• Birketts is a full-service law firm with a strong presence in East Anglia, helped by its headquarters in Ipswich. The firm is set to open an office in Bristol by the end of 2024. 
• The firm has more than 700 lawyers across six offices in England, and is divided into four principal practice groups: property, corporate services, litigation and dispute resolution, and private client advisory. 
• It is best known for its expertise in the agribusiness, private wealth, financial institutions, and real estate investment sectors.
• Birketts has represented a number of interesting companies and organisations, including Shaken Udder, Anglia Ruskin University, Paddy & Scott’s, Original Cottage Company, Hopkins Homes, U-Ming Marine Transport Singapore, and the College of West Anglia. 
• The firm’s diversity initiatives around increasing female partnership have increased the number of female partners to 41% of its total partnership in 2023, a 13% increase from 2020. 
• The firm supports a number of pro bono initiatives, including the Suffolk Law Centre, Norfolk ProHelp, East Greenwich Legal Advice Clinic (EGLAC), LawWorks, LandAid, and the Citizens Advice Bureau. 

We cover these selling points in more detail below, alongside other relevant firm facts and characteristics.

Practice areas / services

Birketts is a full-service law firm, with a broad range of practice areas including:

• Banking & Finance
• Commercial & Technology
• Commercial Real Estate
• Competition
• Construction
• Construction & Engineering
• Construction Disputes
• Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions
• Corporate Tax
• Corporate Services
• Court of Protection
• Dispute Resolution
• Employee Incentives
• Employment
• Employment – Services for Business
• Employment – Services for Individuals
• Family
• Family Business
• Financial Crime
• Financial Services and Funds Regulation
• Franchising
• Health & Safety
• Immigration – Services for Business
• Immigration – Services for Individuals
• Intellectual Property
• International
• Leasehold Enfranchisement
• Litigation and Dispute Resolution
• Planning & Environmental
• Powers of Attorney  
• Private Criminal Defence
• Private Wealth Disputes
• Probate
• Property Disputes
• Public Inquiries
• Real Estate
• Real Estate Finance
• Regulatory
• Regulatory & Corporate Defence
• Residential Real Estate
• Restructuring & Insolvency
• Social Housing
• Tax & Succession Planning
• Tax & Trusts: Administration
• Trusts
• US/UK Private Client Services
• Wills

Chambers and Partners, a leading analyst of the legal market, has awarded Birketts its highest ‘Band 1’ ranking for the following departments: Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Corporate/M&A: £5 million and above, Employment, Environment, Litigation, Planning, Real Estate, Real Estate Litigation, Restructuring/Insolvency, Social Housing, and  Family/Matrimonial. See here for more information

Key sectors / industries

Birketts services a broad range of industries, with some of its highest-value clients operating in the following sectors:

• Agribusiness 
• Financial institutions 
• Private wealth 
• Real estate investment 

In addition, Birketts services the following industries: charities, not for profit and ecclesiastical, education, energy and infrastructure, food and beverages, healthcare, hospitality, leisure and retail, motor, public sector, shipping, logistics and trade, social housing, and technology. 

Work

Birketts is consistently involved in high-profile work including: 

• M7 Real Estate: the firm advised M7 Real Estate on the sale of three UK retail warehouse assets on behalf of the M7 Box+II fund to British Land. The deal is worth more than £45m, which marks the conclusion of the group’s asset management strategy for the trio of sites. 
• Paddy & Scott’s: Birketts advised the founder and sole owner of Paddy & Scott’s, a producer of coffee products in the hospitality sector, on the sale of the company via a management buyout (a buyout led by its current management team). 
• Anglia Ruskin University: the firm advised Anglia Ruskin University on its merger with Writtle University College, which has particular expertise in the areas of agriculture, horticulture, equine and canine studies, and animal management. 

Offices / global footprint / expansion

Headquarters: Ipswich, Providence House 

Offices: Birketts has 6 offices across England, including offices in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks, with a 7^th office set to open in Bristol in Q4 2024 

Insights, internships and other opportunities

Birketts offers a variety of opportunities for students wishing to explore law as a future career. As a Cornerstone Employer, these include various engagement and outreach activities. The firm offers apprenticeships for students straight out of school, as well as those looking for a career change later in life. Birketts also offers a two-week vacation scheme that enables attendees to gain experience of what the firm does day-to-day. The vacation scheme includes presentations, training, and other development opportunities, as well as social events. 

Training contract

Birketts offers a four-seat training contract, with each seat lasting six months. Trainees undertake seats in the firm’s four core practice areas: corporate and commercial, dispute resolution, property, and private client. 

It takes on around thirty trainees across its offices. The majority of trainees are recruited through the firm’s vacation scheme, but  the firm also accepts direct training contract applications. 

During the training contract, the firm puts trainees through a compulsory professional skills course, which focuses on the technical, commercial and softer skills required to be a successful lawyer, including personal branding, coping with change, and client-facing business development skills. 

Technology and innovation

Birketts is involved in a number of pro bono projects, across a variety of causes. Projects include: 

• Suffolk Law Centre: the firm provides two of its second-year trainees to manage the centre, where a pool of volunteers provide thirty-minute appointments to people who approach the centre seeking legal advice. Topics covered include housing, family law, and employment.
• Norfolk ProHelp: Birketts is part of Norfolk ProHelp, a network of professional businesses in Norfolk. As part of the network, the firm provides pro bono legal advice in connection with specific projects.
• East Greenwich Legal Advice Clinic (EGLAC): Birketts colleagues volunteer to support the clinic through in-person clinic sessions or by telephone or Zoom. EGLAC is a free legal advice and assistance service available to people based in a South East London postcode. 

Diversity and inclusion

Birketts is committed to building a supportive and inclusive work environment, and consequently supports a variety of initiatives designed to foster and support diversity and inclusion. These include: 

• Employee-led networks: the firm is home to a variety of employee-led networks, which provide employees with a platform to connect, share experiences, and advocate for change. These networks include the LGBTQI+ Network, Different Minds Network, Parental Network, and Social Mobility Network. 
• Moment of Me: internally, the firm encourages employees to share their own personal stories via the Moment of Me intranet page. Topics covered on the page include Black History Month, A Day in the Life of a Dyslexic, Living with Fibromyalgia, and Dealing with Pregnancy Loss. 
• Gender Diversity - the Pathway to Partnership Workshop: this workshop is aimed at empowering female associates in their career progression and has been attended by more than 60 female lawyers. As a result of this and other initiatives, in 2023, 41% of the firm’s partners were female, an increase of 13% since 2020.