Associate / Senior Associate / Legal Director (ref 1235)

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals based in Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: property, corporate services, litigation and private client advisory.

We are defined by our Next Level Law proposition. We work with our clients as a proactive partner, horizon scanning and thinking ahead to the changes, challenges or opportunities that they may face.

Next Level Law is also applied to our people. Our collegiate culture means everyone is encouraged to achieve their next level in everything they do. RollOnFriday recently ranked us as the 5th best law firm to work at in 2024.

With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 40% of our partnership.

The department

We have one of the best regarded and largest dedicated property teams within the country, numbering over 100 specialists. Our property lawyers are particularly experienced in dealing with development and investment, planning, secured lending and landlord and tenant matters.

Our lawyers come from a range of backgrounds, including major City practices, other major national and regional firms, industry and local government and include individuals with construction, planning and commercial expertise. The depth and range of expertise means the team can work together in major and complex transactions on cost effective terms, providing our clients with true value for money.

The team currently comprises a number of specialist qualified Commercial Property solicitors and Partners, making us one of the largest Commercial Property teams in the East of England.

We have the strength and depth of expertise to ensure we deliver the service you would expect in respect of technical quality, practical approach and timeliness of advice.

The property team has experience in all areas of contentious and non-contentious legal matters, representing clients from a broad range of public and private organisations as well as individuals and senior executives and we are proud to act for sector leading clients nationwide and some of the East of England’s most important businesses and institutions.

Accountabilities

Our team has extensive combined experience and the ideal candidate will possess experience in the following areas:

• Conditional and unconditional acquisitions and disposals
• Portfolio acquisitions, disposals and management
• Secured lending transactions for lenders and borrowers
• Acting for landlords and tenants across multiple sectors in relation to:
• Leases
• Surrenders
• Conditional and unconditional agreements for lease
• Management matters such as licences to assign, alter etc
• Supporting the firm’s corporate team with the real estate aspects of their share and asset sales and purchases
• Being an integral part of the teams business development initiatives

The candidate

To join our Commercial Property team we are seeking a candidate who is a solicitor with ideally 5+ years’ PQE experience gained within a well-regarded city, regional or national firm with a well-developed knowledge in all areas of commercial property law.

The successful candidate will have an excellent knowledge of the law yet be able to think commercially and analytically so as to provide accurate and practical advice to company clients and high net worth individuals which is tailored to their needs, with an ability to think clearly under pressure. You will also be expected to play an active role in marketing and practice development as well as providing a high level of service to existing clients.

The successful candidate will also be involved in team leadership and supervision of junior members of the team, also supporting the leadership teams across all offices.

Birketts has designed a 'Talent Management Framework' which provides a career structure that will help us develop, retain and reward talented people. Promotion is based on assessment of your performance, competency and achievements. Our Talent Management Framework will see you joining as a Senior Associate at 6+ years’ PQE, with the opportunity to be promoted to Legal Director / Partner over 10 years PQE, or equally (depending on experience) we will consider Legal Directors or Partners for this role.

This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious commercial property lawyer to join a successful team in a growing firm which enjoys an excellent reputation and can offer good career prospects.

Qualifications/Experience

• 5 years’+ PQE gained within a strong regional, national or City firm
• Commercial landlord and tenant work knowledge
• Experience of acting for both banks and borrowers in secured lending matters
• Knowledge of providing property support as part of corporate transactions
• Strong academic background
• A high attention to detail to produce work/ documentation which is consistently of a high standard
• To have a flexible approach to work to ensure client deadlines are always met and clients are communicated with on a consistent and regular basis.
• Interest in and aptitude for business development

The information provided in relation to PQE is provided for guidance only and will not be determinative in the recruitment decision. Any applicant with more or less PQE than that mentioned in the vacancy details will be considered on their individual merits.

Equal opportunities

At Birketts, our culture is driven by ambition and a commitment to positively impact all the communities we serve. We are dedicated to the success, development, and wellbeing of our colleagues, helping them achieve their goals and seize the opportunities that come with our growth.

Alongside a flexible and inclusive work environment, we offer the following core benefits:

• 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays (rising with service up to a maximum of 30 days) (Senior Associate and Legal Director - 30 days holiday)
• Long Service holiday award – 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
• Private Healthcare with BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
• Staff Profit Share and Individual Performance Bonus Scheme
• Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
• Paid CSR Day
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Subsidised gym membership
• Electric car scheme
• Agile/Hybrid Working Policy
• Dress for your Day Policy

https://www.birketts.co.uk/recognition-reward-benefits/

Birketts is a flexible business which has embraced a hybrid working model where our colleagues enjoy a mix of home and office working. We welcome applications from people looking for flexible, agile, and part-time roles and we are happy to explore your preferred working patterns as part of your application.

Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.

Birketts is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is unequivocal: we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.