Legal Director - Employment

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

10/19/2024

Application Deadline: 30 November 2024

Department: Life and Business - Commercial, IP and Employment - Employment - Employment - 1202

Location: Birmingham

Description

This is a fabulous opportunity to join a new role within a growing team. The team has a superb reputation, particularly in the education sector.

Our Employment team is a leader in providing employment advice in the education sector. We work with incredible clients and we are continually winning new ones. The team is committed to growing the practice and having a significant presence in the sector.

The team provides commercial, practical advice to employers and senior employees on all aspects of employment law. The team comprises a number of highly skilled litigators and is known for its successful handling of Employment Tribunal litigation, including large complex discrimination cases. We also have experience of dealing with cases in the Employment Appeal Tribunal, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and European Court of Justice. Our specialist lawyers train and advise managers to handle staff effectively and to deal with disputes where and when they arise, including fighting court and tribunal cases where necessary. We have a strong, local, national and multinational corporate client base, particularly in industry sectors such as education, logistics, food and drink, retail, transport and manufacturing. The team also includes specialist advisors on business immigration and provide that support to many clients in most sectors.

Meet David- Partner and Head of Employment and Education.

What you will be doing:

You will play a key role providing high quality legal services to clients on all aspects of employment work, both contentious and non-contentious, for a variety of education clients. This role would suit someone who enjoys client contact and thrives in a busy environment and is interested in developing their own career.

You will also assist in the supervision of more junior fee earners, delegating appropriate work to trainees and supporting on large complex matters.

Key Duties:

• Assisting on large complex matters with appropriate supervision, and also building up your own caseload


• Attending and conducting client meetings


• Taking clients' instructions


• Giving clear advice in correspondence and in person


• Drafting documents, letters and contracts tailored to the client's individual needs


• Being a key team player in both the Birmingham and wider cross-office Employment team


• Taking a proactive approach to business development


• Working with marketing strategies to attract new clients and developing relationships with current clients


• Negotiating with clients and other professionals to secure agreed objectives


• Acting on behalf of clients in disputes and representing them in court, as necessary


• Instructing Counsel or specialist advocates to appear in court and Tribunal for the client in potentially complex disputes


• Preparing papers for court and Tribunal


• Delivering training to clients on various employment related issues

What you will need:

• Previous experience in employment law, preferably from within private practice


• Some experience with providing advice in the education sector is desirable


• Some previous supervisory experience is highly desirable


• A high level of accuracy and attention to detail, with excellent verbal and written communication skills


• A willingness and enthusiasm to get involved in business development activities, ideally able to demonstrate a proven track record of success in this area


• Motivation to take up a challenge at an exciting time


• To be personable and have experience of dealing with a broad range of clients


• Excellent organisational and prioritising skills


• Full time preferred but we would consider flexible for the ideal candidate

Benefits, Agile Working and Additional information

We embrace agile working and offer a blended approach to where and how we work. We appreciate that people have different needs and preferences and we're keen to be flexible, after all, we value what you do, not where you do it.

We have hubs in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leicester, London, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Solihull, Stratford-upon-Avon, Lincoln and Sheffield.

This role can be a blend of home and office based work- most of the team are in Birmingham and tend to get together twice a week, therefore regular travel into the Birmingham office would be required.

Want to find out more about our amazing benefits?

Additional information:
Please be aware, for some vacancies, where we receive high numbers of applications we may need to bring the close date forward.

Due to the nature of the work undertaken, confirmation of employment will be subject to a variety of checks which will be carried out once an offer of employment is accepted. Details of the checks can be found here.

Equal opportunities
Shakespeare Martineau is a committed equal opportunities employer. We seek to attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures. We value and respect individuality and encourage a culture within our business where people can be themselves and be valued for their strengths and experiences. Everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, regardless of their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.