Make a Real Impact
Bevan Brittan is a leading commercial law firm. Alongside our recognised expertise in housing, local government, and health and social care, we are specialists in the construction, energy and resource management, higher education and financial services sectors.
Supported by our valued business services professionals, our award-winning and growing legal teams provide almost 2,000 organisations with commercial, corporate, property, finance, regulatory, employment and litigation (commercial and clinical negligence) legal and advisory services.
As a responsible business, we embrace four values: Relationships, Reputation, Responsible and Results. These give us a sense of purpose. They influence the decisions we make and how we work with each other. Importantly, they motivate us to deliver meaningful outcomes for our clients and the communities that we're part of.
Consistently recognised as one of The Times Best Law Firms and highly ranked across the legal directories, we are proud of our hard-earned reputation. Our 2024/25 financial results confirmed both revenue and profit growth for a twelfth consecutive year, ensuring our ability to continue investing in our people.
Looking to the future, we're targeting ambitious growth and success. And we're looking for the best people to be part of it.
Join a team of experts and progressive thinkers
You will be a member of a nationally recognised construction team led by Andrew Tobin and Perveen Akhter, both of whom specialise in non-contentious transactional construction projects.
Our market-leading construction team consists of 6 partners and 20 other lawyers. We work for our clients across the UK from our four offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and London. The team's reputation in education, housing and Government sectors is second to none and is complemented by a strong practice advising clients operating in highways, leisure, health and social care, acting for employers and contractors in those markets.
Our construction lawyers advise on a wide range of types of contract from JCT, NEC and other industry standards, to advising on bespoke arrangement and wider development and finance related documentation specific to the markets in which we work. We are at the forefront of long-term outsourcing and partnership working arrangements and have extensive experience of advising on all the PPP models. We are involved in a number of the major Government construction programmes for delivery of new hospitals, social housing, schools and highways.
Bevan Brittan's Construction team has strong recognition in the independent legal directories - Chambers & Partners and Legal 500. In both guides we are consistently ranked strongly, with multiple individuals recognised as leading lawyers.
The Role
As our team continues to grow, a vacancy has arisen for an Associate/Senior Associate to be part of the team, focusing on non-contentious, transactional construction projects.
You will be working on high value, complex instructions with a suitable level of supervision and oversight to enable you to flourish as a lawyer and to develop and strengthen client relationships.
The role will include:
- Drafting, negotiating and advising on a broad range of construction and project documents (including JCT/NEC), professional appointments, collateral warranties, and security documents such as performance bonds and parent company guarantees, with a focus on risk allocation and bespoke solutions.
- Advising clients on risk allocation and developing bespoke contractual solutions to reflect project-specific requirements
- Managing the legal aspects of transactions from initial instruction through to completion, including coordinating with clients, external inhouse counsel, funders and project stakeholders.
- Keeping up to date with legal and market developments in construction law and contributing to know-how, training and client briefings
What we are looking for from you
- Experience in transactional construction work, with confidence in drafting and negotiating standard form contracts (particularly JCT and NEC) and associated documentation
- Familiarity with collateral warranties and key security documents such as performance bonds and parent company guarantees, with an understanding of how they operate in practice
- A pragmatic and commercial approach to risk, with the ability to provide clear, solutions-focused advice to clients
- Good drafting skills and strong attention to detail, alongside the confidence to engage directly with clients and counterparties
- The ability to manage your own workload effectively, taking ownership of matters while knowing when to seek support
- A team-oriented mindset, with a willingness to contribute to a supportive and collaborative working environment
- Strong communication skills and the ability to build lasting relationships with clients, many of whom are long-standing
- A genuine interest in the construction sector and the work of regional clients, including developers, contractors and public sector bodies
- A positive, approachable attitude and a willingness to get involved in business development and local networking where appropriate
Most importantly, we are looking for ambitious lawyers who want to take on challenging work in the development of their careers We are happy to consider candidates who are looking to work flexibly. The team has doubled in size in recent years, and the partners have ambitious plans to continue that growth. Career prospects are therefore excellent for the right candidate.
Work with approachable people
When we ask colleagues what makes Bevan Brittan a great place to work, the most popular thing they say is "the people". The overwhelming consensus is that we make time for each other. We welcome questions and support each other. Naturally, we look for new colleagues who align with our values.
Supported to be your best
Hybrid working
We operate a hybrid working model based on the needs of our clients, teams and people. Our core business hours are 9am - 5:15pm Monday to Friday, but we're open to our people working more flexibly around those times and welcome a conversation with you if you have any questions about this. We try to offer you the flexibility to work your week in a way that suits you.
Learning, Development & Progression
We're committed to supporting your professional and personal development needs. This means that we offer a range of tailored training courses and you will have lots of opportunity to learn from those around you. We actively encourage progression and this is reflected in our annual review and promotion processes. You will be supported by your line manager to achieve your full potential.
Wellbeing
As a Bevan Brittan employee, you'll have access to a variety of services that support your wellbeing. We've pledged our commitment to The Mindful Business Charter and lots of our people contribute to our Wellbeing Responsible Business strand, which organises an annual calendar of wellbeing events and initiatives.
Benefits
- A minimum of 25 days holiday (plus the option to buy up to an additional 5 days)
- Discretionary bonus scheme
- Generous pension scheme
- Private medical insurance through Vitality
- Biennial private health assessment through Nuffield Health
- Life assurance
- Access to Employee Assistance Programme
- Cycle to work scheme
Embracing our differences and valuing inclusion
Our shared aim is that everyone is welcome and can feel comfortable being themselves at Bevan Brittan. To support this, we actively value and promote equality, diversity and inclusion in everything that we do. You'll be empowered and supported through our employee led networks, diverse colleagues, and a broad range of firmwide initiatives.
Recognising the unique contributions that a diverse workforce can bring to our business, we encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We take great pride in being a Disability Confident Employer. If you need any adjustments throughout the recruitment process or have any questions, please get in touch with our recruitment team by emailing [email protected]
Acting responsibly, now and for the future
To us, being a responsible business is second nature; a core part of Bevan Brittan's identity. Our colleagues are heavily involved in shaping and delivering activity across the four pillars of our Responsible Business strategy: Community Engagement; Environmental Sustainability; Equality, Diversity & Inclusion; and Wellbeing.
Our people deliver pro bono legal work for charities and not-for-profit organisations. We play an active role in our local communities and donated £100,000 across our four regional office charities last year. We are also proudly carbon neutral. We've achieved the UN's Climate Neutral Now accreditation and our environmental sustainability plan focuses on achieving our net zero carbon target by 2040.
Collectively, the four pillars ensure we look after our colleagues' wellbeing; offer an environment in which everyone can progress on merit, give something back to the communities in which we work; and protect the environment.
