Legal Cheek Careers chats to Burges Salmon legal director Gregor Hayworth
When Gregor Hayworth joined Burges Salmon’s Edinburgh office, the firm had been in Scotland for around two years. Drawn by its growth ambitions, reputation for energy work and what he had heard about its culture, Hayworth has since gone on to co-lead the firm’s energy and utility disputes practice across the UK. It is a role that places him at the heart of a fast-moving sector, where new technologies, evolving regulation and high-stakes projects mean, as he puts it, “there are never two days the same.”
Hayworth’s interest in law began early. Growing up in Scotland with no family connections to the profession, he credits his grandmother with first suggesting it as a career. “She was the one that actually floated the idea of, ‘how about law?’” he recalls. As he learned more about the profession, he found himself particularly drawn to the problem-solving involved in contentious work. “In a contentious scenario in the real world, the problem you are trying to solve and the arguments you are making are ultimately trying to help someone and have a real-life impact,” he explains.
That early interest in disputes carried through into Hayworth’s training contract at a litigation specialist firm in Edinburgh, which he describes as “a fantastic place to train”. Regular opportunities to appear in court, alongside structured advocacy training and support from the wider team, allowed him to develop his contentious experience from the outset. Shortly after qualifying, he moved to the energy disputes team of an international firm in Aberdeen, where his involvement in major commercial and construction disputes gave him his first close-up look at the energy sector.
A subsequent move back to Edinburgh saw Hayworth shift his focus from oil and gas towards renewable energy and infrastructure. By then, the sector had firmly captured his interest. “It’s such an integral part of modern life. Most of us can’t live without it,” he says, pointing to the “pace of technological change, the push towards net zero and the influence of regulation, politics and energy security”.
For disputes lawyers, this combination makes for complex and often high-stakes work. “The issues we deal with can be quite novel,” Hayworth adds, with disputes frequently involving valuable assets, long-term contractual arrangements and an international dimension.
Today, Hayworth’s role spans commercial litigation and construction disputes, advising project developers, asset operators and businesses across the energy supply chain. Much of his work, however, takes place before a dispute reaches court or arbitration. “A large part of the job as an energy disputes lawyer, which may seem slightly counterintuitive, is giving commercially strategic advice to try to avoid disputes and find early solutions before issues escalate,” he explains. “Where an early resolution is not possible, we help clients prepare their cases for formal proceedings, including litigation, arbitration and adjudication”.
Joining Burges Salmon gave Hayworth the opportunity to help lead the firm’s commercial litigation and dispute resolution practice in Scotland while continuing to advise on English law commercial, construction and energy matters as a dual-qualified lawyer. “The opportunity itself was fantastic for me,” he says, citing the firm’s “big growth plans” across the UK, alongside its reputation for culture and energy work.
Beyond the work itself, Hayworth highlights Burges Salmon’s open-door culture and collaborative approach to allocating work. He explains that the partnership operates on a lockstep arrangement, meaning “work hoarding is positively discouraged”, with matters instead allocated to those with the most relevant skills and experience. He also praises the firm’s willingness to involve staff in decisions about how it operates and to support career development where there is a clear business case.
For junior lawyers, Hayworth says the firm aims to balance structured training with meaningful responsibility from an early stage. “You want to ensure they receive the necessary legal training and soft skills through a well-run, structured training programme,” he explains, while also making sure juniors are “directly involved in doing real legal work”. In practice, this means giving trainees responsibility under senior supervision, providing regular feedback and creating an environment where they feel comfortable asking questions and seeking support.
When it comes to making a strong impression, Hayworth values juniors who look beyond the task immediately in front of them. “A standout trainee is enthusiastic and takes an interest not only in the legal work, but in the wider sectors our clients operate in,” he says. Proactivity is equally important. Rather than waiting to be told what to do next, he values trainees who seek out additional work, suggest next steps and demonstrate a “positive, can-do attitude”.
This wider sector awareness is particularly valuable in energy, where emerging technologies can create fresh legal challenges for clients. Hayworth explains that newer technologies often involve novel contractual arrangements that have yet to be fully tried and tested. “The contracts underpinning these arrangements don’t always foresee certain circumstances that arise,” he says. As a result, much of his role involves interpreting agreements where the answer is far from obvious, making an understanding of the wider commercial and technological context especially important.
For those hoping to join Burges Salmon, Hayworth’s advice is simple: make the application genuinely specific to the firm. “There is no magic answer,” he says, but candidates should take the time to research its locations, practice areas and the work it does, rather than relying on generic responses. “Demonstrating that you have tailored your application specifically to Burges Salmon will make it stand out.”
Gregor Hayworth will speaking at ‘Powering the future: The lawyers behind the energy transition — with Burges Salmon’, a virtual student event taking place Wednesday 7 October. Secure your place now.
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