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.

The Birketts Real Estate Team is one of the most highly regarded and largest dedicated real estate teams outside London, with over 250 lawyers.

Our team brings together exceptional talent from diverse backgrounds, including major City practices, leading national and regional firms, industry, and local government. This breadth of experience covers all aspects of real estate, including residential, social housing, planning, and commercial expertise.

The depth and range of our capabilities enable us to handle major and complex transactions and deliver a sector-focused service for our clients. It also means that joining Birketts offers unparalleled support, collaboration, and career opportunities across the entire real estate spectrum.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to engage in high quality and specialist commercial real estate work within a leading UK firm and receive dedicated support from Partners and other senior lawyers both locally and across the national team.

You will be working alongside Mark Li, who leads the Commercial Real Estate team in Bristol and is ranked as a Next Generation Partner in Legal 500 and as an “Up and Coming” partner in Chambers Mark Li – Birketts. Mark will shortly be joined by a legal director from a top-tier City practice and will be seeking to grow the team further.

We are seeking a Solicitor/Associate who:

• has 0-3 years’ / 3-6 years’ experience gained working in a reputable legal firm
• has a demonstrable interest and foundational knowledge in chosen practice area
• is pro-active and shows initiative 
• is a great team player and good communicator 
• has excellent attention to detail
• has strong listening, researching and writing skills
• enjoys helping and working alongside others 
• is resilient and able to think commercially and analytically so as to provide accurate and practical advice to clients which meets their aims and objectives
• is able to think clearly under pressure
• has competent financial management, including accurate time recording, billing and management of WIP

Any information provided in relation to PQE should be used for guidance only and will not be determinative in the recruitment decision. Applicants will be considered on their individual merits. 

The strength and depth of the Bristol and national team means we can offer opportunities for talented lawyers to work on high value, high profile and strategic regional and national matters.

In this role you will: 

• Work across a broad range of commercial real estate matters, advising 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 infrastructure organisations and developers.
• Have direct communication with clients, advisers and other relevant stakeholders.
• Play an important role in networking and business development as the firm continues to build its client base and grow the Bristol Commercial Real Estate team.
• Build and manage your own caseload of transactional commercial real estate matters, working closely with an experienced Partner and Legal Director in the Bristol team as well as assist and support other senior lawyers across the national team.

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.