.com

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Please note Baker McKenzie does not accept unsolicited CVs. Please click here for details of our Agency Policy and commitment to sourcing directly.

Baker McKenzie is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion for all. Our unique international culture is reflected in the drawing together of a worldwide family of individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds in all of our offices. We encourage the best people to fulfil their professional aspirations with us. We are committed to ensuring an inclusive and accessible experience for all candidates.