Associate/Senior Associate - Property Litigation

Job Introduction

Our Bristol Real Estate team covers every aspect of commercial real estate work including shopping centre asset management, residential and commercial development , investment, funding, landlord and tenant, dispute resolution, construction and planning and environmental. Clients include shopping centre owners, commercial/residential development companies, property companies, national retailers, health trusts and government bodies (local and central), owner occupiers and financial institutions, both in the UK and overseas

DAC Beachcroft operates a normal retirement age of 65 and we are unable to recruit candidates who are over 65 or are within 6 months of reaching 65, other than in exceptional circumstances. Should this apply to you please discuss this with us as soon as possible.

Role Responsibility

• Working in the DACB Bristol office Real Estate Disputes team, headed by Nick Knapman. The team acts for a wide range of clients including shopping centre owners, residential and commercial developers, property companies, financial institutions, national retailers and a full range of public sector bodies and deals with the full range of contentious property matters. The role will focus on contentious asset management work for well known shopping centre landlord clients (eg Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, intu) and national retailer tenant clients including dealing with lease renewals under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, preparing break and other termination notices, interpreting lease provisions and advising upon and enforcing rent/service charge and other obligations in commercial leases. The role will cover dilapidations claims for a wide range of commercial clients. The role will also include working with our development team and advising on contractual notices, disputed development agreements and disputed rights
• Exercise full compliance with DAC Beachcroft protocols on billing and credit control and demonstrate a high level of financial management in respect of own files.
• Aim to achieve a minimum budgeted annual target of 1440 (1500 for bonus purposes) chargeable hours per year.
• Support marketing and business development activity within the team eg attending marketing events and client training. 
• Build an awareness of the firm's other services.  Build effective internal and external networks.
• Excellent progression prospects following the recent resignation of a Legal Director within the team
• Work as part of a team
• Maintain an awareness of the firm's strategies and plans. 
• Maintain and develop technical knowledge through attendance at training sessions, reading appropriate publications and exceeding Law Society CPD requirements.

The Ideal Candidate

• Solicitor of 6+ years PQE with a demonstrable experience in the practice area acting for large commercial clients
• Excellent relationship and client handling skills.  Able to deal confidently and professionally with clients on day to day issues. 
• Able to demonstrate a good level of self-sufficiency
• A desire to progress to more senior positions within DAC Beachcroft
• An ability to adopt a commercial and pragmatic perspective to clients’ problems, with a focus on recommending and achieving solutions for clients 
• Change oriented with a positive, flexible approach towards the implementation of new initiatives.
• Team oriented and collegiate with a willingness to share knowledge with and support other members of the team.

About the Company

We are a leading international legal business with over 2,400 colleagues and a diverse range of capabilities. We have 11 offices in the UK as well as offices in Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Singapore, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Miami. We also have associations/alliances with firms in Northern Ireland, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Brazil, Peru, Central America, Argentina, the USA, Australia and Germany.

We are known for our market-leading presence in sectors such as Insurance, Health and Real Estate. This is complemented by a fast-growing Business Advisory capability. We represent a wide range of clients, ranging from household names to government departments and NHS bodies. We act for the majority of the top 30 insurance and financial services companies operating in the UK. We are the asset management lawyers for the UK’s largest shopping centres and act for 9 of the UK’s top 10 housebuilders.

We have an impressive legal pedigree, with 155 Chambers UK 2019 practice area and individual lawyer rankings, including 30 rankings at 'Band 1' level. In Legal 500 UK, 2018, the firm received top tier ranking for 32 of its practice areas and 59 practice areas in the top two tiers. In March 2018, we were named as one of Legal Week's Best Legal Advisors for the third year running, achieving category-leading satisfaction scores for our commercial approach, service delivery, quality of legal advice, communication & responsiveness and overall relationships.

Our vision is to be leading business advisers, recognised for our insight and our outstanding commitment to clients, and for being the place where talented people want to work. For further details on our work and our culture, please visit www.dacbeachcroft.com.

DAC Beachcroft is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from every sector of the community. We also welcome direct applications. If this opportunity sounds of interest to you, please make an application and submit your CV. Your application will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.

DAC Beachcroft