Associate, Speciality, 2+ PQE

We are seeking a driven Associate to join our Speciality team in Sheffield. The team deals with sensitive, complex negligence, public and employers' liability claims on behalf of public sector bodies, private organisations, and their insurers.

In this role, you'll handle a diverse defendant caseload and play a key part in delivering exceptional outcomes for our clients. You'll benefit from hands‑on mentoring, clear progression opportunities, and ongoing professional development designed to support long‑term career growth.

This is an excellent opportunity to work within an award‑winning team on a range of matters for a diverse and respected client base.

Team

Our national practice delivers specialist personal injury services from seven offices across the UK. We handle complex, high‑value and high‑profile claims, led by Partners recognised as market leaders in this field.

We take a modern, partnership‑driven approach to litigation—focusing on pragmatic solutions that move cases forward rather than unnecessary process. Our in‑house R&D capability and award‑winning suite of technological and process innovations enable us to deliver efficient, data‑driven outcomes without compromising on quality or client service.

Clients

• Public sector organisations
• Private sector businesses
• Large self‑insured organisations
• Insurers
• Religious organisations
• Charities

Cases

• Abuse
• Human Rights Act
• Highways
• Tree‑related claims
• Housing Disrepair
• Employers' Liability
• Occupiers' Liability
• Stress
• Data breach

Required experience

• 2+ years' PQE with relevant experience in defendant litigation, preferably in the public sector*
• Proven ability to manage a complex and varied caseload with minimal supervision
• Excellent organisational, analytical and communication skills
• A collaborative approach and experience working effectively within a team environment

Please let us know if you require any additional support or adjustments to be made in order to submit your application to Kennedys.

*where a level of experience is indicated, this is a guideline only and represents the amount of time we would usually expect a candidate to accumulate the requisite level of experience. This does not preclude applications from candidates with more or less experience.

About Kennedys

Kennedys is a global law firm with expertise in dispute resolution and advisory services. With over 3,000 people in 45 offices across 18 countries around the world we have some of the most respected legal minds in their field.

Our lawyers handle both contentious and non-contentious matters, and provide a range of specialist legal services, for many industry sectors but we have particular expertise in litigation and dispute resolution, especially in defending insurance and liability claims.

We're a fresh-thinking firm, and we're not afraid to bring challenging new perspectives to the table way beyond the traditional realm of legal services. We empower our clients with a diverse range of ideas, tools and technology to make their lives easier, as well as delivering exceptional results, every time.

What do we have to offer?

We welcome high-performing lawyers, business services professionals, secretaries, graduates and apprentices to join our rapidly expanding global firm. Whatever your role at Kennedys, you'll be involved in exciting and stimulating work, where your input will make a difference.

Our culture and values form a big part of who we are and we take them seriously. We make a difference by being approachable, straightforward, supportive, distinctive and ambitious. Our are at the core of who we are and what make us a great firm to work with and for.

The Firm recognises the value of investing in our people's development and believes our culture and values contribute to the quality of our work and of our client relationships. With a culture of on-the-job and experiential learning, peer to peer learning, mentoring, resources and tools that enable you to drive your career, we can support your development in your current and future roles. A variety of other opportunities are available including secondments to clients and our global offices.

We strive to celebrate empower our people and ensure everyone can bring their authentic selves to work. We've created a culture based on client service, professional excellence, hard work and trust, where diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is a key priority. We recognise that many of our people want to work for an employer that is aligned to their values, which is why we are building an inclusive culture, decarbonising our operations and supporting our people to thrive at work. Our people are the key to driving this change and helping us to make a difference to our clients, our people and the communities in which we live and work.

Kennedys is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. We expect all employees to be aware of and comply with all relevant policies and procedures within their jurisdiction, including those relating to Information Security, Data Protection and Quality Management, refer any breach promptly to Risk & Compliance and to complete all mandatory training when requested.