What we do

Who we are

Respect & Inclusion

Careers

ABOUT US

We’re not just legal people. We’re people people.
Two things make us tick: delivering results and being easy to deal with.
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Welcome to Burness Paull.

Burness Paull is a leading independent law firm in Scotland advising clients in Scotland, across the UK and internationally – and we’re growing. 

We’re doing this by attracting the best talent, investing in our people, expanding in key industry sectors, strengthening relationships with clients – and continuing to make Burness Paull a great place to work.

The firm is adding capabilities to support our clients’ ambitions – this includes strengthening legal practice areas and strengthening our Business Services functions, which are integral to delivering a fantastic service to clients.

Human & High-Performing.

“Our ethos sounds like a simple recipe, but striking this balance with more than 550 outstanding individuals working across jurisdictions is very demanding. That’s why we invest heavily in talent, training and people development.

“I believe it’s a culture that celebrates individuality, sustainability and openness, where genuine advice and relationships are championed, an environment in which everyone is able to do their best work.

“This is how we maximise the potential of everyone, by using our individuality and diversity as strengths – values which are at the very heart of shaping how we do business.

“That’s why summing up our ethos is so valuable – it is a key ingredient binding us together and keeping us all on the same page and generating values worth shouting about. We should all feel proud that now and for the future the firm sees them at its core.”

Tamar Tammes – Managing Partner


INDEPENDENT

Our independence means we have complete license to shape the culture of the firm. It gives us the ability to support our clients, our people, our communities and the environment in ways that deliver genuine value.

PERSONABLE

A distinct people quality. We are talented and high-performing, but always down-to-earth, unpretentious and a pleasure to work with.

ADAPTABLE

Always open to new ways of working that best serve our clients and people, we are a firm that always seeks to go above and beyond – not just offer the same old answers.

CONNECTED

We’re not just connected internationally, we use technology and the partnerships we have formed across industry sectors and communities to ensure we have our fingers on the pulse at all levels.

Respect and Inclusion

We’re not perfect. But we believe in always trying to be better.

To us, respect and inclusion are about recognising that everyone is different and creating a business that values those differences.

We are committed to equality of opportunity for all and the promotion of a workplace culture where all our people can succeed.

We are proud that ‘inclusivity’ was the top-rated factor in our 2021 internal engagement survey, but it’s important to us that we don’t stop there and that we continue to make Burness Paull a welcoming and inclusive place for all.

“I believe the firm has a culture that celebrates individuality and openness, where genuine advice and relationships are championed, an environment in which everyone is able to do their best work.”

– Tamar Tammes

The work of our BeProud network in bringing together LGBT+ colleagues and allies to help shape a more inclusive environment for all, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, is fundamental to our commitment to make sure everyone can be their true selves at work, and be valued for it.

Our policies and practices are designed to be inclusive of all family situations and gender identities. As a Glass Network ally firm, we are proud to champion the work they do to support LGBT+ professionals in the Scottish legal community.

In recognition of the efforts of the BeProud network, we were pleased to have won the Best Small Business Category at the 2019 Proud Scotland awards and Most Improved Employer at the Stonewall Scotland 2020 Awards. Immigration partner Jamie Kerr won the Professional Services Award at the Proud Scotland Awards 2021, in recognition of his commitment to outstanding service to LGBT migrants.

We work hard to make sure we recruit the best teams from the widest pool of talent. We know there are challenges and barriers facing some candidates and we want to make sure bright, ambitious individuals get the same chance to shine.

As part of our commitment to widening access to the legal profession, we are involved in a number of initiatives to widen access to the profession and ensure a supportive workplace culture for those from minority ethnic groups.

In October 2020 we signed up to Rare’s Race Fairness Commitment to implement data-driven measures to help identify potential barriers that hold back people of colour in the legal sector.

Part of our commitment to being a responsible and inclusive employer is closing the gender pay gap and promoting gender equality throughout the firm.

When it comes to gender equality, being a member of the 30% Club and hitting our 30% female partnership target last year was a step in the right direction but there’s more to be done. We’re building a culture that encourages women to reach their full potential through supportive family policies and the promotion of shared parental leave and flexible working. We’ve rolled out training, resources and a policy framework to ensure those impacted by menopause feel supported at work and our employee networks encourage open discussion on difficult topics such as baby loss, fertility and caring responsibilities.

We are the first law firm in the UK and first organisation in Scotland to have been awarded independent ‘Menopause Friendly Accreditation’ and we have a policy framework and a range of training, support and resources in place, including trained Menopause Champions, to ensure ongoing support to colleagues impacted by the menopause.

We are winners of the ENEI ‘Enhancing Wellbeing and Belonging at Work’ award 2021 and the UK Diversity Legal Awards 2021 ‘Best Law Firm Diversity & Inclusion Initiative’ for our work in this area.

“Burness Paull’s campaign has broken new ground in best practice, brought to life with inspiration and passion. It’s a fully inclusive campaign, rightly involving everyone – menopause isn’t an issue for women, its knowledge and understanding is a lifeskill. In addition, they’ve shared their experience with other employers which will help drive societal mindset change around the menopause. We’re truly grateful for all they’ve done – outstanding.” Deborah Garlick, Director, Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace

It’s important to us to create a healthy, safe and positive working environment, offering colleagues the support and resources they need to maintain their mental, physical and financial wellbeing.

We were awarded See Me in Work partnership status in recognition of the work we have done to reduce mental health stigma and discrimination and embed a mentally healthy culture.

We have over 40 trained Mental Health First Aiders across the firm, offering support to colleagues experiencing mental health issues or those who need someone to listen. They are able to provide initial support and signpost appropriate professional support where needed.

We also hold regular workshops on topics around mental wellbeing and everyone in the firm has 24hr access to support and resources if they need assistance.

We are proud to have been the first Scottish law firm to have signed up to the Mindful Business Charter and we are driving forward changes to remove avoidable sources of stress in the workplace.  We have a MBC Champions in each division/department who drive forward these principles in practice.

Life at Burness Paull

We believe in hard work. We also believe a little fun never hurt anybody.

Burness Paull’s clients have high expectations, and we constantly push ourselves to exceed them.

While high performance is essential, we also think you should enjoy your work. That’s why we place such a high emphasis on culture within the firm.

We believe everyone should be able to be themselves, and attitude is more important than any qualification.

The best way to sum it up is that we take our work very seriously, but definitely don’t take ourselves too seriously. After all, there’s no rule that says the law has to be boring.

Burness Paull BrandBox profile from Denholm Associates
Burness Paull BrandBox profile from Denholm Associates
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Careers

Corporate Communications Manager

The Corporate Communications Manager will be responsible for managing all internal and external communication channels and media relationships.

The primary objective is to ensure that Burness Paull is presented as a leading independent law firm in Scotland, the UK and Internationally – amplifying the firm’s achievements, its culture of Human & High Performing and its brand values.

The role will analyse the efficacy of communication campaigns and channels and make strategic recommendations to the Board. The Corporate Communications Manager will write and develop content in support of business development and brand profile-raising – covering media releases, client communications in support of service lines, blogs, thought leadership content, website & social media content, video scripts, collateral, high-level bid & proposal support, events and internal and Alumni communications.

The desired individual will lead on creating compelling communications campaigns – their planning and execution aligned to the firm’s strategy, brand strategy and sector and divisional business plans.

Duties and responsibilities:

  • Building and maintaining the firm’s outstanding reputation
  • Delivering compelling communications campaign planning & execution aligned to firm’s strategy, brand and divisional and sector business plans
  • Managing all external and internal communication channels
  • Cultivating and maintaining relationships with the media including business and trade press
  • Analysing the efficacy of communication campaigns and channels and making strategic recommendations to the Board
  • Managing & writing: Press releases, Client direct mail in support of service lines, Blogs & social media posts, Thought leadership content, Website content, Video scripts, Event invitations, Alumni newsletter, Awards/Directory Submissions

Desired experience:

  • Ability to manage a demanding workload with conflicting priorities
  • Commercial & Corporate content generation skills
  • Be an excellent copywriter and be fastidious in terms of attention to detail
  • Be confident and expert regarding digital channels and social media in particular
  • Experience in establishing and developing relationships with media including business and trade press
  • Have excellent verbal communication skills
  • Have experience in handling proactive and reactive reputational issues
  • Have the ability to manage multiple senior stakeholders
  • Have demonstrable experience of developing and executing multi-channel campaigns

A confident, talented, committed and high-performing corporate communications professional will thrive at Burness Paull. 

Apply here

If you’d like more information about this opportunity with Burness Paull, please get in touch with Denholm Associates today.

stephh@denholmassociates.com

07539 694 053

STEPH HALLIDAY

SCOTT CAITHNESS

SENIOR CONSULTANT - MARKETING

Scott started his career working for one of the leading Advertising & Comms agencies in Edinburgh where he spent 7 years before moving in to recruitment in 2011. As such, he is well-networked in the Marketing & Comms space across Scotland. With a friendly and consultative approach, Scott is genuinely passionate about providing a positive journey to both candidates and clients alike and believes communication plays a big part in this.  A “thinking-outside-the-box recruiter”, he is known for helping candidates portray the best version of themselves and helping clients find talent for those hard to fill roles.

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Communication Lead

We’re a passionate and professional team who thrive in issue-rich environment and we’re looking to add a Communication Lead to our fast-growing team. You’ll be a trusted advisor to clients across several sectors in all aspects of communication, external affairs, marketing and issues management. Coming from an agency or consultancy environment, at Account Director level or above, you’ll report directly to the Managing Director and be responsible for a small and busy multi-disciplinary team. You’ll have first-class project management skills, be solutions-driven and excellent commercial acumen too. Alongside the senior team, you’ll work to drive the strategic growth of Aspect.

Your core duties will include:

  • Working with the MD to develop and deliver growth strategies 
  • Attracting and retaining profitable clients across a range of sectors 
  • Leading the creation and execution of strategic communication programmes
  • Inspiring, leading and developing multi-disciplinary teams
  • Developing strong relationships with clients, colleagues and associates
  • Producing high quality pitches and proposals to secure new business 
  • Curating, nurturing and managing a team of talented associates.

You’ll be a skilled communicator, interested and knowledgeable about the key issues shaping the external environment. In addition, to be considered for this role, you must be able to demonstrate:

  • 7+ years of senior leadership experience within an agency or consultancy
  • Experience in Energy, Renewables, Financial Services or Life Sciences would be very desirable
  • Outstanding writing skills and the ability to engage and excite an audience
  • An impressive track record of client attraction, retention and growth 
  • The ability to thrive fast-paced environment managing multiple projects simultaneously
  • Strong influencing and leadership skills to motivate and inspire those around you
  • Excellent planning, evaluation and project management skills
  • To develop new processes, systems and ways of working to drive performance
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Communication Advisors

We’re a passionate and professional team who thrive in issue-rich environment and we’re looking for Senior Communication Advisors, Communications Advisors and Communications Executives to join their fast-growing team. 

You’ll have previous agency experience at Senior Account Manager or Account Manager level and be passionate about delivering excellent results for clients. You might be a specialist in PR and media relations who produces compelling editorial content across a range of topics and sectors or you might be a public affairs expert who understands the policy landscape and helps clients build influential relationships. Whatever your specialism, you’ll be an excellent writer, full of creative ideas, with proven client management experience and the ability to provide expert advice our clients.

Your key duties will include:

  • Supporting the key account lead with day-to-day client liaison, providing strategic counsel on day-to-day account matters when required
  • Active involvement in planning and delivering global PR, marketing and digital campaigns
  • Managing content programmes, including mapping out content themes, spotting industry trends and story angles, writing copy when required which may include opinion articles, web and social
  • Building strong media relationships, creating pitches based on your story ideas and delivering content in-to suit the client’s target media and securing opportunities
  • Planning and running client’s social media programmes, and management of their channels
  • Continuously identifying opportunities to grow brand awareness and profile our client’s businesses within their target sector through events, webinars, thought leadership
  • Producing comprehensive and timely reports on client activity 
  • Supporting in the development of client proposals to help grow or win parts of the business


In addition, to be considered for this role, you must be able to demonstrate:

  • Proven background in account handling and direct client liaison – 4 years’ minimum
  • Experience in an agency setting focusing on B2B communication or PR
  • Strong communications skills, verbal and written
  • A background in delivering creative, digitally led B2B communications such as LinkedIn campaigns
  • An innate understanding of earned media, with the ability to create stories and generate coverage across traditional media, digital and social
  • Experience working on content management programmes, with an awareness of the changing way business audiences consume information and an appreciation of search, paid and wider customer marketing activity, and how it all fits together
  • A history of working with clients in a variety of sectors is welcomed but experience in the tech and energy industries is advantageous.

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ANDY MACEWAN

HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY, CHANGE & TRANSFORMATION

Andy has been recruiting in Technology, Change & Transformation since 2001. Delivering tailored resource solutions as trusted advisor to clients ranging from start-ups through to global blue-chip organisations across contract, permanent, fixed term, and managed service/statement of work solutions. He has experience providing candidates for Helpdesk through to CIO and takes great pride in providing excellent customer service and ensuring each candidate journey is a positive one. An expert in his market he can provide guidance across current market trends.

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DATA ENGINEER

Our Purpose

Our aim is to combat illicit online trade by identifying and removing counterfeits for sale. Counterfeits not only damage brands, their reputations, and revenues, but can cause significant harm to the end customer – whether as a fake toy or a fake medicine – and the consequences can be life threatening.

Counterfeiting is a significant economic and social issue.

The OECD reports that counterfeit and fake goods make up more than 3.3% of the world’s global trade. Those involved in the trade of counterfeits have been linked to people trafficking, prostitution, and drug dealing.

As such, reducing illicit trade is about much more than brand protection but also about human rights, safety, and social equity.

And this is what we do, every day.

Our People

Our people are our most important asset, and their mental well-being and happiness are core to our success. We love our diverse workforce, actively embrace flexible working (even pre-pandemic!) and encourage a healthy work-life balance. We have been recognised as one of the most diverse SME workplaces in the UK and are holders of the Scottish Business Pledge which exists to promote a fairer Scotland. We have also just been included in the 2021 Culture Leaders Top 25 – an accolade of which we are very proud!

We are a fully inclusive and nurturing employer and, despite being in tech, the majority of our team are women, leading to accolades in the Computing Magazine Women in IT Awards and the Amazon Growing Business Awards. We currently represent 15 nationalities and speak 20 languages. Age is no barrier, and we recruit for attitude, providing and encouraging appropriate learning and training for each and every role.

We are also proud members of IP Inclusive, a network of professionals working to make the intellectual property industry more diverse.

Our Environment

We deliver purpose-driven work from an extremely welcoming environment near the City Centre. We actively encourage the responsible use of resources, from using public transport to reuse, recycling, and, of course, a minimal impact office environment. We have benefited from the advice of the Energy Saving Trust and Resource Efficient Scotland. Our waste contractor also provides us with a monthly report on volumes and types of material and the carbon emissions avoided through recycling.

Over 80% of our employees can walk or cycle to The Lair and, pre-pandemic, 10% were using public transport as their normal daily commuting mode. Without doubt, online meetings will replace considerable miles, going forward, saving resources, time and energy. Where possible, when possible, the train remains our preferred option. 

Our Community

As well as working in close collaboration with our clients, and the online marketplaces, we are active members of groups that have been established to combat illicit trade. These include the Scottish Anti-Illicit Trade Group, the European Intellectual Property Office, The Scottish Business Resilience Centre, the Anti-Counterfeiting Group, and the China Britain Business Council. Members of our senior management sit on the boards of ACID (Anti-Copying in Design), the Scottish Ministerial Trade Board, and the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s Observatory Panel for SMEs, amongst others.

Each team member nominates good causes or charities that are supported on both an individual and corporate basis. Wherever possible, we support the employee’s involvement whether through time or fundraising events.

ANGELA MCCANN

DIRECTOR OF GROWTH

Having worked in the recruitment industry since 2000, Angela brings a wealth of experience as a Recruitment Professional and a proven track record of delivering a high-quality search and selection service to both public and private companies in the UK and internationally. Angela believes in a partnership approach to recruitment, ensuring a detailed understanding of employer/jobseeker requirements and delivering a bespoke service underpinned by professionalism, pragmatism and strong market knowledge.

JAMES BLYTH

HEAD OF MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING

James has a decade of experience within the FMCG sector where he has partnered with a wide range of businesses placing key appointments at all levels including Director/ Board level. Driving growth across our Manufacturing & Engineering function, James specialises in Production, Operations, Engineering, Quality, HSE, Technical, NPD and Supply Chain. With his passion and expertise in these areas, James supports candidates and clients by working closely to understand their needs and wants providing exceptional service.

OPTIMISE

CVs and interviews will take you to Level 2. Our behavioural profile will take you to Level 3, vital to identifying future potential.

LEVEL 1

Appears to...

  • Appearance
  • Expressiveness
  • Manner
  • Presence

LEVEL 2

Can do...

  • Knowledge
  • Acquired skills
  • Training
  • Experience
  • Education
  • Credentials

LEVEL 3

Will do...

  • Capability to learn
  • Aptitude
  • Attitude
  • Self-motivation
  • Stability
  • Persistence
  • Maturity
  • Temperament
  • Behaviour patterns