Solicitor

Birketts LLP; Chelmsford; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player seeks a driven Solicitor to join their Agriculture and Estates team in Chelmsford. This role offers the chance to work on diverse rural legal matters, including property sales, agricultural law, and client advisory. With a strong emphasis on professional development and a supportive team environment, you will be well-positioned to grow your expertise in this niche area. The firm is committed to a flexible working culture, ensuring a balance between personal and professional life. If you're passionate about making a difference in rural legal issues, this is the opportunity for you.

Benefits

25 days holiday plus Bank Holidays

Long Service holiday award

Private Healthcare with BUPA

Staff Profit Share

Individual Performance Bonus Scheme

Life Assurance - 4 x salary

Flexible working arrangements

Qualifications

• 1-3 years PQE with a passion for rural matters and agricultural law.
• Strong attention to detail and flexible approach to meet client deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Drafting and negotiating documentation for property transactions.
• Managing smaller transactions and liaising on larger ones.
• Attending meetings with clients and law firms.

Skills

Attention to Detail

Business Development

Client Communication

Negotiation Skills

Education

Law Degree

Solicitor Qualification

Job description

Working hours: Full-time (Monday - Friday / 09:00 - 17:00)

Department: Agriculture & Estates

Location: Chelmsford

The firm

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, Sevenoaks, and Bristol. We 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.

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 department

The Agriculture and Estates team at Birketts is one of the largest specialist legal units in the UK operating in this niche area of the law. The team advises both UK and international clients on all aspects of UK legislation affecting rural real estate investment - including farm acquisitions and disposals, renewable energy projects, planning issues, natural capital, investment in equestrian and rural estate, rights of way, and environmental liabilities.

The team is ranked 'Tier 1' in Legal 500 for 2023 and 'Band 1' Chambers 2023. The firm was awarded 'Private Client Regional Law Firm of the Year' in 2018 and 2017.

Purpose of job

You will join a highly successful, leading Agriculture and Estates team who are seeing substantial growth, resulting in the need for extra resource to take forward ambitious plans for the future.

The Agriculture and Estates team in Chelmsford is led by Annabelle Rout, and overall Team Leader is Chris Coupland, who along with other team members will guide and support you throughout your career at Birketts LLP. The team's expertise covers a variety of different types of rural issues including:

1. Sales and acquisitions of agricultural property and land (including options, overages, and pre-emption agreements);
2. Sporting and fishing rights;
3. Banking and re-financing agricultural properties;
4. Residential conveyancing and tenancy advice for farming and estate clients;
5. Business structures and joint venture/collaborative agreements;
6. Diversification issues;
7. Succession planning;
8. Working with the wider Private Client and tax teams advising on:
9. Wills, trust planning, and probate matters;
10. Tax Advice in relation to IHT, SDLT, BADR, CGT, and VAT;
11. Renewable Energy and Natural Capital Schemes;
12. Basic payment scheme, agri-environment, and ELMS scheme issues.

Your work would include:

1. Drafting, negotiating, and agreeing documentation for property sales and purchases, deeds of easement, and other property-related documents;
2. Managing your own smaller transactions and liaising with other team members on larger transactions;
3. Attending meetings with clients and other law firms.

The candidate

We are seeking an ambitious, driven, and forward-thinking Solicitor, with 1 - 3 years PQE, with a passion for rural matters and an interest in Agricultural law to come and join our growing team on a full-time permanent basis.

You will need to demonstrate strong attention to detail in order to produce work/documentation which is consistently of a high standard. You will have a flexible approach to work to ensure client deadlines are always met and clients are communicated with on a consistent and regular basis and an interest in and aptitude for business development.

Prior experience of Agricultural law is not essential, but candidates must be able to demonstrate a genuine interest in becoming a specialist within this area. Candidates with good quality experience of either Private Client or Property who have a desire to specialise in Agriculture and Estates would be highly suited.

Equal opportunities

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:

1. Starting at 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays (rising with service up to a maximum of 30 days);
2. Long Service holiday award – 1 extra week every 10 years of continuous service;
3. Private Healthcare with BUPA (offered after probation is passed);
4. Staff Profit Share and Individual Performance Bonus Scheme;
5. Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share);
6. Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance.

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.