Associate / Senior Associate / Legal Director
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
About us
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 and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: Real Estate, Corporate Services, Dispute Resolution and Private Client.
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 6th best law firm to work at in 2026.
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 42% of our partnership.
The team you will join
Our Planning and Environmental Team sits within our wider Real Estate department. We are recognised in both Chambers and Legal 500 as being Top Tier and were ranked 3rd in the 2025 annual Planning Law Survey by Planning Resource.
Our team deals with a wide range of planning and environmental work, including complex, high value and high-profile matters. Led by three Partners and supported by a diverse group of lawyers the work of the team includes planning, compulsory purchase, Development Consent Orders, highways, rights of way, waste management, environmental permitting, contaminated land, statutory nuisance and habitats and nature conservation. We provide support to other teams with advice and due diligence work as well as carrying out free standing environmental work for a range of clients.
The work you will be doing
The successful candidate will play a critical role in providing expert legal advice and services to high-net-worth clients.
You will be responsible for:
- Ensuring client needs are met with the highest standard of professionalism and efficiency
- Maintaining and growing client relationships and contributing to the strategic irection and success of the firm.
- Participating in networking events, conferences and other business development activities to promote the firm’s services.
- (As Legal Director) Leading and mentoring a team of junior lawyers, fostering a collaborative and supportive work environment.
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.
What we are looking for
We are see seeking a Associate/ Senior Associate / Legal Director who has gained experience within a regional, national or City firm with a well-developed knowledge in a range of Planning, Environmental and Compulsory Purchase.
- Experience building credibility and trust through effective relationships
- Strong attention to detail to produce work documentation which is consistently of a high standard
- Well-developed knowledge in Planning, Environmental, and Compulsory Purchase lawTo be competent in using Microsoft Word, Excel, time recording software, case management, Outlook and digital dictation
- (As Senior Associate / Legal Director) Ability to mentor junior team members and contribute to team development
Birketts has designed a 'Talent Management Framework' which provides a career structure that will help us develop, retain and reward talented people.
Any information provided in relation to PQE should be used for guidance only and will not be determinative in the recruitment decision. Applicants will be considered on their individual merits.
As an Associate, we typically expect candidates to have between 3-6 years PQE.
As a Senior Associate, we typically expect candidates to have between 6-8 years PQE
Benefits
As a Birkett colleague, you will be eligible to receive a wide range of benefits:
- 25 or 30 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays
- 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
- Dress for your Day Policy
You can find out more on our website: https://recognition-reward-benefits/
Inclusivity and Culture
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.
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.
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Lead your CV Personal Statement with explicit Planning and Environmental law experience, as the advert targets this niche practice area within Birketts' Top Tier Chambers and Legal 500-ranked team.
📊 Quantify your caseload: e.g. 'Advised on 15 DCO applications over 3 years, including two nationally significant infrastructure projects', to demonstrate depth of experience.
🌐 Highlight any business development wins — name networking events attended, conferences spoken at, or client panels joined, as these are explicitly required responsibilities at all levels.
🎯 If applying at Legal Director level, include a dedicated section on team leadership: number of junior lawyers supervised, training programmes delivered, or mentoring outcomes achieved.
🤝 Reference any cross-team advisory work (e.g. supporting Corporate or Private Client teams with environmental due diligence), as the advert specifically calls out inter-departmental support as a key function.
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Advised on 12 Development Consent Order applications over 4 years, including 3 nationally significant infrastructure projects, securing consent for schemes valued at over £200M.
- •Led environmental due diligence on 20+ real estate transactions annually, identifying contaminated land liabilities and environmental permitting risks that informed client acquisition decisions.
- •Developed and delivered a planning law training programme for 6 junior associates, reducing escalation queries to partners by 30% within 6 months.
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Letter preview — tailored to Birketts LLP
Dear Hiring Manager,
Birketts LLP's Planning and Environmental Team — ranked 3rd in the 2025 Planning Resource annual survey and recognised in both Chambers and Legal 500 as Top Tier — represents exactly the calibre of practice I am seeking at this stage of my career. I am applying for the Associate / Senior Associate / Legal Director position and bring substantial experience in Development Consent Orders, environmental permitting, and contaminated land advisory, alongside a proven record of client relationship management in complex, high-value planning matters.
My background in planning and environmental law spans advisory work on nationally significant infrastructure projects, cross-departmental due diligence support, and direct engagement with high-net-worth and public sector clients. I have contributed to business development through conference participation and client networking, and at senior level have mentored junior lawyers through complex regulatory matters.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›Walk us through your experience advising on Development Consent Orders — what was the most complex application you managed and how did you navigate it?
- ›How do you approach environmental permitting advice for clients with contaminated land issues, and what regulatory frameworks do you typically apply?
- ›Describe your experience with compulsory purchase orders — at what stages have you been involved and what outcomes did you achieve for clients?
- ›How do you stay current with changes in planning policy and environmental legislation, and how do you translate those changes into practical client advice?
- ›What is your experience with habitats regulations assessments and nature conservation law, and can you give an example of a matter where this was central to the advice?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you successfully grew a client relationship and converted it into additional work for the firm.
- ›Describe a situation where you had to manage a high-profile or politically sensitive planning matter — how did you handle the pressure and stakeholder expectations?
- ›Give an example of when you mentored or developed a junior lawyer — what approach did you take and what was the outcome?
- ›Tell me about a business development activity you led or contributed to — what was your strategy and what results did it produce?
- ›Describe a time when you had to provide advice across multiple practice areas simultaneously — how did you prioritise and coordinate your work?
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you successfully grew a client relationship and converted it into additional work for the firm.
Describe a situation where you had to manage a high-profile or politically sensitive planning matter — how did you handle the pressure and stakeholder expectations?