Solicitor / Associate - Real Estate, Construction

The role

This is a great opportunity for an experienced lawyer to join the firm's rapidly growing Construction practice. The role is predominantly focused on non-contentious work but provides a mix of both contentious and non-contentious work.  The Construction team is core to the firm's full-service Real Estate department, one of the largest in London.

The current balance of work in the team is c. 60% non-contentious, 40% contentious, almost exclusively UK-based and all building-related, involving both standard form and bespoke agreements.  The team works closely with the firm's largest clients, with a particular focus on developers, project funders and high net worth individuals in the private development sector as well as contractors.

Role responsibility

• Drafting: construction contracts (standard form and bespoke); agreements for lease and sale/purchase; collateral warranties (standard and bespoke); consultant appointments (standard form and bespoke); development agreements; facility and funding agreements; deeds of priority; share purchase agreements; etc.
• Information gathering, processing, analysis, interpretation: DD information to ascertain relevance; reviewing of contracts; negotiations; mediation.
• Negotiating: agreements for lease and sale/purchase; development funding DD; development agreements; licences to alter; procurement and funding.
• Advising in respect of: funding arrangements, procurement routes, and a range of standard form construction contracts.
• Handling contentious matters and dispute advisory work up to and including ADR, expert and determination and adjudications (plus enforcement proceedings in the TCC), dealing with wide range of matters including final account and delay claims, quality of build claims, construction insolvency, bond claims, ACM cladding, professional indemnity and other insurance-related claims.

About you

Ideally you will be able to demonstrate;

• Experience working as a Construction lawyer, with a focus on or interest in focussing on non contentious construction work
• Relevant experience in Real Estate and Construction law
• Experience in dealing with large sized funders and developers
• Knowledge and experience of high value transactions and the ability to run matters through from instruction to completion under minimal supervision
• A commercial and pragmatic approach to work
• The ability to organise your own time and workload ensuring you are responsive to clients' needs and are able to work to completion deadlines
• Experience of working in a fast-paced practice, at times working to challenging deadlines
• Exceptional client facing skills and able to operate as a 'trusted advisor'
• The ability to develop long standing client relationships
• A demonstrable interest in the Construction industry
• A broad technical grounding across Real Estate
• The ability to deal with complex technical legal problems
• A commercial approach to problem solving and providing innovative solutions
• Thoroughness and strong attention to detail
• Confidence in managing internal and external relationships
• The willingness to participate in business development and profile-raising activities

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.