Senior Associate in Leeds

Successful businesses rely on a unique set of ideas and people. We help our clients protect and develop those vital assets, unlocking possibilities for future success. From iconic brands and leading multinationals to pioneering start-ups, we are proud to work with a huge range of inspiring clients, helping them to turn their ideas into reality and get the best from - and for - their people. Our people are not only exceptional at what they do, they also enjoy doing it and consistently give their best to a firm they’re proud to be part of. This stems from our firm culture and our ethos of bravery and kindness. That ethos runs through everything we do, from our approach to recruitment, business practices, and DEI activities to the day-to-day environment in our office and our relationships with clients.

With an internationally minded team of more than 700 working across key areas of law – plus strategic partnerships around the world – we’ve got both the combination and calibre of legal experts it takes to enable our clients’ businesses to thrive. Whether it is providing global employment law advice, managing a global IP portfolio, managing a real estate portfolio or piecing together a multijurisdictional corporate transaction, we are able to have the right people, in the right place, at the right time.

About the team: Our Construction team is recognised for its strong capabilities in non‑contentious construction work, supporting clients across sectors such as advertising and marketing, retail, hospitality, leisure, and both large‑scale residential and commercial development. The team is experienced in negotiating building contracts, advising on procurement strategies, and handling the due diligence associated with significant development and refurbishment projects. It also has expertise in navigating risk throughout the construction lifecycle and insolvency. The Construction practice comprises a team with extensive industry and legal experience across both transactional and contentious matters. Collectively, the team brings deep expertise in areas such as corporate occupier HQ moves, office fit‑outs, and major development projects, and regularly advises a wide range of stakeholders including landlords, tenants, lenders, employers, contractors, and consultants. The team is also well‑versed in supporting corporate transactions by providing detailed and commercially focused construction due diligence. They also handle dispute avoidance, mediation, adjudication and court litigation.

Working within the broader Real Estate and Construction offering, the team collaborates closely with specialists across the firm, enabling an integrated approach to advising on construction, real estate, regulatory, and dispute‑related issues. Lewis Silkin ranks strongly across multiple practice areas - highlighting the firm’s breadth, depth, and strong market reputation.

About the role: We have developed detailed career benchmarks which set out what you will be expected to achieve at each level of your professional development.

• Providing technical legal expertise: you will continually seek to build on your current knowledge and proactively look to improve your advising skills.
• Delivering excellent service: you will analyse legal information to solve problems and formulate arguments or strategy relevant to your clients’ needs. You’ll also use your initiative to proactively manage work, and provide regular and appropriate updates to your stakeholders.
• Building relationships: you will proactively develop positive working relationships with colleagues, ensuring that you work collaboratively and that you treat all colleagues with respect and professionalism.
• Developing our business: you will have an awareness of the firm’s goals and clients, and have an appropriate level of involvement in building and maintaining relationships with key clients and prospects.

The likely areas of work in the role would include:

• Advising on, drafting and negotiating amendments to standard form building contracts such as JCT, FIDIC and NEC including associated collateral warranties/third party rights, performance bonds and parent company guarantees.
• Drafting and negotiating both industry form (JCT, RIBA, RICS) and bespoke consultant appointments and subcontracts.
• Due diligence reviews of collateral warranty/third party rights packages for commercial tenants.
• Inputting into construction aspects of agreements for lease and licences to alter for commercial tenants.
• Drafting and negotiating commercial fit‑out contracts, novation agreements, letters of intent and pre‑construction services agreements.
• Carrying out contract risk reviews for contractor and consultant clients when tendering for or negotiating contracts.
• Advising on disputes including with regard to termination of contracts, insolvency, payment disputes, extension of time disputes and defects claims.
• Assisting with bringing or defending adjudication proceedings.
• Assisting with bringing and defending claims in other dispute forums including court, arbitration and mediation.
• Drafting and advising on term maintenance agreements.

The candidate will have an early opportunity to get involved with high quality work and to have direct contact with a variety of clients. The candidate’s workload will be mainly non‑contentious construction work with some contentious work and will include both standalone construction work as well as supporting real estate colleagues with development matters and construction aspects of real estate transactions.

About you: Our ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• 4+ years post‑qualification experience in a Construction team.
• Excellent drafting, analytical and communication skills as well as strong attention to detail.
• A keen interest in developing your marketing and business development skills and support your team with wider business development and growth of the northern offices.
• Experience of acting for tenants in relation to office moves is preferred.
• Comfortable with taking responsibility for work output and dealing directly with clients.
• A team player who is keen to support others to learn and who is keen to learn and develop their own skills.
• An appetite to travel to the other offices on a regular basis.

At Lewis Silkin our ethos is simple. We strive to do the best for our clients, our people and the communities in which we operate. We recognise that an inclusive workplace allows for all kinds of ideas and thoughts, a variety of points of view that can trigger discussions or deliver innovative results, and a wide range of versatile skills and expertise. We are proud of the diversity within Lewis Silkin and of our culture that allows people to be themselves at work, ensuring we provide the best possible service to our clients. We are committed to supporting candidates throughout the recruitment process by supporting anyone who requires adjustments, in order to ensure they have the opportunity to perform at their best. All applicants will be considered equally and fairly. If you’d like to request any adjustments throughout the recruitment process, or would like to discuss flexible working patterns, please email the recruitment team in confidence (recruitment@lewissilkin.com).