Careers

Job Title: Public Law Advisory Associate - 5-8PQE

Location: Bristol, Birmingham or Leeds

Join a team that makes real changes

Bevan Brittan is a UK-Top 100 commercial law firm providing a comprehensive range of legal services from offices in Bristol Birmingham, Leeds and London.

The firm advises businesses across construction, energy & resource management, higher education and financial services, complementing the firm's market leadership within health & social care, local government and housing.

We currently employ over 500 people, including over 80 Partners, and our award-winning teams provide construction, commercial, corporate, property, regulatory, employment and litigation (commercial and clinical negligence) legal advice.

Bevan Brittan is named among 'The Times Best Law Firms 2022' and has recently either won or been shortlisted for a number of prestigious awards including.

We are driven by our 4 values: Relationships, Results, Reputation and Responsible. These give us a sense of purpose and ensure we always work collaboratively with clients and colleagues, continually improve, make the right choices and act with integrity.

Bevan Brittan is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds.

Rise to the Challenge

Our close knit team undertakes a range of public law, governance and advisory work, primarily for NHS commissioners and providers. We also undertake work for Local Authorities and social care providers. We advise on high profile and complex matters, supporting our clients through the many challenges which they currently face.

Due to team growth, there is an exciting opportunity for a 5 to 8 year qualified lawyer to join us.

This role will give the successful applicant the chance to work at the forefront of NHS public law, advising on commissioning responsibilities, powers, duties and decision-making/governance. The range of topics includes responsible commissioner issues, S117 aftercare, NHS Continuing Healthcare and Personal Health Budgets. We also advise on Care Act duties/responsibilities and NHS/social care commissioning policies.

We adopt a multidisciplinary team approach, working closely with colleagues across our Bevan Brittan teams. This provides opportunities to work with different teams/people, providing expert advice to support for example, litigation and property colleagues.

We are currently advising a number of clients/local health and social care systems on commissioning and partnership arrangements, ahead of the changes to the structure of the NHS which are due to come into effect in July 2022. We have also advised on the complex roll out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

Whilst the role is generally advisory, there is an opportunity to get involved with some contractual work, including Section 75 partnership agreements and primary care contracting.

The work we do supports local health and social care commissioners and providers in their decision making processes. Our work is important and has a real purpose - ensuring public body decision making is sound and fair.

We are looking for a 5-8PQE lawyer to join our highly respected and supportive Health Commercial and Public Law Team, to focus on advisory work in the public sector.

In this role, you will:

• Have the opportunity to work and learn from experienced lawyers whilst supervising more junior members of the team where appropriate;
• Work as part of a close-knit and supportive team;
• Have access to high quality interesting work - no two days are ever the same; and
• Opportunities to have direct access to clients and to assist on complex advisory work.

What we are looking for from you

The successful applicant will be a 5-8PQE lawyer who enjoys advisory work and has a keen interest in public services, alongside a passion for learning. You will possess the following skills and experiences key to the role.

• An eye for detail and the ability to process and understand complex legal concepts and apply them to factual scenarios
• An aptitude for drafting and legal analysis
• Experience working with health or local authority clients (or in-house) would be beneficial, but not essential
• A passion to learn, enthusiasm and the desire to excel as a lawyer
• An interest in the health or broader public services sector
• Ability to, or experience of, working in a team and coordinating advice with fee earners across a team
• The ability to deliver clear, precise advice
• Strong technical skills and an ability to understand and work through complex issues
• A demonstrable ability to adopt a practical and commercial approach to legal issues
• Ability to liaise effectively with clients and build relationships
• Ability to operate with a high level of self-sufficiency combined with an awareness of own abilities
• A positive and flexible approach
• Excellent organisational skills and ability to manage time effectively
• Working across legal departments with others as part of a project team
• A genuine interest in business development and the ability to retain existing clients and attract new business

Work-life Balance

We offer a substantial benefits package to all employees, which includes 25 days holiday (plus the option to buy up to an additional 5 days), a generous pension scheme and private medical insurance through Vitality (including "phone a GP service", discounted gym membership and 'Vitality' Partner discounts).

All of our people are entitled to a biennial private health assessment through Nuffield Health and are included in the group life assurance scheme. We also have an Employee Assistance Programme (free telephone support and counselling service) and a cycle scheme (Save Tax & NI on a bike for cycling to work).

Where possible, we want to offer all Bevan Brittan people flexibility to work their week in a way that suits them - we operate a hybrid working model based on the needs of our clients, teams and that of the individual. Our core business hours are 9am - 5:15pm Monday to Friday, however we are open to individuals working more flexibly around those times and would welcome a conversation with you if you have any questions.

Responsible Business

To us, being a responsible business is second nature; a core part of Bevan Brittan's identity, running through our culture and embodied by the clients we serve.

Bevan Brittan seeks to play an active role within its local office communities. Through regular fundraising events, support for local initiatives and annual charity donations at Christmas, we have established a culture of giving within the firm. In December 2021 we donated a total of £60,000 to our four regional office charities, with each charity receiving £15,000 to help fund their vital services.

Our current selected charity in Bristol is Great Western Air Ambulance.

We want to demonstrate our commitment to these causes through actions rather than words; colleagues from across the firm are already heavily involved, living and breathing the four pillars of our Responsible Business strategy:

• Community Engagement
• Environmental Sustainability
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
• Wellbeing

Collectively, these four pillars ensure we look after our colleagues' wellbeing; offer an environment in which all can progress on merit, regardless of personal circumstances or background; give something back to the communities in which we work; and protect the environment.

Bevan Brittan is proudly a carbon neutral firm. We have achieved the UN's Climate Neutral Now accreditation and our environmental sustainability plan is focussed on achieving our net zero carbon target.

Each lawyer has the opportunity to undertake pro bono legal work for local charities and not-for-profit organisations. This has seen colleagues support the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (Bristol), Moseley Road Swimming Baths (Birmingham), Yorkshire Cat Rescue (Leeds), Great Western Credit Union (London), and several others.