Job Overview

Senior Solicitor

The British Medical Association (BMA) is the trade union and professional body for doctors in the UK.  We represent, support and negotiate on behalf of all UK doctors and medical students. An exciting opportunity has arisen for a full time Senior Solicitor to join our legal team.

In this key role the Senior Solicitor will provide the BMA with effective, senior level legal advice and representation. They will collaborate closely with the BMA’s corporate and union leaders, departments and committees with a particular focus on supporting the trade union, policy and political functions of the organisation.

If you are a qualified senior solicitor or barrister (7+ years PQE), looking for a varied role tackling legal issues affecting thousands of doctors, we’d love to hear from you.  You’ll be joining a hard working and supportive in-house legal team with the opportunity to make a real difference for our members on really important issues.

As a Senior Solicitor you will:

• Provide a high level of legal support to the BMA’s corporate and trade union leaders and committees, as well as staff across the BMA.
•  Provide legal advice in a range of areas including employment law, contract law, public law, data protection, pension law etc in the sphere of medical practice.
• Seek to build and develop expertise in the work of the BMA’s pensions committee with external legal support, and support that committee as required.  
• Advise as to the effect of legislative changes or Court rulings and their potential impact on the employment of doctors and on medical practice.
• Litigation advice – advising the BMA as to the prospects of success of potential legal actions, drafting pre-action correspondence, preparing, issuing and servicing legal proceedings;
• Commence High Court litigation, seeking judicial reviews of decisions taken by public authorities which are believed damaging to the interests of the medical profession.
• Commission external legal advice and representation for the BMA as required to progress strategic litigation, and managing the same, including through scrutiny of expenditure and regular reporting within the BMA;
• Advise on responses to public consultations and proposed legislative or administrative changes that may affect the working lives of doctors.
• Advise as to whether the BMA may have scope to legally challenge controversial aspects of proposed regulatory changes or decisions taken by public authorities.
• Assisting the secretariat and branches of practice to achieve their objectives.
• Manage a large and varied case load and prioritise effectively being able to work at speed without compromising on quality of advice.
• Risk Management – including advising upon legal, reputational and commercial risks to the organisation.
• Provide legal training and development to colleagues from different departments across the BMA.

About you:

• You’ll be a qualified lawyer or barrister with at least 7 years post qualification experience with the ability to practise law in England and Wales. Post-graduate and professional qualifications are required
• Knowledge and experience of practising various fields of the law (including employment law, commercial law, civil/employment litigation, data protection and defamation)
• Knowledge of, and ability to comply with, the professional and ethical rules relating to a lawyers’ conduct.
• Strong relationship building and partnering skills
• The ability to understand the medical and employment related issues that concern the BMA
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• You’ll be a team player who will collaborate with and assist colleagues across the organisation

Why work for us?

As a Senior Solicitor you'll receive:

• Generous annual leave provision, plus 1 company day and public holidays
• Double matching pension contributions so an employee contribution of 6% results in a BMA contribution of 12% (maximum) making an overall contribution of 18% of salary
• Season ticket loan (up to £10,000) after completion of probationary period
• Additional flexible benefits.

Whether the role needs you to work at home, in an office or in a hybrid way, we`ll provide all the support you need.  If this sounds like the right opportunity for you, please apply through our website. For any queries please email recruitment@bma.org.uk

Diversity & Inclusion Monitoring:

Our ambition is to work together to promote a more inclusive environment, which attracts all candidates and signals our commitment to celebrate and promote diversity.

BMA is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge as we recognise that diversity makes us stronger.