Our national commercial team brings together our general commercial, digital, IP, energy and renewables and projects and procurement teams.  Representing an impressive range of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 clients, public sector organisations, educational institutions and industry bodies, on high-profile, business-critical projects and regulatory matters, the team plays a vital role in helping clients build growth and success.   The team (one of the largest and most successful of its type) comprises sector specialists across a broad range of industries including advanced manufacturing, life sciences, aerospace and defence, energy and renewables, transport and logistics and international trade, amongst others. Our lawyers are located across our network of UK offices and includes nationally recognised leaders in their field.  The team also works alongside our US colleagues on international transactions and projects, and as a Lex Mundi member firm we work with other member firms across the world on international projects for our clients. Working together with our multidisciplinary teams we also provide a blend of City presence and local knowledge to foreign inward investors needing assistance in the UK.

To support our enviable pipeline of projects we have an opportunity for a 3+ to senior PQE commercial contracts lawyer to join the team, working from our offices in Newcastle, Teesside or Leeds.

What does the team do?

We advise on the full range of contractual arrangements associated with strategic projects and day-to-day business across a broad range of industries. We have a particular focus on supporting advanced manufacturing companies, ranging from the operators of major process plant through to highly specialised life sciences supply chain businesses. We help with procurement and supply chain management, product development and routes to market. We are especially active in relation to energy transition and decarbonisation projects and productivity improvement initiatives.         

You'll see yourself involved as part of the team in all aspects of transactions and projects including advising on contract strategy, drafting and negotiation, some data protection (supported by our privacy specialists) and risk management. 

It's an exciting time to join.  You'll be part of a diverse group of professionals who believe in supporting one another while embracing creativity along the way, as we explore innovative ways to deliver our advice and assistance. You will work closely with clients' in-house legal teams and provide an in-house style of support for businesses who don't have their own internal lawyers. You will work alongside our team members who have worked in industry for many years, meaning your day-to-day workload is like in-house, but you will act for a broad mix of clients, which keeps things fresh, and you can work in conjunction with a wide range of specialists covering other areas when support is needed.  

You will help us grow the work we do on multi-jurisdictional projects. From our base in the North of England you will work on large scale industrial projects for multi-national corporations as well as supporting rapidly expanding scale-up businesses and SMEs. You will have the opportunity to help businesses in our region and across the UK break into new markets, in particular the USA and Saudi Arabia. The role also includes the opportunity to work on international secondments.     

What does the ideal candidate look like?

We're looking to recruit a lawyer with 3 years + post qualification experience in commercial contracts gained at a City or large regional firm or in-house.  The team has a particular focus on working with international clients so experience of import and export would be very helpful.  Experience of tech, IP and data protection would be beneficial but not essential. Whatever your experience level you'll need excellent drafting and communication skills, have a genuine enthusiasm for the practice area and the aspiration to deliver a first-class service to our clients.

To be successful in this role, you'll need as a minimum:

• Have at least 3 years of post-qualified experience in commercial contracts as a UK (England, Wales or Scotland) Solicitor.
• Demonstrated experience in a commercial environment, with the practical application of all aspects of contract law gained at a city or large regional firm, or from a suitable in-house position.
• Expertise in complex and high-profile transactions, including supply chain management, procurement/outsourcing, research and development and the supply of goods and services through a range of sales channels.
• The ability to deliver complex advice in a coherent and practical way that is easy for non-lawyers to understand.

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!

As signatories to the Mindful Business Charter, it's important to us 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 and we're very happy to talk flexible working, full-time or part-time working patterns.

Through our DEI initiatives we create an environment in which difference is valued. We have an Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Group, led by our Board Sponsor, which works with our colleague networks (we currently have firm supported networks for race, ethnicity, and cultural heritage, LGBTQ+, disabilities, families, and women's career development and we're in constant dialogue with our people about how we expand our networks to better support everybody). Find out more about ED&I at WBD here. We encourage applicants from all social backgrounds, ethnicities, disabilities, gender identities and sexual orientations.

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long term condition and need us to make any adjustments to give you the best possible recruitment process, please let us know by contacting the recruiter on the right hand side of this page. Please also let us know if you need this job advert or the application form in a different format.

We will offer an interview to candidates with a disability or long-term condition who meet the minimum criteria for this role. You can opt into this scheme within the application form. Your response to this question is only used for this purpose, is only visible to the recruitment team and is not used for data monitoring. 

We are an in-house recruitment team and will always aim to fill our roles directly in the first instance. If you're an agency, please click here for ways that you can work with us.