Agriculture and Estates Senior Associate

About The Role

We are looking for an experienced Agriculture & Estates Senior Associate to join our growing team in Norwich .

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious agricultural and rural property lawyer to join one of the largest specialist Agriculture & Estates teams in the country. Our team advises farmers, landowners, rural businesses and estates on a broad range of agricultural, rural property and strategic land matters.

You will have the opportunity to handle high-quality and complex work, develop strong relationships with clients and intermediaries, and play an important role in growing our Agriculture & Estates offering across Norfolk and the wider East Anglia region .

With our Norwich office continuing to grow, this is an excellent opportunity to combine the backing and expertise of an established national practice with the chance to develop your own profile in the local market. HCR's Norwich office opened in 2025 and has since expanded into larger premises as the firm continues its investment in East Anglia.

Responsibilities

• Advise farmers, landowners, landed estates and rural businesses on a broad range of agricultural and rural property matters
• Handle acquisitions, disposals and management of farms, estates and agricultural land
• Advise on agricultural tenancies and occupation arrangements
• Work on development and strategic land matters , including transactions involving agricultural land
• Advise clients on rural diversification, natural capital and renewable or green energy opportunities
• Manage your own matters while working collaboratively with colleagues across the wider Agriculture & Estates team
• Build and maintain strong relationships with clients, agents and other professional advisers
• Support business development initiatives and help grow our presence within the Norfolk and East Anglia rural market
• Support and mentor more junior members of the team
• Work collaboratively with specialists across Real Estate, Private Client, Planning and other complementary areas of the firm

HCR's Agriculture & Estates practice covers property-related matters alongside agricultural tenancies, agricultural contracts, natural capital, agricultural support schemes and green energy. The team also has experience advising on complex development transactions involving agricultural land.

About You

You will ideally be a solicitor with around 5–8 years' PQE , with experience in Agriculture & Estates, Agricultural Property, Rural Property or a closely related area.

You will have:

• Strong experience in agricultural and rural property law
• A good understanding of the issues affecting farmers, landowners, estates and rural businesses
• Experience managing your own caseload and taking responsibility for client relationships
• Strong technical legal skills with a pragmatic and commercial approach
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills
• An interest in networking and business development within the rural and agricultural community
• The ability to work independently while contributing to a collaborative team
• An ambition to continue developing your career and profile within the Agriculture & Estates sector

About Us

Benefits of working with us:

• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance
• Sight tests / Glasses discounts
• Bonus scheme
• Electric vehicle scheme
• International secondments for 0-5 PQE
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme
• 28 days annual leave (plus public holidays)
• Happy People / Perks at Work benefits portal
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Life Assurance
• 1/3 gym membership contribution
• Flu vaccinations

Is HCR the smart move for you? HCR suits people who love a challenge and want to work in an environment where careers thrive on the back of hard work and personal merit. Our people enjoy feeling part of something bigger than themselves, and whilst our clients drive our development, it is our people who bring their energy, enthusiasm, and entrepreneurial mindsets together to solve problems and help our clients succeed.

Why HCR people love their jobs: Our people tell us they enjoy working on good quality, interesting matters from a wide variety of our clients, because they get the experience they want to develop careers. We will give you responsibility early, the mandate to make things happen and we’ll back your good ideas. Our “Passion for People” lives and breathes every day throughout the firm as our peoples’ energy and sense of fun create a warm environment in which to thrive.

What career progression will HCR offer you? HCR’s growth constantly creates opportunities for people who want to go places and make a difference, your career plan can become part of our growth plan. At HCR you can expect to work with friendly, energetic, ambitious people, who love getting stuck into a client problem, and enjoy celebrating a good outcome. Our people value the sense of community provided by the individual personality of each office and the collegiate approach across all our service and sector teams.

What does HCR believe, achieve and stand for? As a Times Best Law firm, among the UK Top 50, we provide the full range of services that you would expect to organisations, business leaders and individuals. However, in our mission to give everyone the opportunity to experience a different kind of legal service we take an entrepreneurial approach. We’re flexible and responsive to the needs of our clients, delivering the best outcomes for them. We have more than 1000 lawyers and support staff, including more than 180 partners, and have been awarded the Law Society’s Lexcel quality mark in recognition of our compliance and client care standards.

With 13 offices in England and Wales our well-established presence stretches from west to east, ensuring clients can access a full-service legal offering no matter where they’re located. We’ve expanded significantly across all our regions, and are well-respected as a regional firm with a strong London and international presence.

With solid connections in the communities we work in, and a track record of delivering legal advice to businesses and individuals throughout the areas we base ourselves in, our clients continue to value our approach to providing legal advice, in the way they need, when they need it.

As HCR is an equal opportunities employer, we don’t just accept differences, we celebrate them. We want to attract a diverse and ambitious workforce that reflects all backgrounds and skills to create a workplace that is supportive and inclusive, recognises and nurtures talent, and which works together to achieve the best outcome for our clients. We are privileged to be an armed forces-friendly organisation.

We also want you to achieve your absolute best during the recruitment process. Please let us know of any changes we can make at any point that will help support your application.

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