Let us introduce ourselves… Shakespeare Martineau is a Top 55 law firm that combines creativity, commerciality and clarity. We work with blue-chip companies, leading organisations, high street brands and individuals across the country. As enterprising and original thinkers, we’re driven to create exceptional experiences for our clients and our people. We handle personal and business-critical issues and game-changing deals across many dynamic sectors. It’s stimulating and rewarding. We’re hardworking and deeply ambitious about creating opportunities for our employees; to move forward and achieve our ambition together. We provide an environment in which you’re supported to reach your potential. Our people have a blend of excellent technical and business skills with the talent to do things differently. Here you’ll find top quality work, cutting edge training, high profile clients, and supportive colleagues. We think it could be time you joined us. Meet the team Our Litigation & Dispute Resolution group has a long-standing experience of working with some of the most successful and influential businesses in the UK and also internationally. Our specialist teams combine expertise with a sound understanding of the commercial landscape to provide exceptional solutions for every aspect of our clients’ corporate requirements. Our Agriculture and Disputes team in Stratford-upon-Avon represents clients ranging from individuals to private companies and landed estates. We advise and act on rural property transactions of all kinds, from farm sales and purchases to promotion and option agreements. We are specialised in advising farm partnerships and work with accountants to ensure consistency of approach. We act on a wide range of commercial litigation disputes and agricultural cases. Our litigators and non-litigators are part of the same team and work closely together. The team handles a wide variety of disputes including those arising from partnerships and contracts as well professional negligence claims and agriculture related business and property disputes. We are the NFU panel firm for Warwickshire and Worcestershire and receive referrals of work from NFU accordingly. What you will be doing: We are looking for an Associate to join our Stratford-based Agriculture & Disputes team. We are expanding our agricultural offering and are seeking an innovative and talented lawyer to develop expertise in this specialty and support our plans to grow. You will work within your team to provide a quality service to clients in non-contentious agricultural property and advisory matters; the role will involve a high degree of client contact. Your key duties will be: providing assistance on a broad caseload of straightforward and complex agriculture matters working with the team on our business development activities working closely with a range of clients to provide fast, pragmatic and commercial advice running cases efficiently and cost-effectively within strict service level agreements, as required by clients working with marketing strategies to attract new clients and developing relationships with current clients handling queries and enquiries efficiently maintaining good file management working to strict deadlines What you will need: Previous experience dealing with non-contentious agriculture property and advisory matters (although experienced candidates with a mix of agricultural property and commercial property experience will be considered) 0-5 Years PQE strong IT skills a proven track record of business development Key competencies you will need: to be personable and have experience of dealing with a broad range of clients to be willing to attend marketing/networking events and contribute to marketing publications to develop the profile of the team a high degree of initiative and the ability to cope in a demanding environment excellent organisational and prioritising skills the ability to work in a busy team excellent communication skills About you – you will be: highly enthusiastic, willing to the extra mile and be happy to go beyond the job description possess strong interpersonal skills and have a positive, willing and ‘can do’ attitude keen to learn, interested in driving your own career progression and be proactive in taking ownership of this Benefits, Agile Working and Additional information We embrace agile working and offer a blended approach to where and how we work. We appreciate that people have different needs and preferences and we’re keen to be flexible, after all, we value what you do, not where you do it. We have hubs in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leicester, London, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Solihull, Southampton, Stratford-upon-Avon, Lincoln and Sheffield. Want to find out more about our amazing benefits? Additional information: Please be aware, for some vacancies, where we receive high numbers of applications we may need to bring the close date forward. Due to the nature of the work undertaken, confirmation of employment will be subject to a variety of checks which will be carried out once an offer of employment is accepted. Details of the checks can be found here. Equal opportunities Shakespeare Martineau is a committed equal opportunities employer. We seek to attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures. We value and respect individuality and encourage a culture within our business where people can be themselves and be valued for their strengths and experiences. Everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, regardless of their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, sexual orientation or religious beliefs. About Shakespeare Martineau Welcome to Shakespeare Martineau, where we're more than just a full-service law firm. With over 1100 specialists, including lawyers and business support professionals, we're committed to unlocking potential in our people and clients, inspiring confidence, growth, and development. Our purpose is clear: we provide creative solutions and advice that help individuals and businesses achieve their commercial and personal goals. But what truly sets us apart is our focus on building lasting relationships and championing our clients, ensuring they receive the best possible business and personal advice. At Shakespeare Martineau, it's our people who make us special. We understand what our team members want and give them the support they need to succeed. Recognising everyone's contribution and harnessing the unique power of teams, we work together to achieve success. Diversity is at the heart of our firm. We actively build and develop diverse teams, bringing together different backgrounds, personalities, and perspectives to deliver amazing solutions for our clients. We believe in playing to our strengths, constantly striving to improve, and empowering our teams with individual responsibility for their own learning and growth. Join us at Shakespeare Martineau and become a valued member of a team where we unlock your potential, appreciate your contributions, and achieve success together. As part of Ampa, we are part of a large multi-brand group, all of our brands are linked by a shared purpose and set of values that brings about a positive, inclusive and diverse work culture - helping everyone achieve their ambitions.