Corporate Associate

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, Sevenoaks and Bristol. 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.

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

You will join a highly successful, leading Corporate division who are seeing substantial growth, resulting in the need for extra resource to take forward ambitious plans. The Cambridge Corporate team is led by Greg Allan and James Allen supported by a strong team.

You will form part of a nationally recognised and highly regarded Corporate team which includes over 45 corporate fee earners, and 16 partners, more than a dozen of whom are recommended in the latest Legal 500 rankings. Our size and expertise mean we advise clients at different stages of the business life cycle from start-ups to mergers and acquisitions, buy-outs and buy-ins, development capital fundraisings, to refinancing and exits. We are also highly experienced in international corporate deals and work with a range of overseas law firms on cross-border global transactions.

The Corporate team plays a leading role in several firm-wide sector specialisms including Energy and Infrastructure, Healthcare, Motor and Food and Beverage.

Purpose of job

If you are seeking a new, challenging role with a modern, forward-thinking firm, then this could be the role for you! We are looking for a newly qualified or more experienced Solicitor to cover a broad range of work across the Corporate team contributing in their own right and providing assistance to the entire team and its growth.

Work includes assisting the team to advise clients on acquisitions, mergers and disposals of companies and businesses, transactions for investors, and many international transactions. You will be assisting with the drafting of the necessary legal documents, preparing corporate ancillary documents, liaising with HMRC, and working with team members to co-ordinate the signing of documents. You will work proactively with fee earners to ensure relevant documentation is produced to meet client expectations and deadlines, file management, digital documentation downloads/uploads, and working with DocuSign.

You will be given training and support and the chance to get involved in some exciting and complex transactions!

The candidate

We are see seeking a recently qualified candidate looking to start a career with a prestigious law firm, or you may have gained experience within a regional or City firm and looking for that next step.

You will need to have strong attention to detail skills to produce work/ documentation which is consistently of a high standard. You will have a flexible approach to work to ensure client deadlines are always met and clients are communicated with on a consistent and regular basis and an interest in and aptitude for business development.

Candidates with good quality experience in Corporate law would be suitable for this role.

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:

• Starting at 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays (rising with service up to a maximum of 30 days)
• 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

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.