Agricultural Property Associate or Senior Associate - Oxford

About The Freeths Agricultural Property Team - Oxford Our specialist Agricultural Property team advises clients with interests in rural, agricultural and development matters. The team act for some of the largest estates the UK and are ranked in the top tier of both The Legal 500 and Chambers as nationally recognised experts.

The Agricultural Property team is largely based in our Oxford office and is widely recognised as the leading and largest standalone team in the region. Comprising 2 partners, 2 directors, 1 managing associate, 4 senior associates, and 2 legal assistants, the team are a key part of the Freeths Real Estate team which is the largest department in Freeths. The national Agricultural team is headed by Iain Davis who is based in our Oxford office.

Iain is ranked as a Leading Individual (Chambers & Partners, 2025) and recognised as a Recommended Lawyer and Leading Individual in The Legal 500 (2025 edition) for Agriculture and Estates. The wider Agricultural Group consists of specialist tax, trusts, agricultural litigation, environmental, planning, commercial and partnership lawyers.

About The Role The team are in expansion mode due to client demand and are looking for a further lawyer to join them. Ideally this lawyer would be between 1 to 4 years’ experience gained within a strong regional or City firm. Your experience will have synergies with the current team who act for landed estates, Oxford Colleges, farmers and landowners, advising on the whole gamut of agricultural and development work.

Examples of the teams’ recent work Sale of a large block of agricultural land adjoining Milton Keynes for £189m, having advised on the grant of the Option which underlay the sale Promotion Agreement and Collaboration Agreement for 320 acres of land to form one of the 14 Promotion Agreement covering 460 acres forming the Oxfordshire Cotswolds Garden Village – being one of the first of the 14 new Garden Villages.

Acquisition of a landed estate including 200+ acres, listed farmhouse and buildings, riparian and railway frontages and entitlements. The case involved dealing with various title and agricultural issues and was settled at a value of over £3 million. A £12.6 million refinance of farm, dairy unit and farm cottages to include redemption of existing charges over 1,850 acres and four new charges over 650 acres.

Key Responsibilities To work to a consistently high level and to provide an exemplary level of client service and care. Competent financial management and commercial awareness, including accurate time recording, billing, achievement of firm delivered targets and management of WIP. To contribute actively toward business development opportunities to ensure the retention of existing clients and expansion of business.

To ensure at all times that you maintain up to date technical expertise. To be accountable for your own personal development and to continuously develop interpersonal and soft skills. To be competent at all times in accordance with the SRA competence standards To carry out any other such reasonable tasks that may be required from time to time.

Your skills and qualifications Have directly relevant previous experience and have the correct level of post qualified experience (PQE) for the role in question. To have a strong commercial acumen and understanding of the industry and business of the client. A proven track record of competent financial management, ability to meet client expectations and sound case management skills.

Good IT skills, experience, and confidence with using case management systems, electronic time recording and general Microsoft packages. To be a self-starting, friendly individual with excellent interpersonal skills. To be able to consistently demonstrate and embody the firm’s values. Smart. Bold. Together. We Are Freeths. Become part of the team at Freeths. View some of our recent highlights on our website here.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know and we will be happy to support you. We’re 1000+ Freethinkers, striving to create a better place. We’re committed to living our values – smart, bold, together – and making a positive change at every touchpoint for our colleagues, clients and communities.

We’ve built our law firm on solid foundations of integrity, entrepreneurialism and expertise. This has helped us grow into one of the largest full-service law firms in the UK, with 13 offices and over 1000 colleagues, and counting. 1. Think Ambition: We’ve built our law firm on solid foundations of integrity, entrepreneurialism and expertise.

This has helped us grow into one of the largest full-service law firms in the UK, with 13 offices and over 1,000 colleagues, and counting. Matching individual ambition and our firm’s ambition matters. That’s why we develop our people by making sure every one of our team feels connected through a clear progression pathway and leadership support.

It’s helped us to grow an award-winning reputation in the eyes of our clients and competitors that each and every one of the Freeths team works hard to uphold in everything we do. 2. Think Recognition: Sharing success matters to us. We love to showcase excellent work across the firm and celebrate our people through our employee awards. We recognise our teams work hard together to deliver the best solutions for our clients.

That’s why great work is well rewarded - our rewards and benefits are among the best in the business. 3. Think Together: Our people are at the heart of what makes Freeths such a great place to be. We’re a firm where people care about each other and employee wellbeing is high on the agenda. Our firm is set up to ensure everyone’s voice is heard, and mutual respect is shown by all.

We understand that differences add strength, which means we maintain a diverse culture where everyone has the freedom to be themselves and thrive. We're committed to championing diversity and building an inclusive culture. We want to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people, regardless of their background. We welcome applications from everybody, particularly those from marginalised backgrounds.

We celebrate difference, encourage diversity of thought and are dedicated to continually challenging our processes to maintain fairness, equity and transparency. If you require additional support at any stage of the recruitment process due to a disability or a health condition, please do not hesitate to contact !recruitmentfreeths@freeths.co.uk and we will be happy to discuss. We are committed to sourcing candidates directly where possible.

For particular roles, we may work with preferred suppliers who will be invited by our resourcing team to support us. We may also agree to accept CVs from other suppliers on an ad hoc basis (to be agreed in writing). We will not be responsible for fees in relation to CVs or profiles submitted directly to our partners or other employees or for any applications not submitted via our portal.

Agencies should contact our recruitment team before submitting unsolicited applications.