Employment Legal Director/Partner

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: Real Estate, Corporate Services, Dispute Resolution and Private Client.

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 team you will join

Our vibrant, energetic Employment Team boasts some of the best lawyers in the business specialising in all aspects of employment law facing a company's board or the HR professional - from everyday operational challenges through to advising on strategic issues.

The team currently comprises over 30 specialist qualified employment law solicitors, including nine partners working across six offices, making us one of the larger employment teams in the country. We have the strength and depth of expertise to ensure we deliver the service you would expect in respect of technical quality, practical approach, and timeliness of advice.

Birketts employment law team has experience in all areas of contentious and non-contentious employment law matters, representing clients from a broad range of public and private organisations as well as individuals and senior executives and we are proud to act for sector leading clients nationwide and some important and high-profile businesses and institutions across a number of key sectors.

Ranked 1 tier in Chambers and Legal 500, you will join a highly successful Employment team which is seeing consistent and continuous growth, and which works and collaborates closely as a supportive team of colleagues. Our employment advice is supplemented by a well-developed in-house employment client training offering, a HR consultancy service, a workplace investigations service, an employee incentives group, a team of accredited mediators and an immigration team.

The work you will be doing

Our new, vibrant Bristol office is a fantastic opportunity for an established senior Employment law at Legal Director or Partner level to launch our offering in the South West and build upon the work between supporting locations. The ideal candidate will have strong existing connections and the ability and desire to build and develop a team.

Current sectors in which we work include education, financial services, construction, transport and private client/agriculture, charities and public sector. Particular areas of expertise sought include:

• General employment issues ranging from maternity rights to general contractual issues
• Drafting service agreements, contracts of employment and staff handbooks
• Drafting and reviewing employment policies ranging from performance, sickness, and misconduct procedures to maternity and parental leave schemes
• Transactional corporate support work
• Wrongful and unfair dismissal
• Redundancy and restructuring
• Transfer of Undertakings
• Awareness of boardroom disputes and severance claims
• Employment litigation in the employment tribunal
• Discrimination (including sex, race, disability and age)
• Trade union work for employers and Professional Discipline and conduct, including advising professional conduct/fitness to practice panels

What we are looking for

The ideal candidate will be entrepreneurial, enthusiastic, ambitious and will be actively involved in a range of business development activities, including attending networking and other BD events, supporting on tenders/pitches, and writing sector-relevant articles for our own and external publications.

Strong technical drafting, research and communication skills, with good attention to detail and a commercial/pragmatic approach are essential qualities, as is the ability to deliver a strongly client-focussed service, giving clear, timely and practical legal advice on often complex, technical areas of Employment law.

Inclusivity and Culture

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:

• 30 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays
• 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

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.

Qualifications/Experience

We are looking to recruit an individual who has the drive and commitment to assist Birketts’ in the continued growth and development of our Employment practice and to become an essential core member of our team.

• Qualified Solicitor of at least 10 years PQE
• Proficient level of experience as an Employment law specialist
• A keen interest in business development and growth opportunities.