Solicitor / Associate / Senior Associate - Environmental Department (UK Top 50 Law Firm) - Recruitment Avenue : Job Details

Role: Solicitor/Associate/Senior Associate

Salary: Negotiable

Department: Environmental

Locations: Cambridge / Ipswich / Norwich

Our client is a UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, they have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals based in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks.

They advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: property, corporate services, litigation and private client advisory.

Purpose of job:

Our client is recruiting for an ambitious, driven and forward-thinking environmental lawyer to come and join their growing Planning and Environmental Team on a permanent basis.

The team is spread over four of our offices currently and is expanding so an ability to work across offices and travel from time to time to other offices is part and parcel of how the Team functions.

However, it is anticipated you would have a home office in Either Cambridge, Ipswich to enable adequate supervision and a good diverse range of work.

You will provide professional, proactive, high level legal support to an allocated group of fee earners and to the wider fee earning team. The role is within a team that manages a diverse caseload of all types of planning and environmental work. In the main, the role will focus on delivering high quality environmental law advice to their varied clients.

Experience of planning law as well as, environmental law would be beneficial, but it is acknowledged that these areas are both broad, wide-ranging but also complex and detailed such that many candidates may only have experience of environmental law.

The Department:

Our clients Planning and Environmental Team sits within the Property Division and is 20 people strong and growing. They are recognised in both Chambers and Legal 500 as being Top Tier and have been for many years. They are ranked 8th in the country by Planning Magazine 2024.

Their lawyers come from a range of backgrounds, including major City practices, other major national and regional firms, industry and local government and include individuals with planning, environmental, rights of way, and highways expertise.

The depth and range of expertise means the team can work together in major and complex transactions on cost effective terms, providing our clients with true value for money and unrivalled expertise.

The team deals with a wide range of planning and environmental work, including complex, high value and high-profile matters. Led by two Partners and supported by a diverse group of lawyers the work of the team includes waste management, environmental permitting, contaminated land, statutory nuisance and habitats and nature conservation.

Main Responsibilities:

• To support the Planning and Environmental team in delivering on its strategy for growth and client service excellence
• To work with colleagues in a productive and collaborative way, supervising those more junior and seeking supervision from those more senior
• To be competent in a variety of software packages such as Microsoft Word and Excel to produce correspondence and documents, spreadsheets and presentations to ensure relevant documentation is produced to a high standard to meet clients’ expectations and deadlines
• To be, or become expert in legal software such as Hi Q, Expert Time Recording and Compare Docs
• To prepare advice and documentation to a high standard and deliver to client demands and deadlines
• Updating the client on progress when required
• To proofread all work, checking for spelling and grammar
• To be involved in business development activities for the Planning and Environment team and the wider firm

Key Skills/Experience Needed:

• A qualified lawyer with experience in environmental law commensurate with PQE
• The candidate will be a solicitor, barrister or legal executive
• Good computer/technical skills in particular working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite of software including Outlook, Excel, Word and PowerPoint
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Ability to communicate with colleagues at all levels of seniority and liaise effectively with other internal departments and external contacts
• Ability to use discretion
• Positive and enthusiastic approach to teamwork
• A flexible, highly motivated, proactive and 'can do’ working style
• Self-motivated, ability to use initiative
• Ability to pay attention to detail and check own work
• Good organisational skills, able to prioritise, make decisions and work effectively within a sometimes-pressurised environment
• Commitment to ongoing learning and development for yourself and for colleagues

Benefits:

• Starts at 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays (rising with service up to a maximum of 30 days). (Senior Associate starts on 30 days FTE)
• Long Service holiday award - 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
• Private Healthcare - BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
• Staff Profit Share / Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
• Paid ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) day
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Season Ticket Loan
• Gym Flex membership
• Electric car scheme
• Dress for your Day Policy
• Agile Working Policy
• 35 hour working week