Partner ​/ Legal Director

About us Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals and over 600 staff based in Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups:
Real Estate, Corporate Services, Dispute Resolution and Private Client. We are defined by our Next Level Law proposition. We work with our clients as a proactive partner, horizon scanning and thinking ahead to the changes, challenges or opportunities that they may face. Next Level Law is also applied to our people. Our collegiate culture means everyone is encouraged to achieve their next level in everything they do.

Roll On Friday  recently ranked us as the 6th best law firm to work at in 2026. With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 42% of our partnership.

The team you will join Our Residential Real Estate team at Birketts is one of the largest and most diverse practices in the UK which is both award-winning and recognised at the highest level of its profession. The team work collaboratively across the Birketts’ offices adopting a “one team” approach in everything they do, with client service at the heart of the practice.

We have 65 team members across six offices, with Bristol being the most recent addition. Despite being such a large team, spread across six counties, we have a unified vision and shared culture which allows our team members to thrive and achieve their goals.

We have a vacancy for a forward-thinking Team Leader to join the practice with a focus on rapid expansion within the local residential real estate market. The work you will be doing You will be responsible for establishing and managing a new team with a focus on technical-excellence, outstanding client service and business development. You will be an active contributor to the core management group within the Residential Real Estate team across all offices which is responsible for team strategy and the employee experience.

As the Team Lead in Bristol, you will be an active contributor to the success of the office including establishing internal connections and being an ambassador of the Birketts’ culture. Responsibilities will include:
To actively develop the business through existing and new connections To establish and thereafter grow the geographical team to become self-sustaining To explore new work types and opportunities for diversification To provide a vital interface between the team members and the management of the considerable overall team To be responsible for day to day management of team members at all levels including recruitment, performance management, managing staff absences and holidays, technical matters that arise on a daily basis, overall team financial and compliance management and motivating the team to perform to the highest standards To instil the Birketts’ culture and brand signatures and values throughout the team To be the initial point of escalation for client feedback including effective first point of contact for complaints handling To be involved in the strategic management of the overall team and take on projects for the whole team, under the direction and leadership of the Residential Real Estate Partners To act for a range of clients from high end individuals to corporate entities on a diverse range of residential property matters To work alongside and develope relationships with high end property finders, estate agents and brokers To oversee and be responsible for the training of junior team members Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role.

You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested. What we are looking for The role will suit…