Job Description

About the role:

We are looking for a Senior / Principal Associate to us in our Commercial Development and Investment team based in Birmingham.

About the team:

Gowling WLG is home to one of the UK's largest real estate practices with a team of more than 275 commercially-minded, innovative and pragmatic lawyers.

We work alongside many of the sector's most successful companies and have helped to deliver numerous high profile projects, advising throughout their lifecycle.

The commercial development and investment team ("CDI") is one of the biggest dedicated commercial development and investment teams in the UK advising many investors and developers. We regularly lead on high value, and strategically important deals and projects. The nature of our client base requires technically accurate and commercial thinking to be delivered with speed and efficiency.

The role presents the opportunity for an experienced, dynamin and technically strong solicitor, who has gained good experience working within a recognised real estate team, to develop their career on major development projects, working as part of a core specialist team advising on some of the biggest developments in the country. The role also provides an opportunity to deal with investment transactions, commercial lettings, and general property work.

Client reach – our wide range of clients include investors and developers in real estate, property companies, institutional investors, local authorities, funds, shopping centre operators, and private clients. We advise on mixed-use schemes, offices, shopping centres, business and retail parks, life sciences assets, hotels, industrial estates and logistics parks, and our wider real estate group advises on residential, private rented sector, healthcare, retirement and student accommodation.

Clients of the Birmingham team include: Arden Cross Limited, LandSec U+I, Lendlease, Thomas White Oxford Limited, Castlepoint Limited Partnership, AUB CPIF, Warwickshire County Cricket Club and Birmingham City Council.

The role will involve the following:

• Working as part of specialist team on major, multi-disciplinary development projects;
• Drafting and negotiating development agreements, joint ventures and collaboration agreements, dealing with options and promotion agreements, dealing with complex lease structures, site assembly (including identifying and dealing with development constraints), funding and disposals.
• Assisting on acquisitions and disposals of investment assets;
• Assisting on general property transactions;
• Lettings and pre-lettings and some asset management work.

About you

You should be able to:

• Manage your own caseload to tight deadlines, remain calm under pressure and prioritise your workload effectively;
• Work collaboratively in a team environment (which may involve working as part of a bigger project team) and support your colleagues;
• Give clear, practical advice with sound commercial judgment and swift accurate implementation of instructions;
• Negotiate effectively and deliver commercial solutions for our clients;
• Deal with drafting (including bespoke agreements);
• Supervise and mentor more junior fee earner team members and delegate work where appropriate;
• Communicating appropriately at all levels within the team and the wider business as well as with clients, agents and other parties
• Work collaboratively with clients, and other professionals (e.g. local authorities, agents, surveyors, consultants, accountants and others)
• Contributing to business development and marketing
• Taking responsibility for management functions on projects appropriate to your experience.

Key Skills and Experience:

• Be a qualified solicitor (min 5 PQE) with experience in commercial / mixed use development and commercial investment.
• Be technically strong and enjoy applying legal principles to devise novel solutions.
• Enjoy connecting with and developing effective relationships with team members and clients alike
• Have an ambition and commitment to high levels of client service
• Have excellent attention to detail.
• An effective, engaging and professional communication style with advanced interpersonal skills;
• A proactive approach with the confidence to use your own initiative;
• Effective time management and organisation skills;
• Problem solving and analytical skills;
• Enthusiasm;
• Project management skills

What We Can Offer You:

The opportunity to work for a firm which has been recognised as one of the best places to work in the UK and has been ranked by Great Place to Work® for 26 consecutive years.

Excellent benefits, including:

• A hybrid approach to office and remote working
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the option to buy up to a week's extra annual leave
• Free private medical insurance, and the option to add family members
• A generous pension allowance
• Life assurance covering four times your annual salary
• The chance of a three-month sabbatical every five years
• Maternity, paternity and adoption leave schemes
• A range of health and wellbeing programmes
• State of the art offices, in the heart of Birmingham City Centre, with an onsite restaurant
• Opportunities to flourish in your role through training and personal development

What We Can Offer You:

The opportunity to work for a firm that has been recognised as one of best places to work in the UK and has been ranked by Great Place to Work® for 26 consecutive years.

Excellent benefits, including:

• A hybrid approach to office and remote working.
• 25 days annual leave, with the option to buy up to a week's extra annual leave
• Private medical insurance, and the option to add family members
• A generous pension allowance
• Life assurance covering four times your annual salary
• The chance of a three-month sabbatical every five years
• Maternity, paternity and adoption leave schemes
• A range of health and wellbeing programmes
• State of the art offices, in the heart of Birmingham City Centre, with an onsite restaurant
• Opportunities to flourish in your role through training and personal development

Equal Opportunities:

Gowling WLG is committed both to promoting equality and diversity in the firm and to Equal Opportunities in employment. The firm believes in equality of opportunity regardless of race or racial group (including colour, nationality, ethnicity, national origins), religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender re-assignment and gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy, maternity and paternity. This also includes any incidents of perceptive or associative discrimination and harassment.

At Gowling WLG we seek to attract and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures, to create an exciting and rewarding place to work. Our aim is to fulfil everyone's potential and together to achieve personal and business goals.

If you have any queries in relation to this position or would like to see a full job description please contact Arun Kainth at arun.kainth@gowlingwlg.com

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