Employment Senior Associate/Legal Director - 5+ PQE

Overview

Are You Becoming Better Or Just Becoming Busier? If you're an Employment Solicitor with 5+ years' PQE, there comes a point where the quality of your work matters less than the quality of your career.

You know the law. You can run Employment Tribunal litigation. You understand the commercial realities behind workplace disputes. The question is whether your current firm is giving you the platform to become the lawyer you want to be.

A respected commercial law firm in Edinburgh is looking to appoint an experienced Employment Lawyer at Senior Associate or Principal Associate level to join a well-established national team with an outstanding reputation for advising employers across a broad range of sectors. This is far more than a tribunal-focused role.

Responsibilities

• Advise businesses on complex employee relations issues, unfair dismissal, discrimination, TUPE, restructures, redundancy programmes, executive exits and day-to-day strategic employment law matters.
• Draft contracts of employment, service agreements, policies and workplace documentation while advising clients navigating difficult commercial decisions.
• Collaborate with colleagues in the corporate, commercial and restructuring teams on business acquisitions, reorganisations and other transactions where employment law advice plays a pivotal role.
• Deliver client training, contribute to seminars and strengthen long-term relationships with businesses that value practical, commercially focused advice.
• Develop and mentor junior colleagues and contribute to the growth of the Employment team; build your own profile within the Scottish legal market.
• Manage Employment Tribunal cases from instruction through to conclusion and provide pragmatic, employer-focused advice on complex workplace issues.
• Support the firm's flexible, collaborative culture with hybrid working and a focus on practical, high-quality work.

Qualifications and Skills

• Extensive experience managing Employment Tribunal cases from instruction to conclusion.
• Strong advisory capability for employers on complex workplace issues; pragmatic, commercially focused solutions.
• Advocacy experience is welcomed but not essential.
• Ability to build trusted client relationships, communicate clearly and influence business decisions.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams on mergers, acquisitions and reorganisations where employment law plays a pivotal role.

About the Firm / Benefits

Hybrid working is well established; the firm values flexibility and collaboration. Career progression is earned through ability rather than time served. The quality of work is consistently high and the team values commercial judgment alongside technical excellence.

How to Apply

If you're looking for your next move as an Employment Solicitor in Edinburgh and want to combine high-quality employer-side work with genuine long-term progression, we'd be delighted to tell you more. For a confidential discussion, get in touch with Neil Campbell at QED Legal.