Solicitor/Associate/Senior Associate (ref 1164)

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

'Legal Team of the Year 2019' by the Estates Gazettes Awards - We have one of the best regarded and largest dedicated property teams within the country, numbering over 150 specialists.

Our Planning and Environmental Team sits within the Property Division and is 20 people strong and growing. We are recognised in both Chambers and Legal 500 as being Top Tier and have been for many years. We are ranked 8th in the country by Planning Magazine 2024.

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 planning, environmental, rights of way, and highways 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 and unrivalled expertise.

The team deals with a wide range of planning and environmental work, including complex, high value and high-profile matters. Led by two Partners and supported by a diverse group of lawyers the work of the team includes waste management, environmental permitting, contaminated land, statutory nuisance and habitats and nature conservation. We provide support to other teams with advice and due diligence work as well as carrying out free standing environmental work for a range of clients.

Purpose of job

Birketts is recruiting for an ambitious, driven and forward-thinking environmental lawyer to come and join our growing Planning and Environmental Team on a permanent basis. The team is spread over four of our offices currently and is expanding so an ability to work across offices and travel from time to time to other offices is part and parcel of how the Team functions. However, it is anticipated you would have a home office in Either Cambridge, Ipswich to enable adequate supervision and a good diverse range of work.

You will provide professional, proactive, high level legal support to an allocated group of fee earners and to the wider fee earning team. The role is within a team that manages a diverse caseload of all types of planning and environmental work. In the main, the role will focus on delivering high quality environmental law advice to our varied clients.

Experience of planning law as well as, environmental law would be beneficial, but it is acknowledged that these areas are both broad, wide-ranging but also complex and detailed such that many candidates may only have experience of environmental law. Willingness to learn about planning law and the planning system so far as it is relevant to the environmental work would be required but experience is not essential.

Accountabilities

• To support the Planning and Environmental team in delivering on its strategy for growth and client service excellence
• To work with colleagues in a productive and collaborative way, supervising those more junior and seeking supervision from those more senior
• To be competent in a variety of software packages such as Microsoft Word and Excel to produce correspondence and documents, spreadsheets and presentations to ensure relevant documentation is produced to a high standard to meet clients’ expectations and deadlines
• To be, or become expert in legal software such as Hi Q, Expert Time Recording and Compare Docs
• To prepare advice and documentation to a high standard and deliver to client demands and deadlines
• Updating the client on progress when required
• To proof read all work, checking for spelling and grammar
• To be involved in business development activities for the Planning and Environment team and the wider firm

The candidate

This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a highly regarded, dynamic and growing team dealing with high quality and varied property work.

We are looking for:

• A qualified lawyer with experience in environmental law commensurate with PQE
• The candidate will be a solicitor, barrister or legal executive
• Good computer/technical skills in particular working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite of software including Outlook, Excel, Word and PowerPoint
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Ability to communicate with colleagues at all levels of seniority and liaise effectively with other internal departments and external contacts
• Ability to use discretion
• Positive and enthusiastic approach to teamwork
• A flexible, highly motivated, proactive and ‘can do’ working style
• Self-motivated, ability to use initiative
• Ability to pay attention to detail and check own work
• Good organisational skills, able to prioritise, make decisions and work effectively within a sometimes pressurised environment
• Commitment to ongoing learning and development for yourself and for colleagues

Professional Skills

• To uphold the professional standards set for all lawyers by SRA
• To adhere to Birketts own Brand Signatures and Values
• To deliver high quality legal advice
• An ability to learn the complex and ever-changing law, policy and guidance surrounding environmental law
• To be responsive, a team player and deliver personal billing and time recording targets.

General Approach

• Show initiative when responding to queries and actively try to seek solutions to problems;
• To support your colleagues when clients are demanding the work product to be delivered;
• To support and build working relationships within your own team as well as other colleagues;
• To effectively liaise with staff from other departments and external contacts as required.

Equal opportunities

We are committed to recruiting individuals on merits of suitability for each role, on the basis of qualifications and experience. All applications are treated fairly and equally regardless of sexual orientation, race, disability, religious beliefs and any other protected characteristic, ensuring that there are equal opportunities at all stages of the recruitment process.

Benefits

One of the best things about joining Birketts is our rewards package. At Birketts we are appreciative of the people who work for us and our rewards package is reviewed regularly to reflect that. A competitive salary and benefits package is given but you can also expect a great team and supportive colleagues, a strong focus on diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities, a programme of wellbeing and mental health support and structured career development and study support.

• Starts at 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays (rising with service up to a maximum of 30 days). (Senior Associate starts on 30 days FTE)
• Long Service holiday award – 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
• Private Healthcare - BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
• Staff Profit Share / Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
• Paid ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) day
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Season Ticket Loan
• Gym Flex membership
• Electric car scheme
• Dress for your Day Policy
• Agile Working Policy
• 35 hour working week

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.