Associate/Legal Director - Charities

Shakespeare Martineau are looking to add an experienced (5/6+ PQE) Solicitor, at Associate/Legal Director level, to their growing Charities/NFP team. Our Charities team is externally recognised as one of the specialist teams in the country, and deals with all aspects of charities, not for profit, social enterprise and other third sector organisations, including legal structures, constitutional queries, good governance, liaison with various regulators, training and events. We pride ourselves on our technical expertise and resources to deliver the best possible solutions for our clients, which include large household charities, high-net worth individuals establishing charitable foundations and a wide range of smaller charities and not for profit organisations.

The opportunity to work alongside an exceptionally successful partner who has recently joined the firm’s existing charities team and has over 20 years of specialist experience with exciting plans for further growth and development of the team.

What you will be doing:

• Assisting senior colleagues on a broad range of charity governance cases
• Running own case load efficiently and cost effectively and within strict service level agreements as required by the client
• Advising clients about the processes involved and next steps
• Handling a caseload of complex and less-complex matters
• Getting involved in business development activities, both individually and as part of a team
• Attending and conducting client meetings
• Drafting and preparing documents and advice reports in a time sensitive manner

What you will need:

• A minimum of 5/6 years’ post qualified experience, ideally with some experience of charities work but transferable experience would be considered such as corporate or trusts
• Experience in dealing with clients on a day to day basis
• Strong IT skills
• Excellent communication skills
• A proven ability to be flexible in your approach in finding practical and innovative solutions to a range of problems

Key competencies you will need:

• A high degree of initiative and the ability to cope in a demanding environment
• The ability to be proactive and effectively manage your own workload
• To be resilient, confident and calm under pressure
• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy
• An entrepreneurial nature and an outgoing manner
• Excellent organisational, prioritising and time management skills
• Strong communication skills

About you – you will be:

• Highly enthusiastic, willing to go the extra mile and be happy to go beyond the job description
• Highly ambitious, hardworking with an excellent work ethic, taking pride in all you do
• Respectful towards others and have a positive, willing and ‘can do’ attitude

Benefits, Agile Working and Additional information:

We embrace agile working and offer a blended approach to where and how we work. We appreciate that people have different needs and preferences and we’re keen to be flexible, after all, we value what you do, not where you do it. We have hubs in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leicester, London, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Solihull, Southampton, Stratford-upon-Avon, Lincoln and Sheffield.

Equal opportunities:

Shakespeare Martineau is a committed equal opportunities employer. We seek to attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures. We value and respect individuality and encourage a culture within our business where people can be themselves and be valued for their strengths and experiences. Everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, regardless of their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.