Solicitor or Legal Executive

Yorkshire Water; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 51,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health cash plan scheme

Critical illness insurance

Dental insurance

Life assurance flex

Partner cover

Retail savings scheme

Online GP service

Cycle to work scheme

Gym membership discounts

Job summary

Yorkshire Water is seeking a Solicitor or Legal Executive with litigation rights to join our in-house Legal Services team in Leeds. You will deliver expert litigation guidance, manage debt-claims litigation, and provide pragmatic, commercially aware advice that supports the business and its customers.

You'll work across regulatory and civil matters, collaborate with stakeholders at all levels, and help drive process improvements while maintaining high standards of integrity and risk management

Qualifications

• Qualified Solicitor or Chartered Legal Executive (with litigation practice rights) with a strong understanding of civil litigation and the Civil Procedure Rules.
• Experience managing litigation matters and, ideally, advocacy in civil cases, including case management hearings.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to provide clear, practical legal advice to a range of stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Oversee a portfolio of litigation matters from instruction to resolution, including drafting documents and instructing Counsel.
• Supervise a team supporting litigated customer debt claims, ensuring compliance with court processes and minimising risk.
• Provide high-quality legal, litigation, regulatory, and compliance advice across a broad range of issues affecting the business.
• Represent the business at mediations and County Court hearings, enforcing judgments when required.
• Deliver pragmatic, commercially focused legal guidance to stakeholders at all levels and manage risk.

Skills

Litigation experience

Communication skills

Independent caseload mgmt

Commercial awareness

Education

Solicitor qualification or Chartered Legal Executive with litigation rights

Job description

Solicitor or Legal Executive (with litigation practice rights)

Hello! Thanks for stopping by. Let us tell you about all the great reasons to join us here at Yorkshire Water:

• We offer a competitive starting salary of £46,459
• Annual incentive related bonus (£1000 maximum bonus opportunity for the performance year)
• Attractive pension scheme (up to 12% company contribution)
• Development opportunities in line with a company progression plan
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays - plus 2 extra wellness days!
• Life assurance cover of 4 times pensionable salary
• A great benefits package - choose from health cash plan scheme, critical illness insurance, dental insurance, life assurance flex and partner cover.
• Retail savings scheme
• Online GP service, cycle to work scheme, gym membership discounts and many more!

Location: Leeds Valley Park and Thornbury, Bradford with hybrid working. You'll be expected to work from the office at least two days per week, with regular travel between our Leeds Valley Park and Thornbury office locations.

Work type: Permanent. 37 hours per week, Monday - Friday.

Could this be you?

What we do:

Everyone has an idea of what a water company does. Here in Yorkshire, we make sure that over 5.4 million people living in the region and the millions of people who visit our region each year, can rely on our services, and have clean and safe drinking water on tap and that their wastewater is taken away. But for us, it's so much more than this.

We look after communities, protect the environment, and plan to look after Yorkshire's water, today, tomorrow 24/7, 365 days a year. We provide essential water and wastewater services to every corner of the Yorkshire region, and play a key role in the region's health, wellbeing, and prosperity.

New environmental legislation, unprecedented levels of investment and changing expectations from customers means that this is an exciting time to discover opportunities within the water industry. Legal Services are a key part of how we plan to meet the changing expectations of customers and regulators.

Join our Legal team and play a key role in providing high-quality, pragmatic legal advice across a broad range of matters that support the business and its customers. You'll deliver expert legal and litigation guidance, including oversight of litigated customer debt claims, while ensuring the company's activities operate within a robust legal and regulatory framework. Working with stakeholders at all levels of the organisation, you'll provide commercially aware, targeted advice that helps achieve business objectives while effectively managing risk. We're looking for a proactive legal professional with a positive attitude, strong business acumen, and a willingness to develop expertise in new areas of law as business priorities evolve.

Where you fit in:

As our Solicitor/Legal Executive you will

• Manage and oversee a portfolio of litigation matters, providing expert legal advice from initial instruction through to resolution, including drafting legal documents, instructing Counsel, and representing the business where required.
• Supervise a team supporting litigated customer debt claims, ensuring compliance with court processes, minimising legal risk, and driving successful outcomes.
• Provide high-quality legal, litigation, regulatory, and compliance advice across a broad range of issues affecting Loop and Yorkshire Water.
• Represent the business at mediations and straightforward County Court hearings, and take appropriate action to enforce judgments when required.
• Deliver pragmatic, commercially focused legal guidance to stakeholders at all levels, helping the business make informed decisions while managing risk.
• Monitor and advise on new and emerging legislation, regulations, and industry guidance, ensuring the business remains compliant and well informed.
• Build strong relationships with internal teams and key stakeholders, acting as a trusted legal partner and a key point of contact for day-to-day legal support.
• Support the delivery of departmental objectives by identifying opportunities for process improvements, driving efficiencies, ensuring value for money, and maintaining compliance with company policies and procedures.

What skills & qualifications you will need:

• Qualified Solicitor or Chartered Legal Executive (with litigation practice rights) with a strong understanding of civil litigation and the Civil Procedure Rules.
• Experience managing litigation matters and, ideally, advocacy in civil cases, including case management hearings.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to provide clear, practical legal advice to a range of stakeholders.
• Proven ability to work independently, manage a varied caseload, and prioritise competing demands effectively.
• Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to collaborate and influence both internal and external stakeholders.
• High levels of integrity, commercial awareness, and enthusiasm, with a willingness to learn, take ownership, and embrace new challenges.

You will also benefit from having:

• Experience of an in-house legal practice.
• Experience of giving pragmatic advice up to the highest levels of a company, dealing with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Experience of regulatory/criminal/employment law.

Although we operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, it's important to us that we support flexible working patterns and job share options (when we can), to help you make the best of both your work and home life. We know that juggling childcare responsibilities or getting that ideal work/life balance isn't always easy!

Advert Closing date - 6th November 2026

If successful for the role, you will be required to undergo pre-employment checks that will include a Basic Disclosure Check, carried out through a Third-Party Company, prior to commencing employment. Depending on the role, you may also be required to go through the security vetting process for either a Counter Terrorist Check or Security Check clearance.

All our roles are subject to a medical questionnaire, and further medicals when required.

We are committed to removing barriers and ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to everyone. We offer a range of adjustments to make your application experience as comfortable and straightforward as possible.

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition that requires changes to the recruitment process, please include this information in your application. We will then discuss any reasonable adjustments required.

Kelda Group reserve the right to close this position before the published closing date, should the need occur.

No agencies please.

What's in it for you?

Career enhancement and development, colleague well-being and a genuinely positive work experience for all are key priorities. We are continuously evolving and improving our ways of working and you will support us in achieving our vision of 'taking responsibility for the water environment for good'.

The Kelda Group provides water and sewerage services to domestic and business customers across the UK, managing the following subsidiary companies:

• Yorkshire Water, is the main subsidiary company providing water and sewerage services to 4.7 million people and 130,000 businesses in the Yorkshire region. Its activities are regulated by the Water Services Regulation Authority, Ofwat.
• Loop Customer Management Ltd specialises in delivering customer service support to Yorkshire Water that includes billing, debt recovery and incident management. Employing more than 600 people, Loop have built up an impressive list of industry awards and achievements since being created in 2000 and is currently listed in the Sunday Times Top 100 list as being one of the best companies to work for.
• Kelda Water Services (KWS) manages Kelda's non-regulated water and waste water contract operations. It is now the second biggest player in the UK market for outsourced clean and waste water services.
• Kelda Water Services Retail offer quality, integrity and partnership but it is never just about the technologies behind our solutions in water. It is about the structure, delivery and even the financing of those solutions, and about giving our customers a level of convenience they never knew was possible.
• KeyLand Developments Limited (KeyLand Developments) is responsible for managing, developing and disposing of the group's surplus property assets, either on its own or in partnership with outside organisations.

Kelda Group values equality, diversity and inclusion we believe that everyone should be treated with respect. We welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of gender, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, religion or belief and trade union membership.

Solicitor or Legal Executive