A fantastic opportunity for an employment lawyer, most likely at Associate level, to join our small and supportive team in Watford. Legal 500 rated, with an impressive portfolio of clients, we're looking for an enthusiastic lawyer with a mixture of contentious and non-contentious expertise.
About Us
We're a Top 100 full-service UK law firm with just over 600 employees. With four offices in Watford, London, Bristol and Birmingham, you'll be struck by our close-knit and friendly culture. We believe in integrity and authenticity- in each one of us being ourselves both in our interactions with each other as well as with our clients. Enjoying a reputation not just for the quality of our work but also for the qualities of our people, we strive to recruit people who are proactive and passionate about what they do and able to demonstrate humour and humility in equal measure.
The Role and Team
With this role, you can finally have the best of both worlds- the opportunity to make a big impact in a small employment team in Watford, yet enjoy the benefits of being part of a large department, working closely with employment colleagues within other offices. As a Watford team of two Partners, Rebecca Fox and Michael Delaney, an Associate, a Solicitor, a Trainee and a Secretary, there's an open door for someone at Associate or Senior Associate level to add value to the team.
The most striking feature of our role is the variety and quality of work. You'll enjoy all the generalist areas of employment law you'd expect from a firm of our size from advising on employee relations issues, discrimination, employment contracts and TUPE through to defending complex employment tribunals. Your clients will come from many interesting sectors such as manufacturing, finance, recruitment, pharmaceuticals, energy and education and be based in the regions, wider UK and overseas, so you'll relish the fact that no two days will be the same. Although the bulk of the work is respondent based, we do a small proportion of high value claimant work, although you do not need experience in this to apply. We'd welcome applications from those with advocacy experience, although again this isn't essential.
As employment law involves supporting corporate deals and wider projects within the firm, you'll naturally find the role to be sociable and interactive. You'll have a love of team endeavour and enjoy working collaboratively with your colleagues across the offices, helping to provide our clients with the seamless "one stop shop" service for which, here at VWV, we are renowned. This is a highly successful team that mirrors the firm's human approach. We understand the need for flexibility in our working lives and we champion the need for our people to enjoy their time outside of their working day as well as within it.
Where Will I Be Working?
At VWV we have a truly unique and engaging culture that we hold dear. We work hard but we also love to have fun and we recognise that it's the social interaction between us that really shapes our culture.
Whilst we work to a hybrid model, for this role we would like you to work from our Watford office for 2-3 days of the week. In this way, you'll benefit first-hand from our warm and friendly culture as well as facilitate cross referral opportunities from your colleagues in other teams. We are of course happy to discuss any specific requirements of hybrid working with candidates on an individual basis.
Why Choose Us?
There are so many reasons to stop and explore VWV further. We're known for our friendly and welcoming culture where teamwork and collaboration are key. There's no pigeon-holing or glass ceilings here, just a professional yet relaxed culture where you can finally be yourself.
At VWV, we're committed to your growth with our bespoke Learning Academy, offering structured career-level programs across core business areas to prepare you for promotion opportunities and career advancement - join us to unlock your full potential.
We're striving to be an inclusive employer of choice, to create a workplace environment that promotes and values diversity, where everyone, regardless of background, can reach their full potential. During the assessment process we've supported a range of reasonable adjustments in the past though we continue to learn and evolve to create the best possible candidate experience for everyone. If you'd like to discuss what's possible — even if you're not sure what you might need — please reach out to our recruiter, who'll be happy to talk through options and share what's worked well for others.
Not Sure Whether To Apply?
Making the next career move is one that can feel immensely daunting and we've all been there! It's more than likely you'll have one or two questions on the role or firm before you feel happy to apply. If so, please contact me, Emma Latchem-Hughes, Talent Acquisition Advisor, in complete confidence on 07340 632798 or elatchem-hughes@vwv.co.uk and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Ready to join us?
Whilst we're renowned for our transparent and welcoming culture, we know that making the next career move can be daunting. We've all been there! To help you to get more of a flavour for life at VWV and to find out what our own people say about us, we invite you to watch this short video on the right-hand side. If you feel ready to apply, then please click on the red "Apply Now" button at the foot of the advert.
Research shows that people from diverse backgrounds sometimes hesitate to apply unless they meet every requirement. At VWV, we believe potential and attitude are just as important as experience so if you're enthusiastic about this role, we'd love to hear from you.
Recruitment agencies
We're in a period of exclusive direct sourcing for this role and are not accepting applications from agencies. We politely request therefore that you do not send candidates through. Any named or anonymised profile or CV sent to us will be deemed an unsolicited approach and treated as a gift.
