Legal Counsel | NQ-3 PQE | Commercial (with Employment OR Procurement / Projects)

Are you an early-career lawyer looking for an in-house role where you can build genuinely broad commercial experience while developing your knowledge across a range of interesting legal matters? Haggerty Jaques is working with a high-profile organisation in the North East which is looking to appoint two Legal Counsel to its established in-house legal team. These are excellent opportunities for junior lawyers who want to develop their careers in-house, working on interesting and varied matters within a supportive and experienced legal team.

The work of the team is broad and genuinely 360 in nature, so commerciality and pragmatism are essential. At its heart, the role will involve providing practical commercial legal advice across the organisation, with the successful lawyers also having the opportunity to support work in employment and/or procurement and projects. We are therefore very open-minded about background.

• A Commercial Solicitor with experience of drafting, reviewing and negotiating a broad range of commercial contracts, ideally with some exposure to employment or procurement/projects.
• A standalone Commercial Solicitor who hasn’t yet gained experience in these areas but would be happy to broaden their remit and pick them up as part of a varied in-house role.
• An Employment Solicitor who is keen to move in-house and broaden their practice to include general commercial work.
• A Procurement or Projects Solicitor who would similarly welcome the opportunity to develop a broader commercial skillset.

You certainly do not need experience across all of these areas. The organisation is much more interested in finding bright, commercially minded junior lawyers who are keen to learn and develop.

Broad Commercial Work

A significant part of the role will involve supporting the organisation with its day-to-day commercial legal requirements. You don’t necessarily need to be a commercial specialist already, provided you have relevant transferable experience and are genuinely interested in developing into a broad in-house commercial lawyer.

Employment

Some employment experience would be particularly useful for one of the appointments, although it is not essential for someone coming from a strong commercial background who is happy to develop in this area. Equally, we would be very interested in hearing from Employment Solicitors who would like to retain an employment element to their role while broadening their experience into general commercial work.

Procurement / Projects

There will also be an opportunity for one of the Legal Counsel to support the organisation on procurement and project-related work. Previous experience would be helpful rather than essential for a Commercial Solicitor who is interested in developing in this area. Conversely, we would be very happy to hear from lawyers currently specialising in procurement or projects work who would like to broaden their practice within an in-house commercial role. Experience gained during a relevant seat could also provide a good foundation.

A Great Place to Develop In-House

You won’t be expected to know everything from day one. You will be joining an established legal team with experienced senior lawyers around you, giving you access to plenty of support and development while also having the opportunity to take responsibility for your own matters. The breadth of the organisation means you will gain exposure across a variety of legal and commercial issues, making this particularly attractive for someone who wants to develop into a well-rounded commercial in-house lawyer. Candidates coming from private practice or another in-house environment are equally welcome.

Interesting, High-Quality Work

This is a large and complex organisation where the legal team is closely involved in a wide variety of operational and strategic matters. You’ll work with numerous stakeholders and will need to be comfortable operating within an environment where good governance, stakeholder management and robust decision-making matter. We’re therefore looking for lawyers who are pragmatic, resilient and personable, with the confidence to build relationships with people at all levels. This could be a particularly good fit for someone who enjoys looking beyond the purely legal answer and wants to understand the wider organisation they are advising.

Genuinely Flexible Hybrid Working

Flexibility is a real selling point of these opportunities. Although the legal team is based in the Newcastle city centre, you do not necessarily need to live locally, and there is genuine flexibility around office attendance depending on individual circumstances. This opens the roles up to candidates across the North who are happy to travel into Newcastle city centre when required.

Salary & Benefits

This is a particularly attractive overall offering for a junior lawyer looking to develop their career in-house. Alongside a competitive salary, the organisation offers an excellent benefits package, including a very strong pension, genuinely flexible hybrid working and a supportive working environment with a good work/life balance. Combined with the quality and breadth of the work, and the opportunity to learn from experienced senior lawyers, this is a great opportunity for someone at an early stage of their career to build strong foundations as an in-house lawyer.

Any references to PQE are provided purely as a guide and should not deter candidates with the relevant skills and experience from applying. Haggerty Jaques is committed to promoting equality and diversity. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals, regardless of background.