Professional Support Lawyer

Are you looking for an opportunity to utilise your strong technical and people development skills in a new way?

We are looking for a Professional Support Lawyer on a part time basis (1-2 days per week) to support the development of our leading Projects Department.

We bring new ideas and perspectives to everything we do, without ever compromising the quality of our work. Join us and you'll be surrounded by high quality work and specialist expertise every day, as you make an impact on a national and international scale.

The Opportunity

We are expanding our team in order to meet increasing client needs and are looking to recruit a Professional Support Lawyer (PSL) to support this expansion. Our Projects Department is made up of specialists in a wide array of sectors where we have an extensive pipeline of nationally significant work work. These include renewable energy, defence, sustainable transport/infrastructure and public sector procurement.

In joining Burges Salmon, you can expect to work alongside market-leading experts, playing your part in the continued excellence of the team, by supporting our Solicitors in staying up to date with legal and technical developments.

The team is Tier 1 ranked and known for being one of the largest Projects Departments outside of London, with specialists singled out as 'leaders in their fields' (Legal 500, 2024). The Partners have a wealth of experience to impart and are very approachable and collaborative.

• Ian Salter - Head of Department
• Brioney Thomas - Partner and Head of Transport
• James Phillips - Partner and Head of Energy
• John Houlden - Partner and Head of Public Sector and Procurement
• Ross Fairley - Partner and Head of Renewable Energy
• Keith Beattie - Partner (Defence and Aviation)
• Our Projects Lawyers

What others say…

The team is Tier 1 ranked in The Legal 500 and recognised across various sectors in Chambers.

'They were impressive in their depth of experience, their ability to resource our needs at all levels and their innovate ways of offering an attractive service offering.' - The Legal 500 (2024)

Burges Salmon is unique in that it delivers the quality of service you would expect from a London City firm at Bristol rates. The team are approachable, well informed and very easy to work with.' - The Legal 500 (2024)

About the role

As a PSL, you will be an integral part of the Projects Team, working alongside the firm's wider PSL network, including those in related practice areas such as construction and planning.

This is a generalist professional support/knowledge lawyer role but the primary focus will be:

• Developing and co-ordinating a comprehensive legal training programme for our lawyers, paralegals, legal executives, trainees and apprentices. This will include identifying knowledge gaps and personally delivering and/or procuring the training; in particular concentrating on adapting training design and delivery to suit our emerging hybrid working practices
• Facilitating the sharing of knowledge within the team by encouraging the collation and dissemination of technical know-how using our knowledge management tools
• Supervising the use of online platforms and contributing your expertise to delivering innovative digital and automated solutions for our projects practice - particularly as regards contractual precedents
• Consultancy on technical legal issues and legislative or practice developments as a trusted adviser for our team
• You will have the opportunity to become involved in team and firm wide initiatives to support the firm's knowledge management and business development, in collaboration with our marketing and innovation specialists.
• This opportunity is available on a part-time basis, 1 to 2 days per week.

What you'll need

• Relevant practical experience providing regulatory and commercial legal advice on large-scale projects
• Be a strong team player, with excellent interpersonal skills
• You should have the necessary experience to debate and advise on technical legal issues and suggest practical solutions. To do so effectively we expect that ideally you will have at least 6 years relevant PQE.
• Experience of leading others to develop their skills and knowledge.
• Must be a SRA registered lawyer
• Experience working as a Professional Support Lawyer is highly desirable, but not necessary

Benefits

We're committed to finding the right person for this role and we're open to discussing flexible working, full time or part time working patterns.

It's important to us that our organisation represents the diverse community in which we operate and we encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and identities. As a Disability Confident employer we will provide a fully accessible recruitment process.