Associate / Senior Associate

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The firm

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: Real Estate, Corporate Services, Dispute Resolution and Private Client.

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

Our Public Law Litigation and Advisory Group advises both public bodies and commercial clients on alleged breaches of public law rights and duties. We routinely advise clients on challenges to procurement decisions taken by public bodies across a wide range of commercial sectors and also advise on State Aid, including a varied range of general public law and regulatory issues to include:

• Procurement
• Judicial Review/Disputes
• Acting for Developers and Local Authorities
• Acting for clients challenging Government decisions eg HMRC Policies and Procedures
• Advising on Disputes with Rural Payment Agency
• Local Authority Disputes/Parish Council Disputes
• Charities Disputes
• Civil Regulatory Disputes
• Equality Act Claims
• Generally defending claims across all sectors including Education, Local Government, Retail, Leisure and Hospitality
• General Public Law Disputes
• Disability/SEN advice including SEND Tribunal cases and advocacy

Purpose of job

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a dynamic market leading and growing team dealing with prestigious clients and high quality work with significant regional, London and national profile; we act in some of the leading reported Procurement and Judicial Review cases and are at the cutting edge of public sector and education disputes work, advising on novel and innovative issues and disputes.

We are looking for an experienced Associate/Senior Associate to work in the above areas majoring in the Public Law issues especially Procurement Disputes and Judicial Reviews.

They should ideally cover a broad range of work across the Administrative and Public Law Disputes team, contributing in their own right, supervising more junior fee earners and providing assistance to the entire team.

In terms of wider team contribution and particularly as to Business Development and growth, the individual will work with and support the team in its wider BD who in turn will support and work with you to grow your practice.

Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Running and managing files and delegating to and supervising junior lawyers (Senior Associate)
• High Court Litigation as well as Mediation.
• Advocacy, where appropriate.
• Providing strategic, practical and commercial advice.
• Supporting the Team on larger and more complex matters.
• Interacting directly with clients and managing their expectations.
• Managing Budgets and Fees.
• Business Development, Marketing and Networking.

The candidate

• An Associate/Senior Associate of around 5 - 8 years PQE + gained within a strong regional or City firm or specialist/niche practice.
• Experience in Procurement Disputes would be advantageous
• Excellent client service delivery skills needed.
• A high attention to detail to produce work/documentation which is consistently of a high standard.
• Excellent communication skills - written and oral.
• Experience of High Court Litigation, and Procurement Disputes and/or Judicial Review.
• To have a flexible approach to work to ensure often urgent client and Court deadlines are always met and clients are communicated with on a consistent, clear and regular basis.
• Experience in and aptitude for business development.
• Ability to, and experience in, advising in a strategic, practical and commercial way.

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 to 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

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.