About this role
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. RollOnFriday 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 45% of our partnership.
The team you will join
Our Commercial and Technology team sits within the wider Corporate Division. The team work extensively with technology clients to assist in their growth and development. They have vast experience of restructuring, establishing tax efficient, and robust corporate structures for early stage and developing technology businesses.
The team regularly advise on angel and venture capital funding for both investors and investees and our lawyers assist technology businesses on securing, protecting and exploiting their intellectual property.
The team assist our technology clients grow and exploit their businesses through licensing agreements, manufacturing agreements, research and development projects, joint ventures, cloud computing, e-commerce solutions while ensuring they meet their statutory and regulatory obligations.
The work you will be doing
We are looking to recruit an Associate into the Commercial and Data Protection Team, with between three and five years of PQE, who have the drive and commitment to assist Birketts’ in the continued growth and development of our firmwide corporate practice and to become an essential member of the Data Protection team.
As a Data Protection Solicitor, you will advise clients on UK GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018, Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, and related privacy and electronics communications laws. You’ll support businesses in developing and maintaining data protection compliance, responding to data incidents, and conducting training, working within a commercially-driven and fast-paced environment.
This is an excellent opportunity for motivated and ambitious individuals to join a successful and friendly Data Protection team, in a growing firm which enjoys an excellent reputation, and with excellent career progression opportunities.
You will:
Provide expert legal advice on UK data protection regulations across a variety of industries.
Develop and implement data protection policies, procedures, and frameworks aligned with UK data privacy legislation.
Review and negotiate data processing/data sharing agreements, data transfer mechanisms, and vendor contracts.
Lead responses to individual rights requests, data breaches, and other data incidents, ensuring prompt reporting and remediation.
Deliver privacy impact assessments (PIAs/DPIAs), compliance audits, and risk assessments.
Run training sessions and awareness campaigns to educate client teams on privacy obligations.
Keep abreast of legislative and regulatory changes, advising on emerging trends and best practices.
Support cross-border and international data protection matters, including EU, Middle East, and global projects where relevant.
Drafting and negotiating on relevant legal documents and correspondence tailored to the client’s individual needs and requirements.
Acting as a key point of contact for clients, building trusted relationships, and identifying opportunities to add value.
Participating in marketing and networking initiatives.
Ownership of personal financial performance, demonstrating accountability and a commercial mindset.
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
Birketts has designed a 'Talent Management Framework' which provides a career structure that will help us develop, retain and reward talented people. As an Associate, we typically expect candidates to have between 3-6 years PQE.
Applies strong legal and commercial judgement, researches precedents effectively, and drafts complex documents with appropriate senior guidanceManages time recording, billing support and workload efficiently to meet financial targets and maximise fee recoveryActively supports business development through events, pitches and networking, building profile and identifying opportunities via firm and client relationshipsDelivers high-quality client service with minimal supervision, providing timely, accurate advice and demonstrating strong understanding of client needs and prioritiesConsistently meets compliance requirements by completing reviews and reports on time, adhering to risk management best practices, understanding Lexcel standards, and completing all mandatory trainingStrong attention to detail to produce work documentation which is consistently of a high standardProfessional integrity and a commitment to providing excellent client serviceExperience of using knowhow sources (such as Practical Law, FromCounsel etc) to carry out discrete research projectsTo be competent in using Microsoft Word, Excel, time recording software, case management, Outlook and digital dictationProfessional certifications (e.g., IAPP CIPP/E) are desirable, though not mandatory. Any information provided in relation to PQE should be used for guidance only and will not be determinative in the recruitment decision. Applicants will be considered on their individual merits.
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