Central England

Planning, Highways & Environment

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Solicitor / Associate

About The Role

Northampton | Central England | Real Estate - Planning

If you’re a Planning lawyer who wants proper breadth, genuine exposure to specialists, and the chance to shape a niche (rather than just service one), this is the role.

We’re a leading Top 50 UK law firm with one of the largest and most respected Real Estate teams in the country. Our Planning capability has recently been strengthened through the merger/integration of Aardvark Planning into our Planning, Highways & Environment practice, meaning we now offer a more competitive, specialist planning proposition on a larger, multi‑disciplinary platform

Why this role, and why now?

Our Planning, Highways & Environment team is led by Laura Greenman and has grown to five Partners, with senior expertise based in our Central England office and supporting clients across the wider firm.

The addition of Sebastian Charles and Jane Burgess as Partners from specialist firm Aardvark Planning Law strengthens the bench and deepens the team’s technical depth across planning, highways and environment

For you, that means: more variety, better mentorship, and a clearer route to building a profile, whether you want to become the “go‑to” on a technical sub‑specialism or broaden into a full development‑lifecycle adviser.

The opportunity

We’re looking for an NQ–5 PQE Solicitor/Associate to join the Planning team in Northampton. You’ll work closely with our Partners on a varied caseload spanning planning, highways and environmental matters, across both contentious and non‑contentious workstreams.

This is a role for someone who enjoys:

being close to the action on live development projects
getting into the detail on planning strategy and risk
and working collaboratively with colleagues across Real Estate and the wider firm to deliver the best outcomes for clients

What you’ll do

You’ll advise across the breadth of planning, including:

Contentious and non‑contentious planning matters, with exposure to highways and environmental issues.
Negotiating and advising on planning/highways agreements and helping clients progress developments where legal issues may be obstructing delivery.
Supporting on matters involving the threat of compulsory purchase and related planning considerations.
Developing your technical knowledge and sharing it across the wider team through collaborative working and knowledge‑sharing.
Spotting opportunities for cross‑referral and participating in business development activity to help grow the practice.

Why you’ll enjoy it here

This is a platform role. With the combined structure and expertise of the merged team, you’ll be supported to:

build on a varied offering (rather than being boxed into one lane)
carve out niche expertise over time (whether technical, sector-based, or client-type focused)
collaborate with industry and sector specialists across the firm to broaden your knowledge and accelerate your development
grow your confidence with clients and develop your own style as a trusted adviser

And you’ll do it in a supportive, flexible and collegiate environment, with senior access and proper mentoring.

About You

About you

NQ–5 years’ PQE

Some prior exposure to planning law (seat experience welcomed)

Strong drafting skills and a good technical foundation

A collaborative approach and the ability to build strong internal and external relationships

Commercial awareness and an interest in supporting BD activity

A proactive, organised mindset with strong attention to detail

Ready to build something?

If you’re looking for a role that combines quality work, senior support, and a genuine opportunity to shape your career in planning on a stronger, expanded platform — we’d like to hear from you.

About Us

Benefits of working with us:

• Income Protection

• Private Medical Insurance

• Sight tests / Glasses discounts

• Bonus scheme
• Electric vehicle scheme
• International secondments for 0-5 PQE

• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme

• 28 days annual leave (plus public holidays)
• Happy People / Perks at Work benefits portal
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Life Assurance
• 1/3 gym membership contribution
• Flu vaccinations

Is HCR the smart move for you?
HCR suits people who love a challenge and want to work in an environment where careers thrive on the back of hard work and personal merit. Our people enjoy feeling part of something bigger than themselves, and whilst our clients drive our development, it is our people who bring their energy, enthusiasm, and entrepreneurial mindsets together to solve problems and help our clients succeed.

Why HCR people love their jobs
Our people tell us they enjoy working on good quality, interesting matters from a wide variety of our clients, because they get the experience they want to develop their careers. We will give you responsibility early, the mandate to make things happen and we’ll back your good ideas. Our “Passion for People” lives and breathes every day throughout the firm as our peoples’ energy and sense of fun create a warm environment in which to thrive.

What career progression will HCR offer you?
HCR’s growth constantly creates opportunities for people who want to go places and make a difference, your career plan can become part of our growth plan. At HCR you can expect to work with friendly, energetic, ambitious people, who love getting stuck into a client problem, and enjoy celebrating a good outcome. Our people value the sense of community provided by the individual personality of each office and the collegiate approach across all our service and sector teams.

What does HCR believe, achieve and stand for?
As a Times Best Law firm, among the UK Top 50, we provide the full range of services that you would expect to organisations, business leaders and individuals. However, in our mission to give everyone the opportunity to experience a different kind of legal service we take an entrepreneurial approach. We’re flexible and responsive to the needs of our clients, delivering the best outcomes for them. We have more than 1000 lawyers and support staff, including more than 180 partners, and have been awarded the Law Society’s Lexcel quality mark in recognition of our compliance and client care standards.

With 13 offices in England and Wales our well-established presence stretches from west to east, ensuring clients can access a full-service legal offering no matter where they’re located. We’ve expanded significantly across all our regions, and are well-respected as a regional firm with a strong London and international presence.

With solid connections in the communities we work in, and a track record of delivering legal advice to businesses and individuals throughout the areas we base ourselves in, our clients continue to value our approach to providing legal advice, in the way they need, when they need it.

As HCR is an equal opportunities employer, we don’t just accept differences, we celebrate them. We want to attract a diverse and ambitious workforce that reflects all backgrounds and skills to create a workplace that is supportive and inclusive, recognises and nurtures talent, and which works together to achieve the best outcome for our clients. We are privileged to be an armed forces-friendly organisation.

We also want you to achieve your absolute best during the recruitment process. Please let us know of any changes we can make at any point that will help support your application. If this opportunity sounds of interest to you, please make an application and submit your CV.

A note for recruitment agencies – The HCR Resourcing Team is responsible for recruitment across the firm, and where possible will use direct hiring methods. We do work with a Preferred Supplier List, and where appropriate, we will release vacancies to those agencies who we deem most appropriate to support us. Only those agencies will be invited to submit candidates via our recruitment portal. Any speculative or unsolicited CVs sent to any employee or Partner of HCR will not be considered an introduction, and no fees will be applicable. Furthermore, we retain the right to pursue these candidates without query of ownership

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