Agriculture and Estates Lawyer

About The Role

Due to continued expansion of our Agriculture & Estates team, we are looking to add to our growing team based in Cambridge or Norwich. We are keen to hear from lawyers with at least 3 years PQE experience looking to join an industry leading national team of rural experts. You will work on all aspects of rural based property work, across our key sectors from high value farm sales and purchases, landed estates and portfolio management, the property elements of business structures and estate planning (including tenancy work), to secured lending, strategic land, natural capital and renewable energy. You will sit within a wider national team offering a full service to farming businesses and rural enterprises. Experience in natural capital, conservation and landscape recovery work would be welcomed.

To give you just a flavour, we act for some of the largest landowners in the country, 4 of our clients being within the top 50 landowners in the UK. We are leading the way putting in place agreements to unlock Biodiversity Net Gain, Nutrient Neutrality and Natural Capital. In addition, we have helped landowners unlock more than £100m of value through strategic development and renewable energy projects. We also work closely with some of the largest specialist agricultural lenders.

Here in Cambridge, you will be part of the market leading Agriculture and Estates team of HCR which has consistently been top ranked in Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners. The East Anglia team also work from our newly established Norwich office. Beyond this team, we have 54 fee earners across the firm working closely with the agricultural industry making us one of the largest agricultural teams in the country.

We are committed to the agricultural industry: from supporting the NFU as a Legal panel firm since 2009; to having close links to the CLA, with team members sitting on County committees, supporting events and delivering seminars. The team are also active members of the Agricultural Law Association, with the Director of Education, Committee members, and several Fellows of the Agricultural Law Association. We actively support and encourage engaging with industry groups.

About You

We are looking for lawyers with a passion for the agricultural industry to play key roles in our East Anglia team. You will be supported to develop your career by the partners, whilst also supervising and developing junior members of staff. We encourage lawyers of all levels to get out into the field and to be part of our client relationship and networking initiatives.

The ideal candidates will have worked in rural property previously and will have a working understanding of the demands and nuances of working in the industry. However, applications from candidates with mixed property experience are welcomed.

• 3+ years PQE
• Able to work collaboratively with colleagues and successfully manage client relationships
• Excellent technical ability and drafting skills
• Can demonstrate teamwork and relationship building skills
• Strong commercial acumen
• Proactive, ambitious and organised with a keen eye for detail

About Us

Benefits of working with us:

• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance
• Sight tests / Glasses discounts
• Bonus scheme
• Electric vehicle scheme
• International secondments for 0-5 PQE
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme
• 28 days annual leave (plus public holidays)
• Happy People / Perks at Work benefits portal
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Life Assurance
• 1/3 gym membership contribution
• Flu vaccinations

Is HCR the smart move for you?

HCR suits people who love a challenge and want to work in an environment where careers thrive on the back of hard work and personal merit. Our people enjoy feeling part of something bigger than themselves, and whilst our clients drive our development, it is our people who bring their energy, enthusiasm, and entrepreneurial mindsets together to solve problems and help our clients succeed.

Why HCR people love their jobs

Our people tell us they enjoy working on good quality, interesting matters from a wide variety of our clients, because they get the experience they want to develop their careers. We will give you responsibility early, the mandate to make things happen and we\\\’ll back your good ideas. Our \”Passion for People\” lives and breathes every day throughout the firm as our peoples\\\’ energy and sense of fun create a warm environment in which to thrive.

What career progression will HCR offer you?

HCR\\\’s growth constantly creates opportunities for people who want to go places and make a difference, your career plan can become part of our growth plan. At HCR you can expect to work with friendly, energetic, ambitious people, who love getting stuck into a client problem, and enjoy celebrating a good outcome. Our people value the sense of community provided by the individual personality of each office and the collegiate approach across all our service and sector teams.

What does HCR believe, achieve and stand for?

As a Times Best Law firm, among the UK Top 60, we provide the full range of services that you would expect to organisations, business leaders and individuals. However, in our mission to give everyone the opportunity to experience a different kind of legal service we take an entrepreneurial approach. We\\\’re flexible and responsive to the needs of our clients, delivering the best outcomes for them. We have more than 800 lawyers and support staff, including more than 150 partners, and have been awarded the Law Society\\\’s Lexcel quality mark in recognition of our compliance and client care standards.

With ten offices in England and Wales our well-established presence stretches from west to east, ensuring clients can access a full-service legal offering no matter where they\\\’re located. We\\\’ve expanded significantly in Birmingham, Cardiff and the Thames Valley, and our merger with Hewitsons resulted in a full service regional hub being established in the heart of the Waterside innovation area centre of Northampton. Our London and Cambridge continue to grow apace.

With solid connections in the communities we work in, and a track record of delivering legal advice to businesses and individuals throughout the areas we base ourselves in, our clients continue to value our approach to providing legal advice, in the way they need, when they need it.

As HCR is an equal opportunities employer, we don\\\’t just accept differences, we celebrate them. We want to attract a diverse and ambitious workforce that reflects all backgrounds and skills to create a workplace that is supportive and inclusive, recognises and nurtures talent, and which works together to achieve the best outcome for our clients. We are privileged to be an armed forces-friendly organisation.

We also want you to achieve your absolute best during the recruitment process. Please let us know of any changes we can make at any point that will help support your application. If this opportunity sounds of interest to you, please make an application and submit your CV.

A note for recruitment agencies – The HCR Resourcing Team is responsible for recruitment across the firm, and where possible will use direct hiring methods. We do work with a Preferred Supplier List, and where appropriate, we will release vacancies to those agencies who we deem most appropriate to support us. Only those agencies will be invited to submit candidates via our recruitment portal. Any speculative or unsolicited CVs sent to any employee or Partner of HCR will not be considered an introduction, and no fees will be applicable. Furthermore, we retain the right to pursue these candidates without query of ownership