Solicitor - Banking & Real Estate Finance

The role

We are looking for a Solicitor to join us to work with lenders predominantly in preparing or reviewing finance documentation and progressing transactions through from instruction to completion.  The role will suit candidates who are able to work well with other members of the team but also manage their own caseload. 

The role of the team is to assist institutional and non-institutional lenders and borrowers in funding transactions. The Banking team sits within the wider Banking & RE Finance team (part of the firm's Real Estate Department) but its work is not exclusively property related as it also works on a variety of other corporate and more specialised funding transactions. 

Role responsibility

• Preparing loan and security documentation and liaising with the lending client to finalise and issue such documentation to the borrower's legal representatives.  Some finance documentation will be in-house template form, some will be the lending client’s template form and some will be Loan Market Association based
• Negotiation of finance documentation with the legal representatives of either the borrower (where acting for a lender) or the lender (where acting for a borrower)
• Managing all conditions precedent required for lending to be made available, this will involve liaison with the borrower's solicitor, offshore counsel (where applicable) and other members of both the team and the wider Firm to ensure that all conditions precedent which the Firm is responsible for are satisfied.
• If the transaction demands it, drafting often complex priority or intercreditor documentation
• Advising on the structure of a given loan transaction where applicable, including cross collateralised structures, cross guarantee structures, priority arrangements and off-shore borrowing arrangements.
• Where dealing with a foreign borrowing entity, arranging appropriate legal opinions from lawyers in the relevant jurisdictions.
• Arranging for the proper execution of the finance documentation via the borrowers legal representatives as may be appropriate and checking due execution and completion of the transaction.
• Arranging for registration of security documentation at the appropriate governmental registries as may be appropriate.
• Dealing with post-completion enquiries and ultimately arranging for the return to the client of finance documentation.
• Awareness of the principal concerns of lenders and be sensitive to the needs and concerns of borrowing clients, specifically the likely effect of any defects in the security or any impact on value.
• Working alongside colleagues within the team to ensure that often very tight deadlines to complete matters are hit.
• Reviewing and dealing with replies to enquiries from borrowers’ solicitors which relate to the terms of the finance and security documentation.
• Contributing to the effectiveness of work flow, including attending departmental and other appropriate briefings to assess current and future needs.
• Filing and file-keeping.
• Accurately process all documents/correspondence as required in Firm's House Style.
• Effective prioritising of work to ensure that transactions are dealt with in a timely manner and deadlines are not missed.
• Completion of legal forms when required.

About you

Ideally you will be able to demonstrate:

• Post qualification experience in a transactional role in Banking or Corporate.
• Excellent transaction management skills and experience of managing transactions from instruction to completion, handling high volume work and working under pressure.
• Experience of secured lending transactions, and able to draft clear finance documentation reflecting what the client is aiming to incorporate and being sensitive to the client's ongoing needs and requirements.  We would expect the candidate to be able to highlight points that may be of concern to lenders and to suggest solutions to those points, with training.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work well within a team. You must be able to establish and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues and clients at all levels.
• Experience of acting for banks and other lenders. 
• The ability to interpret instructions correctly and act upon them. You will also be comfortable, and have sound judgement, regarding using own initiative and taking responsibility where necessary and appropriate.
• Excellent organisational skills and ability to perform in a high volume, deadline-orientated role.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Discretion, and a sound understanding of client confidentiality.
• A keen interest in developing your marketing and business development skills.

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

We are a London based, full-service law firm, specialising in providing straightforward advice to entrepreneurial businesses and individuals on domestic and international matters.

We have grown substantially in recent years, including two mergers and an office move. We’ve also matured in terms of our approach to providing advice to our clients, seeking to simplify and improve the experience of working with a modern, independent law firm.

We’re proud of our journey. Without losing sight of where we’ve come from, we are focused on where we’re going. We are evolving and growing every day. And just like our clients, we are ambitious and moving forward. Many of our clients are entrepreneurial, ambitious enterprises who are often privately or family owned, or private equity backed. We are one of the only London based law firms with a large private wealth offering alongside significant business law capability.

The firm also advises major corporates on particular specialist legal matters who find our straightforward approach a compelling alternative to larger, less personal firms.