Formal meeting in Bury to contend with (9)
I believe the answer is:
interview
'formal meeting' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'bury to contend with' is the wordplay.
'bury' becomes 'inter' (I've seen this before).
'to contend' becomes 'vie' ('vie' can be a synonym of 'contend').
'with' becomes 'w' (abbreviation).
'inter'+'vie'+'w'='INTERVIEW'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for interview that I've seen before include "to ask questions" , "Formal discussion with job seeker" , "Assessment of applicant - discussion" , "Formal discussion with a job applicant" , "job talk" .)