Senior Associate / Legal Director

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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
Birketts is now recruiting for an ambitious, driven and forward thinking qualified Solicitor, ideally with 6+ years PQE with a Banking and Finance background, to come and join our Ipswich office on a full time, permanent basis.

You will join a highly successful Banking and Finance team, who are seeing substantial growth, and are looking to broaden its offering out into the South East of England.

The Banking and Finance team is led by our Partner Alex Schaafsma, 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 banking and finance areas including:

• Syndicated and bilateral conventional lending
• Property finance, including advising on funding acquisitions of land, investment property and development/construction
• Education loans and housing association finance
• Acquisition Finance
• Re-financings, restructurings/work-outs
• Private finance and loan arrangements
• Asset finance/asset backed lending.

Purpose of job
To lead in the establishment of the Banking and Finance offering in our Ipswich office by building relationships and a team to service the East Anglian region of England. In addition, you will be expected to provide assistance to the entire team and its growth.

Work includes:

• Drafting, negotiating and agreeing finance documentation - both facility agreements and security documents using both LMA documentation and Birketts' own precedents.
• Drafting, negotiating and agreeing ancillary documentation such as fee letters, undertakings and corporate authorities.
• Managing transactions and liaising with other team members on larger transactions.
• Building a banking and finance presence for Birketts in East Anglia through Business Development.

The candidate
Senior Associate/Legal Director level appointment will be expected to have strong technical skills and be able to work with minimal supervision. All candidates will be expected to have a desire to grow a practice and build relationships. This is an exciting opportunity for someone to grow a business in a very supportive environment.

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:

• 30 days holiday (FTE)
• Long Service holiday award - 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
• Private Healthcare with BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
• Staff Profit Share and Individual Performance Bonus Scheme
• Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
• Paid CSR Day
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Subsidised gym membership
• Electric car scheme
• Agile/Hybrid Working Policy
• Dress for your Day Policy

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.