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We’re a national law firm with a local reach. Our philosophy is ‘Expert Hand, Human Touch’ – something you’ll find in the way we work with our clients and how we support our teams. But, we’re more than just a law firm – we’re a team, working together to help individuals and businesses navigate life’s ups and downs.

We are looking for a Property Disputes solicitor with 4+ years PQE to join our growing Rural Business & Estates Team as an Associate or Senior Associate.

We offer national coverage for the Rural sector, with wide external and internal market bases as a source of high quality and often high-profile dispute resolution instructions.

Our dispute resolution and advisory practice ranges from Supreme Court litigation to negotiated resolution entirely behind closed doors – and many fora in between. It encompasses agricultural, development, commercial, freehold and leasehold, and trusts work.

And there is the potential to widen your practice to encompass contentious and advisory work in relation to planning, environmental and public rights of way matters.

The successful candidate will join our team as it furthers its offering nationally. The office “base” will be Gatwick or Chichester, but our “Flexible by Choice” policy will enable you also to work from home or from one of our other offices (17 in total) around the country.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a disputes solicitor at or approaching the Associate or Senior Associate level, with strong technical knowledge of property dispute resolution and problem solving, and a commercial approach to client matters and legal practice.

The Team

Our experienced team, whose core members in the south are based in our Gatwick office, have a strong track record in acting for rural landowners across a broad spectrum of transactional and contentious property and trusts work. The client-base includes landed estates, farmers and growers, institutional landowners, and leisure and events operators.

Our team’s successes have been recognised, with our Gatwick team being ranked within Band 1 for Agriculture & Rural Affairs and within Tier 1 in The Legal 500. Partner James Pavey, who leads the team nationally and with whom you would work, is ranked within Band 1 of Chambers and is recognised as a “Leading Individual” by The Legal 500. Our team are keen supporters of the CLA, with members sitting on the Legal, Parliamentary & Property Rights, Kent and Sussex Committees.

The Responsibilities

• You will take a prominent role in property disputes and advisory work, with an emphasis on rural and development land issues.
• You will have the opportunity to extend your expertise into contentious planning, environmental and public rights of way work.
• You will be dealing with your own case load but also work as part of a team on larger cases and projects.
• You will take a role in BD and marketing for the Rural team in the south.

Proficiencies:

You will:

• Be capable of working independently and managing your own cases day-to-day, but also providing effective support on larger matters.
• Have a strong knowledge of private law property dispute resolution and avoidance
• Have a willingness to participate in the marketing of the practice.
• Have a willingness to travel within London and the south of England for client work and marketing.

• 25 days annual leave, with the opportunity to buy additional leave
• Two fundraising days in a year to give back to the community (fully paid!)
• Westfield Health membership, offering discounted leisure and travel and refunds on medical services

We also offer a huge number of well-being initiatives to encourage positive mental health both in and out of the workplace as well as flexible working options to ensure that you are fully supported to work the way that best suits you. Our social responsibility programme is fundamental to who we are. We’re committed to being a diverse and inclusive workplace where our colleagues can flourish. We have a range of groups to celebrate our people across sexuality, disability, age, gender and culture.

We welcome applications from all diversity groups and backgrounds. We’re committed to enabling everyone to thrive and understanding and celebrating our differences is a key part of that. We’re proud of our work on the Disability Confident scheme, on the Race At Work Charter and as Stonewall Diversity Champions. We also have a range of networks for LGBT+, disability, generations, gender, social mobility, ethnicity, faith and culture to celebrate our people and to enable everyone to thrive.

As part of the Irwin Mitchell Group’s on-boarding process all successful applicants are required to complete the group’s employment screening process. This process helps to ensure that all new employees meet our standards in relation to honesty and integrity therefore protecting the interests of the Group, existing employees, clients, partners and other stakeholders.

Depending on the role you apply for we may carry out checks that will establish your eligibility to work in the UK, and criminal record check and financial checks with a credit reference agency will also be undertaken.

The employment screening process will fully comply with Data Protection and other applicable laws.

Irwin Mitchell LLP is an equal opportunity employer.