Construction Lawyer

Womble Bond Dickinson; Leeds; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a leading national Construction and Engineering team as a legal professional, specializing in dispute resolutions and transactions. This role offers a chance to work on high-profile projects while developing your legal expertise in a supportive environment.

Benefits

Wellbeing resources

Flexible working arrangements

Diversity and inclusion initiatives

Qualifications

• Minimum 1+ years post-admission experience.
• Experience in construction legal team and dispute resolution.
• Ability to work independently on transactional matters.

Responsibilities

• Handling a varied caseload in construction disputes.
• Drafting contracts and advising on dispute resolution.
• Collaborating with multidisciplinary project teams.

Skills

Legal analysis

Interpersonal skills

Commercial awareness

Education

Legal qualification

Job description

This is an excellent opportunity to join our full-service national Construction and Engineering team. Following continued growth in client instructions and in response to client demand, we are looking to expand our construction team.

Ideally, we are looking for you to work in either Leeds, Newcastle, or Edinburgh.

What does the team do?

We provide the full range of dispute resolution and transactional advice, delivering a seamless service to our clients encompassing everything from large complex international infrastructure projects to domestic construction contracts. Our work is varied and diverse, providing specialist construction advice to an exciting and high-profile list of clients. Our clients include central government departments, household name retailers, utility providers including water, oil, and gas, Tier 1 and other large contractors and developers, housebuilders, social housing providers, universities, educational establishments, defence contractors, banks, and insolvency practitioners.

Our transactional work includes delivering major projects in energy, education, living, manufacturing, and transport sectors, working closely with our real estate, procurement, and banking teams. We regularly draft framework agreements, alliancing contracts, building and engineering contracts, development agreements, consultants' appointments, and supporting documentation.

The disputes we advise on arise from a broad range of construction and engineering projects, including defending and bringing claims for delay, disruption, loss and expense, defective workmanship, materials, and design to the Technology and Construction Court (TCC). We also advise clients on adjudications, arbitrations, all forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution, and insurance-related issues.

The successful candidate can expect a varied caseload within a close-knit team led by experienced and proactive partners.

What experience are you looking for?

We're seeking candidates with upwards of one year's experience working within construction disputes or transactional matters, or a mix of both. You should have strong academic ability, a thorough approach to complex legal analysis, and the ability to quickly understand complicated sets of facts. Your written advice should be fluent and concise, and your high level of commercial awareness will help you address clients' overall objectives. Strong interpersonal skills are essential for dealing diplomatically and effectively with our clients' diverse interests.

Equally important is the ability to collaborate with colleagues across different locations, as most projects involve multidisciplinary teams. This is an exciting time to join our team, offering an unrivaled opportunity to learn from the best, develop a career in a growing specialty, and receive mentorship and support in a supportive environment.

Minimum requirements include:

• A legal qualification with at least 1+ years of post-admission experience.
• Experience gained from working in a specialist construction legal team.
• Experience in development transactions and projects, dispute resolution, or a combination of both.
• The ability to work independently on straightforward transactional matters or disputes.
• Ability to work across offices as part of wider project teams.
• Willingness to support business development activities.
• A desire to develop technical knowledge with support.

What makes it great to work here?

We strive to create an open culture that sets us apart from other firms. Our culture emphasizes a human feel, reminding us that we're more than just suits!

As signatories to the Mindful Business Charter, we prioritize our people's health and happiness, both in and out of work. We offer various resources and initiatives to support wellbeing and are open to flexible working arrangements.

Through our DEI initiatives, we foster an environment where diversity is valued. We have a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Group led by our Board Sponsor, working with our colleague networks (including race, ethnicity, cultural heritage, LGBTQ+, disabilities, neurodiversity, families, and women's career development). We are continuously working to expand our networks to better support everyone. Find out more about DEI at WBD here. We encourage applicants from all social backgrounds, ethnicities, disabilities, gender identities, and sexual orientations.

We are committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you have a disability or long-term condition and need adjustments during the process, please contact the recruiter. Please also request alternative formats if needed.

We will offer interviews to candidates with disabilities or long-term conditions who meet the minimum criteria. You can opt into this scheme within the application form. Your response is only used for this purpose and is visible only to the recruitment team.

Our in-house recruitment team typically fills roles directly. If you're an agency, please click here for ways to work with us.