Bevan Brittan is a UK-Top 100 commercial law firm providing a
comprehensive range of legal services from offices in Birmingham,
Bristol, Leeds and London.
The firm advises businesses across construction, energy &
resource management, higher education and financial services,
complementing the firm's market leadership within housing, local
government and health & social care.
We currently employ over 600 people, including over 90 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 2023' and has
recently either won or been shortlisted for a number of prestigious awards.
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.
The team
The partners leading the contentious construction team are:
Louise Robling, who heads the team and is based in Bristol. Louise
is recognised as a "Leading Individual" in Legal 500
(where our Bristol construction practice is ranked in Band One);
Judith Hopper, who is based in our Leeds office and specialises in
PFI/ PPP and projects disputes. Judith is a recommended lawyer in
Legal 500 (where our Leeds construction practice is ranked in Band Three);
Sarah Wilson, who is also based in our Leeds office and works on a
range of construction disputes, including a number of adjudications
primarily on behalf of contractors. Sarah is also a recommended
lawyer in Legal 500.
Our contentious team is based in Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds; our
transactional colleagues work across all four of our offices. We
routinely work across different offices and truly operate as a
national team.
Bevan Brittan has strong recognition in the independent legal
directories - Chambers & Partners and Legal 500. In both guides we
are consistently ranked in the top tier for our practices across the
UK, with multiple individuals recognised as leading lawyers.
"They are a great team to work with and have superb knowledge
and experience in this market" Chambers 2023
"Excellent team led by Louise Robling, well known PFI
practice and known for being instructed for the big disputes in this
specialist area of law" Legal 500
"Judith Hopper is an extremely hands on partner, who gets
fully involved with all her cases. Clients love her as she is highly
organised and intelligent" Legal 500
"Sarah Wilson and her team were fantastic. I have worked with
Sarah for over ten years. She is polite, professional and a great
communicator" Legal 500
The role
As our construction team continues to grow we are looking to recruit
a new Associate or Senior Associate, based in our Birmingham, Bristol
or Leeds office, to be part of the team working on contentious
construction dispute resolution and advisory work.
The national construction team currently has 5 partners and has
ambitious plans for future growth at all levels. You will be part of a
team that advises a wide range of construction dispute matters,
ranging from traditional final account/loss and expense type claims,
to significant defect issues and PFI/projects disputes (PFI experience
is desirable but not essential for the role).
Our panel appointments mean that you will have the opportunity to
work on high value, complex instructions including local authorities,
NHS Trusts and housing associations. The wider relationships within
the construction team will also expose you to working within the wider
construction industry, including developers, funders and contractors.
Some recent examples include:
A significant Court of Appeal win in relation PFI dispute
resolution procedures
A £30 million plus dispute for an NHS Trust arising from late
completion, significant compensation event claims and defects on the
construction of a high profile mental health facility;
Multiple high-value claims arising from non-compliant cladding
replacement at 65 building high rise development in East London;
A successful £23 million PFI highways adjudication for a local
authority arising from previously certified milestones;
A multi-million pound adjudication for a global engineering
company in respect of a dispute over payments;
Acting for a subcontractor in a contract adjudication under NEC 3,
dispute resolution clause W1 for claim value of over £1m relating to
additional time and cost
Acting for an authority in examining the impact of the change in
environmental legislation on the construction of an energy from
waste PFI project, and the contractual responsibility for the
capital costs to be incurred as a consequences, which are estimated
at £30m.
What we are looking for from you
The successful candidate will have the ability to manage their own
time efficiently, possess excellent drafting and legal analysis skills
and have an ability to liaise effectively with clients. Most
importantly we are looking for ambitious lawyers who want to take on
challenging work in the development of their careers, and we are happy
to consider candidates who are looking to work flexibly.
We are keen for our new recruit to actively engage in business
development. The partners have ambitious plans for growth and so
career prospects are excellent for the right candidates.
We welcome applications from candidates who are seeking a part-time
rather than full-time position. There are no requirements in relation
to a particular number of days in the office. We prefer our teams to
have a high degree of flexibility to determine where they will work
from based on client and team needs.
Work-life balance
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.
We offer a substantial benefits package to all employees including:
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
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. 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 - Each lawyer has the
opportunity to undertake pro bono legal work for local charities and
not-for-profit organisations. We also play an active role through
our local office communities, in 2022 we fundraised and donated a
total of £80,000 to our four regional office charities, with each
charity receiving £20,000 to help fund their vital services.
Environmental Sustainability - Bevan Brittan is
proudly a carbon neutral firm. We have achieved the UN's Climate
Neutral Now accreditation and our environmental sustainability plan
is focused on achieving our net zero carbon target.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion - We have a
strong and vibrant diversity programme that gives colleagues across
the firm an opportunity to take part, led by our Equality, Diversity
& Inclusion Committee and supported by our Ambassadors, who
drive engagement in our strategy and raise awareness across the firm.
Wellbeing - We are proud of our open culture, where
colleagues feel empowered to speak openly about physical and mental
health issues and to seek out support when needed. We have trained
21 colleagues across the firm as Mental Health First Aiders and
established a programme of initiatives including our informal
'coffee with' scheme.
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.
