Solicitor/Associate – Bristol

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.

Consistently ranked Top Tier for Legal 500 and Chambers directories, our Property Disputes Team acts for a wide range of clients including private individuals, partnerships, trusts, registered social landlords, national housebuilders, and corporate clients in both the public and private sectors, also providing essential support to what clients and legal commentators consider to be one of the largest and best regarded property departments in the East of England and now, in Bristol. 

Our lawyers come from a range of backgrounds, including major City practices, other major national and regional firms, industry, and local government. Within the team there is a commitment to providing our clients with the very best level of service based on a thorough understanding of the law, applied with common sense and commercial acumen. We aim to provide ‘next level’ law.

We also pride ourselves in our expertise in specialisms that attract nationwide instructions for matters such as telecoms, leasehold enfranchisement, insolvency, rights of way, commons and greens, rights to light, TOLATA and agricultural property.

We are seeking a Solicitor / Associate (NQ – 3 years PQE) to join our growing Property Disputes team in our Bristol office at EQ.

The strength and depth of our team means you will gain exposure to high-value, high-profile, strategic regional and national matters, with excellent opportunities for career development.

In this role you will: 

• Advise and support a wide array of high-profile commercial clients including national and regional commercial property owners, landlords and tenants, investors, large retailers, transport and renewable entities and developers and other stakeholders.
• Work across a broad range of contentious property matters, for example disputes concerning development land and property contracts; commercial landlord and tenant issues such as lease renewals and termination, disrepair and dilapidations, break notices, forfeiture and breach of lease covenants including consent issues and service charge disputes.
• Assist with other property-related disputes including trusts of land matters.
• Assist with property disputes in the energy and renewables sector including title and ownership issues, securing appropriate land rights for projects, interpretation and enforcement of agreements for lease or purchase, options and overage, land rights (including easements and restrictive covenants) and trespass and nuisance claims.  
• Play an important role in networking and business development.
• Build and manage your own caseload of matters, working closely with the Bristol team, as well as assist and support other senior lawyers across the national team.

We are looking for someone who:

• enjoys helping and working alongside others 
• is pro-active and shows initiative 
• is a strong communicator and team player
• has excellent attention to detail and analytical skills
• can provide practical, commercially focused advice under pressure
• has strong researching and writing skills
• demonstrates sound financial management (time recording, billing, management of WIP)

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 
• 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.