Senior Associate / Legal Director (ref 1088)

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 500 lawyers and legal professionals based in 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.

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

Birketts is recruiting for an ambitious, driven and forward thinking lawyer to come and join our growing Planning and Environmental Team on a permanent basis. The role will be based in our new office in Sevenoaks, Kent (opened Apr 2023). The Team is spread over three 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.

'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 200 specialists.

Our Planning and Environmental Team sits within the Property Division and is 23 people strong and growing. We are recognised in both Chambers and Legal 500 as being Top Tier and have been for many years.

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, rights of way, environmental 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 high quality planning and environmental work, much of which is complex, high value and high profile. Led by two Partners and supported by a diverse group of lawyers the team deals with six predominant practice areas, namely; Local Government, Housebuilder, Environmental, Strategic Land, Highways and Rights of Way and Compulsory Purchase and Development Consent Orders.

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! You will be given significant responsibilities, with the opportunity to manage your own caseload as well as play a significant part in growing the practice.

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 planning advice to our local planning authority, housebuilder and development clients.

Experience of Planning, Environmental, Highways, CPO and Public Access law is very much preferred, but it is acknowledged that these areas are both broad, wide-ranging but also complex and detailed such that many candidates may only have limited experience in a number of these areas, if at all. Willingness to learn about those areas where there is no experience is essential.

Accountabilities

Reporting to the Head of Team the role includes delivering high quality legal services to clients, performance and risk management and business development activities. The role requires management and control of varied caseload, workload, and risk management in relation to the role. It includes helping to develop relationships across departments and offices, as well as interaction with other law firms and professionals. The role also involves working with the leadership team from time to time, assisting in the design, delivery and implementation of system changes, workflow and process improvements, as well as being involved in business development activities to promote the office and the business as a whole.

The candidate

We are see seeking a Senior Associate / Legal Director with a minimum of 10 years PQE who ideally has gained experience within a regional, national or City firm with a well-developed knowledge in a range of Planning, Environmental and Compulsory Purchase.

You will have management experience to grow and supervise a team, with the technical ability to run and manage your own full caseload of files from initial instruction through to post completion.

You will be active in marketing and business development in order to expand this area of work and gain new clients, building good relationships with referrers in the local area.

The understanding 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.

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:

• 30 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays
• 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.