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: 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

The Agriculture and Estates team at Birketts is one of the largest specialist legal units in the UK operating in this niche area of the law. The team advises both UK and international clients on all matters affecting rural real estate – including farm acquisitions and disposals, tenancy agreements, renewable energy projects, planning issues, natural capital, investment in equestrian and rural estate, rights of way and environmental liabilities. It also helps clients with succession planning and business structures.

The team is ranked \’Tier 1\’ in Legal 500 for 2023 and \’Band 1\’ Chambers 2023. The firm was awarded \’Private Client Regional Law Firm of the Year 2018 and 2017\’.

Purpose of job

You will join a highly successful, leading Agriculture and Estates team who are seeing substantial growth, resulting in the need for extra resource to take forward ambitious plans for the future.

The Agriculture and Estates team in Ipswich is led by James Dinwiddy, and overall Team Leader is Chris Coupland who along with other team members will guide and support you throughout your career at Birketts LLP. The team\’s expertise covers a variety of different types of rural issues including:

• Sales and acquisitions of agricultural property and land (including options, overages and pre-emption agreements);
• Agricultural tenancies;
• Sporting and fishing rights;
• Banking and re-financing agricultural properties;
• Residential conveyancing and tenancy advice for farming and estate clients;
• Business structures and joint venture/collaborative agreements;
• Diversification issues;
• Succession planning;
• Working with the wider Private Client and tax teams advising on:
  • Wills, trust planning and probate matters
  • Tax Advice in relation to IHT, SDLT, CGT and VAT
• Renewable Energy and Natural Capital Schemes
• Agri-environment and ELMS scheme issues.

Your work would include:

• Drafting, negotiating and agreeing documentation for property sales and purchases, tenancies and other property-related documents;
• Managing your own transactions and liaising with other team members on larger transactions
• Attending meetings with clients and other law firms
• Attending business development events

The candidate

We are seeking an ambitious, driven and forward thinking Associate or Senior Associate, with 3 – 10 years PQE, with a passion for rural matters and an interest in Agricultural law to come and join our growing team on a full time permanent basis.

You will need to demonstrate strong attention to detail in order to produce work/ documentation which is consistently of a high standard. You will have a flexible approach to work to ensure client deadlines are always met and clients are communicated with on a consistent and regular basis and an interest in and aptitude for business development.

Prior experience of Agricultural law is not essential, but candidates must be able to demonstrate a genuine interest in becoming a specialist within this area. Candidates with good quality experience of either Private Client or Property who have a desire to specialise in Agriculture and Estates would be highly suited.

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 with Service (Senior Associate 30 days holiday)
• 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.

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