Solicitor/Associate – Private Property & Agriculture

at  Clarke Willmott

VACANCY DETAILS

Due to continued growth, we are seeking a qualified lawyer to join our Private Property & Agricultural team, handling a mix of country property, agricultural and commercial transactions.
Spanning our Bristol and Taunton offices, you will be joining a team comprised of 8 lawyers. We are looking to enhance our offering and continue to grow.
We are one of the biggest Agricultural teams in the UK, ranked for Agriculture in Somerset by Chambers and Partners with four of our members ranked individually. Our well-regarded team is also on the NFU panel of legal advisors for Somerset, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Dorset. Our national Commercial Property team, with whom we work closely, has presence in all seven of our offices and consists of approximately 99 fee earners and support staff. We are consistently regarded in the Legal 500 with a focus on quality work with reputable clients.
Role: Solicitor/Associate
Location: Taunton
Hours: Full Time
Term: Permanent
Vacancy Reference: 1269-LTN

WHO WE ARE

You’ll be joining a national law firm that enjoys a strong reputation, made possible by our exceptional people – each chosen for their industry knowledge and passion for their field. We want to help you to reach your full potential, love the work you do and deliver the best results for your clients. It’s our goal to make you feel great about working with us, and we work hard to cultivate a culture that makes it easy for you to stay with us for many years.
We work flexibly and you’ll be empowered to work where you do your best work, balancing your individual needs with the need for us to engage as teams and deliver excellent client service.
Most of our people choose to work in a hybrid fashion, working from home and attending our offices on occasion. Our offices are in Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton, and Taunton.

DAY TO DAY, YOU’LL BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ROLE BY:

You will be managing your own caseload, covering a broad range of property types, to include high value rural residential properties, listed buildings and unregistered land You will be involved in sometimes complex farm/agricultural property transactions, from bare land, working farms and large estates, often including various farm diversification and renewable energy projects and nutrient neutrality issues, providing additional variety and development. You will regularly advise on all aspects of rural property transactions from support payments and tenancies to rights of way and environmental issues and all other aspects of the sale, purchase and mortgaging of agricultural land and farms.
The firm’s sector based approach means that you will be closely supported by teams in other practice area such as planning, estate planning and litigation.
The practice includes a variety of landlord and tenant work, which will expose you to the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986, Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.
You will have plenty of client contact, with clients, some of whom have been with the firm for decades, who choose to instruct us to benefit from a high quality, tailored service and you will develop your client relationship skills to meet their expectations. The client base ranges from landed estates, farming families, or investors, banks and private individuals.
We encourage you to experience a broad range of work, and to build your connections with colleagues within other departments at the firm.
Learning from highly respected senior practitioners, you will be able to develop and hone your technical and client management skills, engaging in challenging and complex work. As an expanding team, there are real opportunities for career development as you gain expertise and build your wider skill set.
It is an integral part of this role that you comply with data security and all firm policies and procedures.

THIS ROLE IS RIGHT FOR YOU IF:

This is a fantastic opportunity for the right candidate to progress their career and enjoy a challenge within a large and continually growing, fast paced team.
If you are a qualified solicitor or legal executive, we would very much like to hear from you.
You will be able to demonstrate a strong intellect, evidenced with a high level of academic achievement, and be someone who shows initiative, drive, and excellent organisation skills.
We expect you to be a genuine team player and a great communicator, who enjoys helping and working alongside others. You will be eager to learn, develop and hone your skills to take advantage of the opportunities for career development within this team. The role would be ideal for someone with interest in agriculture and the issues facing farming businesses.
Beyond your technical skills, you will have developed strong client management skills and have a strong interest in business development. Essentially, you will also be a genuine team player, looking to support others and share ideas and opportunities for the benefit of the team as a whole, enjoying and benefitting from the resulting success along with your colleagues.