Associate - Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP

Description

Shepherd and Wedderburn Online Application

Associate

We currently have an opportunity within our Property and Infrastructure Disputes (PID) practice group for a 4 - 8 year PQE lawyer primarily based in Edinburgh, with options for flexible working.

The role will be to join Colin Archibald's team within the firm's PID group. Whilst Colin specialises in both real estate disputes and Contentious Construction work, Real Estate litigation will be the particular focus of the role (although there is likely to be an opportunity to get involved in Contentious Construction work).

Shepherd and Wedderburn's property litigation team is one of the leading practices in the Scottish marketplace. Our clients range from large corporations, public and third sector organisations to SMEs, estate owners and high net worth individuals, and include commercial landlords and tenants, housebuilders, utilities companies, developers, retailers and companies in the financial services sector.

Working closely with property colleagues, the team advises on a broad range of real estate litigation work including complex property contract disputes, landlord and tenant issues including dilapidations claims, title issues and boundary disputes, servitudes and rights of way. The team has a particular specialism in telecoms property dispute work.

We conduct this work across a range of dispute resolution forums, including the Court of Session, Sheriff Court, Lands Tribunal for Scotland (for telecoms property work and title condition disputes in particular), the Scottish Land Court, and the First Tier Tribunal. We also have extensive experience of alternative dispute resolution, in particular mediation and expert determination.

In relation to contentious construction work, the team has a busy and broad practice with a particular focus on the energy sector, and regularly advises in the following areas: infrastructure, civil engineering, utilities, renewables (hydro schemes, onshore and offshore wind), commercial developments, and professional negligence.

The team works closely with colleagues both within the PID practice group and around the firm, and in particular colleagues in the firm's Property and Infrastructure teams.

Competencies:

Technical/Legal Skills

• Demonstrates appropriate range of legal knowledge and, with assistance, can identify issues outside their expertise and seek appropriate assistance.
• Obtains relevant information to complete task.
• Produces a solution best addressing the client's requirements, with minimum guidance.
• Demonstrates potential to display effective spoken and written advocacy skills.
• If appropriate, seeks to comply with formalities required in connection with spoken and written advocacy and to deal with witnesses and opposing arguments effectively.

Business/Work Management

• Identifies strategies to manage work in order to attain objectives within agreed timescales and budgets.
• Keeps all clients and colleagues up-to-date with latest developments.
• Complies with all firm policies and procedures, including financial.
• Implements improvements in working methods.
• Prepares well for meetings.
• Makes effective use of the firm's information management systems, and complies with all legal and regulatory requirements.

Business Development & Client Relationship Management

• Communicates clearly with prospective and current clients in all contexts.
• Assists in assessing scope of work and fees within team.
• Develops effective ways of delivering client solutions with minimum guidance.
• Knows players at each client and builds relationships.
• Developing an understanding of the impact of external market forces on clients, and identifies trends which may lead to opportunities.
• Demonstrates an awareness of client care issues.
• Communicates client feedback to partner/senior associate/associate.
• Understands value of activity versus time spent.
• Participates in marketing activities.
• Assists in the development of credible marketing plans.
• Demonstrates effective presentation and writing skills.
• Implements cross selling opportunities.

People Management

• Developing an effective personal presence with partners and colleagues.
• Demonstrates ability to manage and supervise work effectively and to seek or provide support when required.
• Delegates work effectively with colleagues.
• Supports diversity & inclusion within the team.

Personal Development and Knowledge Management

• Completes appropriate CPD hours.
• Maintains an adequate and up to date understanding of relevant law, policy and practice, and to identify where legal research is required.
• Takes responsibility for personal learning and development, evaluates strengths and limitations in relation to the demands of their work, and reflects on and learns from others.
• Undertakes personal study/research to address gaps in knowledge.
• Utilises internal/external knowledge resources e.g. libraries, daily current awareness/plc newsletter etc.
• Contributes to firm's knowledge resources.
• Gives well prepared and presented training sessions with minimum guidance.

Ethics, professionalism and judgement

• Recognition of ethical issues, will raise with appropriate person and will seek to address.
• Demonstrates an understanding and application of the ethical concepts which govern their role and behaviour as a lawyer.
• Identifies the relevant SRA or LSS principles and rules of professional conduct and seeks assistance in applying them.
• Resists pressure to condone, ignore or commit unethical behaviour.
• Respects diversity, and acts fairly and inclusively.
• Discloses when work is beyond their personal capability and recognises when they have made mistakes and takes appropriate action.
• Seeks expert advice when required, and makes effective use of feedback, guidance and support received.

Firm Contribution

• Assists in development of team's operational goals.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the inter-relationship between strategic and operational management.
• Displays an awareness of organisational goals and has an engaged commitment to team goals.
• Participates in extra practice events to assist development of firm.

At Shepherd and Wedderburn we strive to provide a supportive, inclusive and high performance working environment, where everyone feels they belong. Diversity and inclusion is at the heart of our business and we welcome applicants from different backgrounds to all levels of the organisation. To foster inclusivity we particularly encourage applications from those who may be from underrepresented groups, including candidates from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBT+ people, disabled people and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Shepherd and Wedderburn is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information that we collect as a "data controller". The information provided by you will be processed in accordance with our GDPR Privacy Notice for Applicants and Work Experience Students. If you are successful in obtaining paid employment with us, we will hold your information in accordance with our Personnel Data Retention Policy, which will be provided to you at the relevant time.

We will process the information you provide solely for the purpose of evaluating your application for employment. The information will be disclosed to the interview panel (if relevant), your line manager (if appointed), and Human Resources staff members. We may contact any references provided for the purposes of discussing your application, and will ask your permission before doing so.

If you provide any information deemed to be "special category" information under the General Data Protection Regulation, we may use this as follows:

• We will use information about your disability status to provide appropriate adjustments to the interview process.
• We will use any information provided in our diversity monitoring form about your race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, gender identity, gender expression, social mobility background, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, any disability information, age, and marital/civil partnership status to ensure meaningful equal opportunity monitoring and reporting. Any analysis of this data will be done on an anonymous basis.

Should your application be unsuccessful, the information provided will be deleted within 1 year of a decision not to progress your application.

If you have any further questions about how we process and store your information, or your rights in relation to this, please refer to our GDPR Privacy Notice for Applicants and Work Experience Students (available at