Construction Senior Associate

Irwin Mitchell LLP; London; On-site; NOK 881,000 - 1,511,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holidays

Generous pension

Volunteering days

Health membership

Job summary

Irwin Mitchell LLP in the UK seeks a senior construction lawyer to advise on a broad range of contentious matters, working with a national team across the UK and internationally on major projects.

You will take a leading role, mentor junior lawyers, manage matters autonomously and collaborate with clients, technical experts and colleagues to deliver practical, commercially-focused advice. This is a high-calibre role with partnership prospects.

Qualifications

• At least 5 years’ PQE in construction law, with contentious experience.
• Experience in international arbitration is preferred.
• Excellent drafting, analytical and technical skills.
• Capable of autonomous matter management and collaboration.
• Strong client relationships and risk management abilities.
• Mentoring and developing junior lawyers.

Responsibilities

• Advise on a broad range of contentious construction and engineering matters.
• Provide pragmatic dispute avoidance advice and strategies to manage risk.
• Support negotiations, mediations and other ADR processes.
• Advise on disputes involving delays, disruptions, defects, payments, negligence and claims.
• Lead or assist with adjudications, litigation and international arbitrations.
• Collaborate with clients, technical experts and colleagues to deliver joined-up advice.
• Mentor and develop junior lawyers within the team.
• Contribute to business development and build long-term client relationships.

Skills

PQE 5+ years

Construction & engineering law

Arbitration experience

Mentoring juniors

Business development

Education

Qualified lawyer (solicitor/barrister)

Job description

As one of the UK’s leading law firms, we’re here for the people and businesses who rely on us at life’s important moments - made possible by our colleagues who bring the expertise, judgement and care that makes the difference.

Our colleagues bring Irwin Mitchell to life every day, so it matters that you feel valued from the very first day and aretrusted with the responsibility, in the right culture, to do the best work of your careers. Everyone’s path here is different, but we share a desire to help our business make a real impact.

Where possible we will support our colleagues to work in a way that works for them, for us and most importantly our clients. Please speak to a member of our Recruitment and Onboarding team for more information.

Your Role and What You'll Be Doing

You’ll join Irwin Mitchell’s nationally recognised Construction & Engineering team, led by Partner, Vijay Bange. This role can be based in any of our London, Birmingham, Leeds or Manchester offices and offers the opportunity to work as part of a national practice advising clients both in the UK and internationally across major construction, engineering, energy and infrastructure projects.

Our contentious construction and engineering lawyers support a wide variety of clients on all manner of projects both in the UK and across the world. Our work includes extensive dispute avoidance advice throughout the life of a project, supporting clients through both established and bespoke ADR processes, and representing clients before all manner of domestic and international tribunals. The team is known for combining specialist technical knowledge with practical, commercial advice that helps clients manage risk and keep projects moving.

Our rapidly growing team is looking for dedicated and enthusiastic individuals interested in working with a close-knit team on a broad range of projects, from advising individual clients on domestic matters to representing leading global companies on major international infrastructure projects.

As a senior member of the team, you’ll have day-to-day responsibility for advising clients on all manner of contentious matters, taking a leading role on some matters and working closely with our partners on others. You’ll be expected to work closely with and help mentor more junior members of the team, as well as working collaboratively with colleagues from across the firm.

In this role, your responsibilities will include:

• Working with a partner-led team advising on a very broad range of contentious construction and engineering matters
• Providing clients with pragmatic, commercial dispute avoidance advice and strategies designed to manage and minimise risk
• Supporting clients through negotiations, mediations and other non-adversarial forms of alternative dispute resolution
• Advising on disputes involving all manner of delays, disruptions, defects, payment issues, professional negligence and contractor or consultant claims
• Leading or assisting with adjudications, litigation, domestic and international arbitrations and other forms of dispute resolution where matters escape
• Working directly with clients, technical experts and colleagues from across our full-practice firm to deliver joined-up advice
• Taking an active role in relation to business development activity and helping to build long-term relationships with developers, contractors, consultants, funders and occupiers
• Mentoring and supporting junior lawyers within the team, helping them to develop their technical skills and confidence

You’ll have the opportunity to take a leading role on high-quality, complex work within a collaborative national team, working alongside our partners to finesse your technical skills and develop your career towards partnership or more senior associate roles, with excellent opportunities for future promotion within the team.

About You

We’re keen to hear from experienced construction lawyers looking to develop their careers within a leading construction and engineering practice. We are looking for someone who is:

• A qualified lawyer with at least 5 years’ PQE
• Experienced in contentious construction, engineering, and infrastructure work, and ideally with some experience of international arbitration.
• Excellent drafting, analytical and technical skills, with a strong track record of advising on complex contractual and project issues.
• Confident managing matters with autonomy, while knowing when to collaborate with colleagues and wider specialist teams.
• Comfortable building trusted relationships with clients operating in high-value, fast-moving project environments.
• Commercially aware, with a practical approach to helping clients manage risk and achieve their objectives.
• Proactive in supporting business development and contributing to the growth of the team.
• A confident mentor, with experience supporting, supervising or developing junior lawyers.

You’ll be joining a supportive, high-performing and forward-thinking team that values quality, collaboration and development. If you’re looking for a senior role with exposure to complex construction and engineering work, both domestically and internationally, this is an excellent opportunity to progress your career.

Our Benefits - What We Can Offer You

• 25 days holidays as standard plus bank holidays - You can ‘buy’ up to 35hrs of extra holiday too.
• Generous and flexible pension schemes.
• Volunteering days – Two days of volunteering every year for a cause of your choice (fully paid)
• Westfield Health membership, offering refunds on medical services alongside our Aviva Digital GP services.

We also offer a wide range of well-being initiatives to encourage positive mental health both in and out of the workplace and to make sure you’re fully supported.This includes our Flexible by Choice programme which gives our colleagues more choice over a hybrid way of working subject to role, team and client requirements.

We have been ranked in the Best Workplaces for Wellbeing for Large Organisations for 2024!

Our responsible business programmes are fundamental to who we are and our purpose. We’re committed to being a diverse and inclusive workplace where our colleagues can flourish, and we have established a number of inclusion network groups across our business to support this aim.

Our commitment to Social Responsibility, community investment activity and tackling climate change is a fundamental part of who we are. It’s made up of four strands: Our People, Our Community, Our Environment and Our Pro Bono.

Additional Information

As part of the Irwin Mitchell Group’s on-boarding process all successful applicants are required to complete the group’s employment screening process. This process helps to ensure that all new employees meet our standards in relation to honesty and integrity therefore protecting the interests of the Group, colleagues, clients, partners and other stakeholders.

We carry out pre employment screening to establish your eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record and financial checks with our trusted 3rd parties.

The employment screening process will fully comply with Data Protection and other applicable laws.

Irwin Mitchell LLP is an equal opportunity employer.