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Solicitor/Associate - Real Estate Residential Development Team

Please Note: The application deadline for this job has now passed.

Job Introduction

Opportunity - Real Estate Residential Development Team

Are you a residential development lawyer looking for more than your current role can offer?

Do you want more of a technical challenge? A greater focus on business development? Blue-chip clients?

If the answer to any of the above is yes, then we may have the opportunity for you.

Who are we?

We are the Residential Development department, part of the wider Real Estate team at DAC Beachcroft. We are highly experienced in our field and working with the country’s top developers.

Here is a snapshot of what we can offer:

Prestigious Clients

We are very proud of our client base, acting for all 12 of the UK’s leading house builders. Beyond the top tier we work with a range of smaller developers, including those within the modular construction space, strategic land companies, registered providers of social housing and PRS providers.

Leaders in the field

Our team includes some of the pre-eminent residential development lawyers in the sector and across our team, from senior leadership to emerging talent we encourage our colleagues to become experts in their field and work on an ‘open door’ policy to ensure continuous idea-sharing and development opportunity

Variety in your practice

Our team works collaboratively on a national level. Whilst everyone will have their area of particular expertise, our work requires cross-working with other departments which we actively encourage. Our projects require regular collaboration with colleagues in our Planning, Construction, Corporate and Property Litigation teams in order to produce the creative and bespoke solutions that our clients expect.

Business Development

Right from the outset you will be encouraged to develop your own client contacts and relationships. This is an important part of our business. You will see how your contribution directly impacts on our service delivery.

Flex Forward – work your way

Our team are busy and work hard, but we offer genuine flexibility to allow you to meet your personal and work commitments. That flexibility is encapsulated within our new Flex Forward initiative, allowing our staff to enjoy dynamic location based working – office based, hybrid and fully WFH to deliver for our clients in the post-pandemic world. 

Role Responsibility

Day to day

So how do we deliver on that? Our department work on a mix of the following:

• Drafting and negotiation of complex strategic land agreements, including conditional purchase agreements, options, overage and collaboration agreements for residential and mixed use.

• Acquisition of land for residential and mixed used development schemes.

• Disposals of land and/or multiple residential units to Registered Providers of affordable housing using various development models including golden brick and turnkey development agreements.

• Public/private partner development agreements with a particular focus on working on residential development schemes in collaboration with Homes England.]

What is the role?

We are looking for a candidate to join the Manchester team, currently headed by Gemma Leonard with the support of one further partner, two seniors and one associate.

The main responsibilities are:

• Managing caseload and working closely with the lead partner and other members of the team on complex transactions, having responsibility for key tasks as well as generally supporting the wider transaction.

• Drafting and reviewing contracts and producing due diligence reports for development sites.

• Analysing and applying legal principles and facts to derive technically sound, commercial strategies for complex transactions.

• Showing sound judgment in decision making, focused on client and case needs.

• Working with appropriate levels of supervision, recognising matters for escalation.

• Where appropriate, acting as first and primary contact for clients on a day to day basis providing them with commercially focused legal advice and running transactions (under supervision and with the support of a senior member of the team).

• Working to deadlines, prioritises workload and meeting conflicting demands.

• Complying with the required standards for billing regimes and targets, file opening, conflict management, time recording, as well as the specific reporting or other management requirements of individual clients.

• Engaging with and maintaining existing client relationships.

• Handling confidential information in line with the firm's data security protocols.

• Making an appropriate contribution to non fee-earning activity e.g. knowledge sharing, training, client seminars, business development and/or client care and relationship management.

• Demonstrating strong analytical and problem solving skills.

The Ideal Candidate

We are looking for an enthusiastic and dedicated candidate with a strong work ethic and desire to progress their legal career. We will recruit a high quality solicitor with the commercial acumen and ambition to fulfil the demands of the role.

• Solicitor with 0-3 years PQE, with experience in commercial real estate, preferably residential development. We will consider other real estate experience.

• Strong experience in reviewing and reporting on title with attention to detail and focus on quality – ideally in the context of a development transaction but again good general experience will be considered.

• An ability to deliver against client protocols and KPIs.

• Strong technical skills and an ability to understand and work through complex issues, changing workload and to work under pressure.

• A demonstrable ability to adopt a commercial approach to legal issues and to be highly client focused.

• Ability to operate with a high level of self-sufficiency, combined with an awareness of the boundaries of own competence/authority.

• A team oriented and collegiate way of working.

• Some experience of and success with business development and/or client care or relationship management activities.

• Confident communicator with an ability to develop relationships internally, as well as being able to undertake client marketing and influence at all levels.

DAC Beachcroft

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