This is an excellent opportunity to join our full service national Construction and Engineering team.  Following continued growth in client instructions, and in response to client demand, we are looking to grow our contentious construction team. 

Ideally we are looking for you to work in either our London or Southampton offices and we can accommodate hybrid working or office based working. 

What does the team do?

We provide the full range of dispute resolution and transactional advice, delivering a seamless service to our clients encompassing everything from large complex international infrastructure projects to domestic construction contracts.  Our work is varied and diverse providing specialist construction advice to an exciting and high profile list of clients.  Our clients include central government departments, many household name retailers, utility providers including water, oil and gas, Tier 1 and other large contractors and developers, housebuilders and social housing providers, universities and educational establishments, defence contractors, banks and insolvency practitioners.

The disputes we advise on arise out of a broad range of construction and engineering projects, including defending and bringing claims for delay disruption, loss and expense, defective workmanship materials and design to the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) and advising clients in relation to adjudications, arbitrations all forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution and insurance related issues.  

We would expect the candidates to have experience of defending and bringing proceedings in the TCC and under the Pre-Action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes, adjudication, mediation and dispute avoidance and risk avoidance. All candidates can expect a varied caseload within a close knit team headed up by experienced and pro-active partners.

What experience are you looking for?

We're looking for you to bring upwards of a years' previous experience of working within construction disputes.  You'll need strong academic ability, a thorough approach to complex legal analysis with swift assimilation of complicated sets of facts.  Your written advice will be fluent and concise and your high level of commerciality will enable you to address the client's overall objectives. Strong interpersonal skills will give you the ability to deal diplomatically and effectively with the different interests of our clients.

As important however will be the ability to work with and alongside a range of colleagues, across locations, as most of the projects we deal with involve multi-disciplinary teams. This is an exciting time to join this team and the role offers an unrivalled opportunity to learn from the best, to develop a career in a growing specialism, and to be mentored and supervised in a supportive environment.

Who are we?

A Top 100 law firm globally and Top 20 law firm in the UK, Womble Bond Dickinson has more than 400 partners and 1,000 lawyers based across 19 US cities and seven UK cities including a significant presence in London. The firm's reach also extends to Europe where it has strategic partnerships with other law firms in Germany and France.

In the UK, Womble Bond Dickinson advises in excess of 40 FTSE 350 companies, many of the largest businesses in the country, government organisations and wealthy individuals. With a focus on eleven key sectors (Energy & Natural Resources; Financial Institutions; Healthcare;  Insurance, Manufacturing;  Real Estate; Retail and Consumer; Transport, Logistics & Infrastructure; Life Sciences & Pharmaceuticals; Technology and Private Wealth) the firm's experience allows it to build strong relationships and deliver an excellent service to clients.

What makes it great to work here?

We continually work hard to create an open culture that sets us apart from other firms. Our culture gives us much more of a human feel, emphasising that we're more than just suits!  We like and make time for each other enabling us to establish professional relationships that can often become lasting friendships. 

Through our D&I initiatives we create an environment in which difference is valued.  We have a Diversity and Inclusion Group, led by our Board Sponsor, which works with our colleague networks (we currently have firm supported networks for ethnic diversity, LGBTQ+ and for families, and we're in constant dialogue with our people about how we expand our networks to better support everybody).  We encourage applicants from all social backgrounds, ethnicities, disabilities, gender identities and sexual orientations.

As signatories to the Mindful Business Charter, it's important that our people are able to maintain healthy and happy lives, both in and out of work.  We have a number of resources and initiatives designed to support health and wellbeing, including our team of dedicated mental health first aiders.  We recognise that getting the right work life balance is a priority for all of us and we're very happy to talk flexible working, full-time or part-time working patterns.  We also recognise the challenges of relocation and post-pandemic return to the office.

And that's not all, alongside a competitive salary you'll receive a flexible benefits package so you can choose and vary the benefits that matter most to you.

Next steps

If this sounds like your next career move then please get in touch to find out more. No agencies please, we're an in-house recruitment team!

If this isn't the role for you (or the right time) why not connect with us on LinkedIn or follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@WBD_CareersUK) to keep up to date with all of our opportunities.  We also have a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/womblebonddickinsoncareers/)