About the Role
Balfour Beatty has an exciting opportunity for a Legal Counsel to join our growing team in Scotland. As part of the UK business-facing legal team, you will deliver a proactive legal service to support Balfour Beatty by providing professional guidance, pragmatic advice and practical support on legal and compliance issues.
What you'll be doing
Overview
* Responsibility at all stages of the lifecycle of our construction projects including reviewing and negotiating construction contracts, PCGs, warranties and bonds, advising on contract administration queries such as extensions of time and loss and expense claims, and advising in relation to dispute management and resolution.
* Act autonomously in analysing and solving problems within established working procedures.
Stakeholder Management
* Build and maintain relationships with managers and employees to ensure the UK Legal team remains responsive to business needs and expectations.
* Under the supervision of the Managing Counsel or Senior Counsel, engage and manage agreed panel law firms to deal with specific legal issues as required.
* Carry out contract reviews in accordance with UK policies and procedures and provide commercial and pragmatic advice in a timely manner.
* Advise and assist UK businesses in negotiating and drafting contract terms and conditions with clients, partners, supply chain members and other stakeholders.
* Advise and assist UK businesses in the formation, negotiation and drafting of professional services appointments and other key business documentation requiring legal support and input.
Dispute Management & Resolution
* Provide legal support in relation to all forms of dispute management and resolution.
* Conduct or assist with adjudications or other forms of ADR as directed by the Managing Counsel or Senior Counsel and engage and manage panel law firms for mediation, litigation or arbitration.
Bonds, Parent Company Guarantees and Warranties
* Review the wording of bonds, guarantees and warranties in accordance with UK and Balfour Beatty Group policies and provide timely advice.
* Liaise with UK Commercial, Treasury and Group Legal teams to procure bonds and parent company guarantees.
Training
* Deliver discrete legal training for the legal team and SBUs.
* Stay up to date with new and changing legislation.
* Maintain own CPD.
Support for Organisational Agenda
* Ensure personal compliance with all regulations and company policies.
* Support delivery of the Ethics & Compliance agenda.
Who we're looking for
Qualifications / Experience
* Qualified solicitor/barrister; ideally not less than two years PQE, with consideration for less experienced candidates displaying requisite skills.
* Knowledge and experience of the construction/infrastructure industry.
Personal qualities
* Good organisational skills; self‑starter, prioritises own work and delivers independently to deadline.
* Commercial acumen: understands business drivers.
* Problem solving: solutions‑orientated, pragmatic.
* Teamwork: builds productive relationships within the Legal team and within SBUs.
* Strong verbal and written communication, able to influence and persuade.
* Contributes to client meetings; presents positions to SBUs in non‑legalistic ways, clearly distilling complex technical concepts into business terms.
* Negotiation: effective negotiator, robust but flexible approach.
* Forward looking: looks for ways to innovate and improve ways of working.
Why work for us
Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK's most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.
About Us
At Balfour Beatty we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, we are growing our diverse workforce and developing our inclusive culture where everyone is able to thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. To find out how we are making this a reality, visit www.balfourbeatty.com/diversityandinclusion.
We are members of WISE, ENEI, Business Disability Forum and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE). In 2020, we signed the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter to demonstrate our commitment to taking key long‑term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. Balfour Beatty is also a Gold Award holder in the Ministry of Defence “Employer Recognition Scheme” and actively encourages applications from Armed Forces personnel, veterans and reservists.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to working with people who have disabilities and long‑term health conditions to remove barriers. We also encourage applicants with a disability to request an interview if they meet the minimum requirements. For more info, visit https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/.
We are constantly improving our resourcing process to ensure fairness and inclusivity. If you have feedback, please share it at candidaterecruitmentqueries@balfourbeatty.com.
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