Solicitor/Senior Solicitor - Corporate & Commercial

Job Code: 26265/SH

Practice Area: Commercial

Recruitment Partner: Sam Houghton

Office: Leeds

We are one of Europe's most innovative Law firms as voted by the Financial Times.

We have won numerous awards, including being independently ranked as 1 of the top employers for working families, as well as being in the top 2 law firms for employee satisfaction.

With offices nationwide and overseas, we are growing and are looking for top talent to come on board and be part of our success.

We are seeking to recruit a Solicitor or Senior Solicitor into the Commercial team based in Leeds, although they will assist the wider team nationally. It is preferable that the successful candidate will be trained and qualified in a leading private practice firm, either a national firm or niche IT/IP practice. We can offer access to high-quality work with a range of clients operating across a wide-range of industries and sectors, including, retail, food, technology, financial services and insurance. We provide a supportive and collegiate working environment within a well-established Commercial / IP team of a dynamic, fast-growing Top 20 firm. We will look at candidates who have upwards of 4 years' qualified experience.

The post-holder will undertake a mixed caseload of non-contentious commercial / IT work in relation to a range of commercial contracts including:
Outsourcing agreements Distribution agreements Agency agreements Supply agreements IT agreements (software licences, maintenance, escrow, SaaS, hosting arrangements, reseller, open-source etc.) E-commerce issues Data protection B2C issues including distance selling regulations/consumer rights legislation Competition Law
Person Specification
Excellent drafting skills and first-rate technical knowledge are a pre-requisite for this role. Experience of providing Commercial/IT/IP/Data Protection support in the context of corporate transactions would be advantageous (due diligence, negotiating warranties and advising on TSAs). Experience of non-contentious IP and/or franchising would be advantageous but not essential. Sector experience of working within one or more of education / retail / food / technology / financial services / insurance would be advantageous but not essential.
Whilst support will be provided the applicants must be able to work independently and have experience of effectively supervising junior members of the team. The role is mainly Leeds based, but the successful candidate will provide support to other DWF offices and therefore some travel may be required depending on workloads within the national team and client requirements.

Main function of job

To deliver expertise within area of specialty, contributing actively to practice area targets and assessing risk where necessary. To coach and delegate as required and manage client expectations to ensure high levels of service delivery both internally and externally.

Relationships

a. Responsible to: Partner

b. Liaison with: All levels of employees within the Commercial team, Corporate & Banking Practice Group, DWF and clients.

Main Duties
Maintain an understanding of the latest developments in relevant field of expertise and to regularly seek to update skills in addition to and outside of the CPD process. Be accountable for individual and team financial management ensuring a pro-active approach is taken to meeting individual and team targets. Raise individual profile and that of DWF LLP through coverage in the legal press and DWF promotional material, assisting to maximise own revenue with existing clients through the introduction of clients to other practice groups where applicable. Support others to deliver their objectives, giving relevant guidance and assisting in relevant development for the individual/s when necessary. To look outside of the Firm for new ways of working and seek to continually challenge and improve internal working practices through the professional application of skills and knowledge. Develop strong internal and external working relationships based on trust and respect, ensuring there is regular communication within the practice group and with the external client. Understand the relevant marketplace and identify what opportunities and risks exist and how DWF can exploit or prepare for them. Maintain visibility and accessibility across the team and manage client relationships during delivery of service.
The above is not an exhaustive list of duties and you will be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by your changing role within the organisation and the overall business objectives of the organisation.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at DWF

Nurturing talent is very important to us. We are committed to equal opportunities in all areas of work and business. We want people to achieve their best, which will positively impact on our clients and communities in which we live and work. At DWF we empower people to be themselves within an inclusive and supportive environment, enabling everyone to achieve their full potential in line with their abilities and career aspirations.

Disability Support

As an inclusive employer, DWF wants to see every candidate performing at their best. Please log in to Clear Talents at to tell us what reasonable adjustments you may need and to discover how we might improve your recruitment experience, examples of reasonable adjustments could include: additional time for exercises, a hearing induction loop, a request for information in an alternative format. DWF are committed to an ongoing programme of improvements to provide access to all.

To apply, please click 'apply now' and provide the job reference number 26265/SH

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Sam Houghton on

Salary: . Date posted: 22/03/2017