Senior Associate - Employment - Leeds

What does the role involve?

We are looking for an experienced employment law solicitor to join the NSL in our Leeds office, at  Senior Associate level.  

You will undertake a broad mix of contentious and non-contentious work for our growing client-base across a range of sectors, including commercial, health, charities, education and government. 

This is an exciting opportunity to join the team at a senior level, to support further growth and help to develop more junior members of the team. 

At this level, you will be expected to perform as follows: 

Client service  

• Deliver outstanding client service to both internal and external clients to encourage client retention and referrals 
• Have a sound understanding of clients' legal, commercial and service requirements 
• Have effective client relationship and client service skills 
• Demonstrate strong business development credentials in terms of growth from existing clients and bringing in new work 

 Technical excellence  

• Have strong technical competence and legal knowledge in employment law 
• Deliver high quality and commercially focussed advice 
• Experience in managing Employment Tribunal litigation 
• Deliver training to clients and target clients 
• Carry out supervision of junior lawyers 

The team

The Leeds Employment team is currently made up of seven lawyers and support staff. The team is  part of the cross-office Employment, Pensions and Immigration National Service Line of approximately 80 lawyers.  

There are monthly cross-office NSL training sessions delivered by our professional support lawyers, together with cross-office and sector away days. 

The person

You will have 5+ years’ employment experience gained in a reputable firm with a substantive employment law practice. 

 Essential 

• Degree and A levels or equivalent
• Clear enthusiasm for employment law 
• Excellent written drafting skills 
• Excellent presentational skills 
• Self-starting with common sense and initiative, and ability to work as a team-player working on complex matters 
• Very good time and documentation management skills 
• Keen attention to detail 
• Ability to lead on Employment Tribunal matters and run matters with minimal supervision 
• Ability to supervise and assist more junior lawyers 
• Ability to build very good relationships with clients, potential clients and multipliers 
• Very good research skills, including an ability to use online information sources 
• Excellent interpersonal and team skills, including ability to work with others, influence and persuade 
• Keen interest in developing client training skills 
• High level of IT skills 
• Marketing and business development skills 

Desirable  

• Experience of Employment Tribunal advocacy at preliminary hearings; 
• A passion for developing others; and 
• A track record of building a network of contacts with clients and other multipliers (such as participation in an ongoing network or group). 

What else should I know?

Mills & Reeve is a major UK law firm renowned for its outstanding service to national and international clients, for its collaborative culture and for its deep sector expertise.

The firm has a strong sector focus with expertise in agriculture, charities, education, food and beverage, health, insurance, private wealth, real estate investment, sport and technology. Clients include businesses from PLCs to start-ups, high net worth individuals and landowners, more than 120 universities, colleges and education bodies and over 100 healthcare organisations.

This is an ideal opportunity to build your skills and experience with a major UK law firm, listed as one of the “Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For” for the last 20 years - the only law firm to achieve this.

We are also proud to have been awarded Platinum Investors in People status this year.  The firm joins a select club of only 6% of 50,000 assessed organisations awarded the coveted platinum status.

The firm is also delighted to report for the eighth year running we were named as one of Roll On Friday’s ‘best law firms to works at’.

Pre-employment screening

Please note that, in the event that we make an offer of employment, we will conduct pre-employment screening that includes checks relating to your professional and academic qualifications, references from previous employers, your eligibility to work in the UK and any disciplinary history recorded with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). You will also be required to complete a self-declaration to assess your character and suitability. 

Disclosure and barring service check and security clearance

This post is also subject to a satisfactory response from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) (to check for any previous criminal convictions and cautions) and, given the nature of the work-type, you may also be required to undergo national security vetting to SC level – the latter can be undertaken following commencement of employment.