Associate - Real Estate, Development

The role

We are seeking an experienced Associate to join the Development Team in our Real Estate Department. This is an excellent opportunity for candidates with previous experience to gain further invaluable hands-on experience, developing your career, working closely with our Partners, other fee earners, and our clients. 

 You will be flexible and commercial in your approach to work, with the ability to pro-actively seek out opportunities and use your initiative in supporting the team. You will be enthusiastic in taking ownership of matters, with a keenness to learn and develop.  

 The Real Estate department at Howard Kennedy deals with a wide range property work and acts for some household names in the development sector, including Galliard, Ballymore, City & Docklands.

Role responsibility

• Site acquisitions and disposals (on larger transactions assisting with due diligence, preparing reports on title, dealing with elements of the contract and/or supplemental documents);
  • 
    
    • Option agreements;
    • Overage agreements; 
    • Conditional contracts;
    • Subsales;
    • TOGCs;
    • Affordable housing transactions;
    • Dealing with property aspects for financing transactions, whether CLLS, certificates or disclosure of title.
• The opportunity to manage your own matters with supervision as appropriate and work closely with Partners and Senior fee earners on large transactions.
• Collaborating with the wider Real Estate department on development transactions in particular the Construction, Tax, Planning and Property litigation teams to ensure a seamless client service. 
• Overseeing due diligence and risk management throughout the transaction lifecycle.
• Maintaining strong client relationships and contributing to business development initiatives within the development sector.
• Assisting and mentoring more junior members of the team including Trainees and Paralegals.

About you

Ideally you will be able to demonstrate;

• Proven post qualification experience in the development sector, covering all of the work listed above. 
• Experience of advising developer clients on complex transactions, with the prove ability to work through technical issues, identifying effective solutions in an efficient and commercial way. 
• An understanding of construction, tax, planning and property litigation issues which may affect development projects.
• Comfort in using initiative and taking responsibility for managing workstreams, with the ability to manage allocated tasks within deadlines. 
• Thoroughness and attention to detail with the ability to perform in a deadline-orientated role.
• The ability to work collaboratively with others to provide a consistent quality service to clients and colleagues.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills: working to deadlines where the input of others is often required, managing workloads effectively.
• Flexibility in approach to your work.
• Strong drafting skills.
• A pragmatic, commercial approach to problem solving.
• Excellent business development and client management skills.
• The ability to mentor and supervise less experienced members of the team.

At Howard Kennedy we believe that everyone deserves the space to thrive. We’re committed to creating an inclusive recruitment experience that reflects the diversity of both our people and our clients.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and identities, and we’re committed to ensuring that our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and accessible to all.

We understand that every candidate’s needs are different If there’s anything we can do to make your application journey more comfortable— whether for interviews, assessments, or onboarding—please let us know. We’ll work with you to remove any barriers and ensure our recruitment process is comfortable for you. 

Contact our recruitment team at recruitment@howardkennedy.com to discuss any support you might need.

Agency Introductions

Please note that we are not accepting applications via agencies for this role at this time. Before sharing any named candidate CVs, please contact your recruitment representative. If any named CVs are sent from agencies without approval from our recruitment team, they will not be deemed valid introductions, and no agency fee will be paid.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• 25 days annual holiday
• Permanent Health Insurance
• Life Assurance
• Interest free Season Ticket Loan
• Private Healthcare
• Pension Scheme
• Staff Introductory Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme

About us

With almost 200 lawyers in one location, we ensure our clients have the right team to help them get from where they are to where they want to be. We advise major corporates and institutions as well as entrepreneurial, ambitious enterprises which are often privately or family owned, or private equity backed. As well as our significant business law capability, we are one of only a few London-based law firms with a large private wealth offering. Our clients find our straightforward approach a compelling alternative to larger, less personal firms.

Whether you are an ambitious and talented individual wanting to hit the ground running from day one, or an established professional looking for a new opportunity, Howard Kennedy is the firm where you can really make it happen.

We have earned a strong reputation for our exceptional and uniquely talented people who between them deliver outstanding results for clients. In a firm of our size, our strong team dynamic creates a thriving culture of creativity and entrepreneurialism. Howard Kennedy is a pragmatic and non-hierarchical environment where success is shared, and you are proactively encouraged to thrive at your own pace.

Our distinctive culture is built on fairness and respect. Guided by the firm’s values of talk straight, think smart and be yourself, everyone in the firm holds equal value, and everyone plays their role in supporting, encouraging and inspiring colleagues to do their best work.

At the same time, we recognise and reward individualism, celebrating the diversity of our people and supporting them to grow their practice and drive their own career advancement.

As well as client work, there is opportunity to broaden your horizons at the firm with fulfilling pro bono and charity projects. We have a regular social calendar full of wellbeing activities, charitable and social events too.