Solicitor/Associate

PQE: 2 years +
Term: Permanent
Working hours: Full-time
Department: Infrastructure
Location: Edinburgh or Glasgow
The team

Shepherd and Wedderburn are currently recruiting for a Solictor to join their non-contentious contstruction team.  The sucessful candidate will have a minimum of two years' relevant experience in the non-contentious construction sector.  This role can be based at either our Edinburgh or Glasgow office.  

The role

The focus of the work for the team that this role will be based within is:

Dealing with (a) the construction aspects of major property developments and regeneration projects (e.g. dealing with development agreements, building contracts, bonds and guarantees and professional appointments); and (b) significant engineering projects, particularly in the energy sector (e.g. on shore wind, hydro, battery storage, solar tidal/wave etc).    Whilst the position is based in Glasgow or Edinburgh, the projects are throughout the UK.

Clients include developers, contractors, public sector bodies, funders and consultants.

Other information

Technical/Legal Skills

  • To demonstrate the appropriate range of legal knowledge.
  • To provide technical advice to colleagues.
  • To produce effective drafts with minimum guidance.
  • To present legal information in an understandable format with minimum guidance.
  • To generate and implement new ideas in specialist areas.

Business/Work Management

  • To identify strategies to manage work in order to attain objectives within agreed timescales and budgets.
  • To keep all clients and colleagues up-to-date with latest developments.
  • To implement improvements in working methods.
  • To prepare for and attend meetings.
  • To make effective use of the firm’s information management systems, and comply with all legal and regulatory requirements.
  • To comply with all firm policies and procedures, including financial.
  • To demonstrate effective time management.

Business Development

  • To develop an understanding of the impact of external market forces on clients identifying trends, and identify trends which may lead to business development opportunities.
  • To develop effective ways of delivering client solutions with minimum guidance.
  • To know main players at each client and build relationships.
  • To demonstrate awareness of client care issues.
  • To communicate feedback to partner/associate.
  • To assist in assessing scope of work and fees within team.
  • To participate in marketing activities.
  • To demonstrate effective presentational and writing skills.
  • To implement cross selling opportunities.
  • To use knowledge as a marketing tool (e.g. eBulletin articles, client seminars, etc.).

People Management

  • To develop an effective personal presence with partners and colleagues.
  • To delegate work effectively to both fee earning and non fee earning staff - including objective setting and feedback.
  • To demonstrate an ability to supervise work effectively.
  • To demonstrate an understanding of expectations and objectives for team on transactions.
  • To give well prepared and presented training sessions.
  • To interact positively with colleagues in other sections.
  • To develop leadership skills on client work and management.

Ethics, professionalism and judgment

  • To recognise ethical issues and seek to address them with the appropriate person.
  • To identify the relevant SRA or LSS principles and rules of professional conduct and seek assistance in applying them.
  • To respect diversity, and act fairly and inclusively.
  • To disclose when work is beyond their personal capability and recognise when they have made mistakes and takes appropriate action.
  • To seek expert advice when required, and makes effective use of feedback, guidance and support received.

Firm Contribution

  • To be aware of and where appropriate to participate in the development of the team’s operational goals.
  • To demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between strategic and operational management.
  • To participate in extra practice events to assist development of firm.
  • To contribute to Knowledge Management goals of the firm.

To undertake any other reasonable duties as specified by the Partners.

Further Information

If you would like further information on the role or require accomodations please contact Marc McRae at marc.mcrae@shepwedd.com or call 07810 584 665.

Equal Opportunities

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.

GDPR Information

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 www.shepwedd.com/careers/working-with-us/privacy-notice)