Job Description

From courtrooms to conference tables (and video calls - of course!) our Commercial Disputes team tackle our clients' most significant and complex cases, including those that threaten to significantly disrupt their business and offer reputational risk. Our clients rely on us because our lawyers' experience makes them formidable at every stage of a dispute and through every level of the courts. We have a proven track record of successfully resolving complex disputes through the High Court, Court of Session and various appeal courts, routinely appearing against Magic Circle and other leading law firms.



We now have a new opportunity to join our highly successful national Commercial Disputes team based in our growing Edinburgh office.

What is the role?



You'll be part of our national team who advise blue chip and FTSE clients, as well as public sector organisations, on a broad range of contractual and corporate disputes, focusing on disputes that arise in Scotland. Disputes range from debt recovery claims, supply chain, construction disputes, breach of contracts and warranty claims through to fraud, misrepresentation, advice on directors' duties and much more.



You'll experience a wide range of work across all our sectors including energy and renewables, financial services, technology, retail, public services, private wealth, transport and healthcare.



Our multi-disciplinary Scotland team is small but mighty. You'll be joining a closeknit group of lawyers that love what they do, and who are active in the Scottish market - working to support the commercial endeavours of our client in all that they do. But you will also work with the wider commercial disputes team nationally - this will deliver a unique blend of local and national work, with plenty of opportunity for client contact where you can play a key role in building and maintaining strong relationships directly with our amazing clients. Business development is important for all our lawyers, and you will be able to contribute to the growth of the Scotland team by supporting local client events, contributing to our reputation and identifying opportunities for further success.



In summary this a great opportunity to make your mark in a growing team of committed, like minded lawyers in Scotland, develop your litigation skills by learning from and working with the best litigators as part of our national team, and have a real chance to impact the commercial success of our clients.

What does the ideal candidate look like?



We're keen to see applications from litigators who have broad experience across a wide range of disputes. You'll need the confidence and resilience to manage multiple instructions with multiple deadlines, supporting clients in what are commercially important, but often pressurised and sensitive situations.



Key skills and experience for success in this role include:


Being admitted as a qualified lawyer in Scotland. Additionally, being dual qualified in England and Wales is advantageous but not essential. A proven track record, with at least 3 years post qualification experience, in commercial disputes work. Capable of working independently on straight forward disputes with minimum supervision, with strong commercial acumen to bring in other colleagues and specialists when required on more complex disputes. Excellent drafting skills. An ability to manage and meet multiple deadlines on behalf of clients, demonstrating an ability to work at pace. A commercial outlook, enabling you to support clients in all part of the process including ADR and dispute avoidance. A willingness to support business development activities.

What make it great to work here - a point of view like no other



We see things differently and our approach reflects that in all areas of our business. We are a team of over 1300 lawyers and technical specialists that continue to deliver trail blazing work for our exceptional clients. We're investing in technology, setting legal precedents and challenging perceptions.



But in addition to that we are proud to have created a unique open and person centric culture that we think sets us apart from other firms. Our award winning Responsible Business and ESG agenda, our embedded DE&I initiatives led by our Board sponsored DE&I group and our support of the Mindful Business Charter all support our endeavours to ensure that our people are able to maintain healthy and happy lives, both in and out of work.



We have a number of resources and initiatives designed to support health and wellbeing and we're very happy to talk flexible working, full-time or part-time working patterns. Find out more about ED&I at WBD here.



We encourage applicants from all social backgrounds, ethnicities, disabilities, gender identities and sexual orientations.



We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long-term condition and need us to make any adjustments to give you the best possible recruitment process, please let us know by contacting the recruiter on the right hand side of this page. Please also let us know if you need this job advert or the application form in a different format.



We will offer an interview to candidates with a disability or long-term condition who meet the minimum criteria for this role. You can opt into this scheme within the application form. Your response to this question is only used for this purpose, is only visible to the recruitment team and is not used for data monitoring.



We are an in-house recruitment team and will always aim to fill our roles directly in the first instance. If you're an agency, please click here for ways that you can work with us.