Real Estate Senior Associate - Manchester 

Our client's Commercial Real Estate team comprises around 50 lawyers working across the UK. It forms part of a wider real estate department of approximately 135 lawyers, including specialists in construction, planning, residential, and a dedicated asset management practice.

This role is for a lawyer to join one the Manchester office, as part of a cross-office team focusing on development and corporate occupier work and non-health public sector matters. The team currently comprises 4 Partners/Legal Directors and 8 lawyers at various levels.

The client portfolio offers opportunities to work on national strategic projects, traditional investment sales and purchases, and leasing — for real estate developers, large corporates and funds, government departments, local authorities, universities and corporate occupiers. Much of the work involves collaborating cross-cluster with colleagues in planning, construction, procurement, finance, corporate and commercial teams.

The team is well established and, due to renewed panel appointments, new client wins and increased work volumes, is looking to grow. High-quality work and supervision will be provided, and the successful candidate will help deliver the firm's service and grow its business.

Key Responsibilities

An expanding client list and growing volumes of work mean new team members are needed to play an essential role in delivering time-critical, high-quality service. Working as part of dedicated client teams, the successful candidate will:

• Work closely with senior team members, taking responsibility for key tasks on large-scale or high-value projects, as well as generally supporting the wider transaction.
• Where appropriate, lead on transactions (following training and supervision) and act as primary client contact, providing commercially focused legal advice.
• Work closely to client protocols and processes.
• Comply with required standards for file opening, conflict management, financial management of files, billing regimes, and specific client reporting requirements.
• Handle confidential information in line with the firm's data security protocols.
• Contribute to non-fee-earning activity such as knowledge sharing, training, client seminars, and business development/client relationship management.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Our client is looking for an enthusiastic and dedicated candidate with a strong work ethic, keen to progress their legal career by developing technical skills and commercial awareness in a friendly, collaborative environment. Key skills include:

• 5+ years PQE solicitor with a strong academic record.
• Experience from a national/regional firm in commercial real estate — e.g., landlord and tenant, commercial property acquisitions and disposals.
• Experience across all aspects of commercial property legal advice, including sales, acquisitions, landlord & tenant matters, due diligence and reporting.
• Strong technical skills and the ability to work through complex issues with assistance.
• A demonstrable ability to take a commercial rather than purely academic approach to legal issues.
• Ability to work with a high level of self-sufficiency, combined with awareness of the boundaries of one's own competence/authority.
• A team-oriented, collegiate working style, including experience supervising or managing junior colleagues.
• Experience with business development and client care/relationship management.
• Confident communication skills, able to build internal relationships and undertake client marketing at all levels.
• Ability to deal confidently and professionally with clients on day-to-day issues, building strong relationships.
• Strong organisational skills for a pragmatic, methodical approach to handling multiple commercial property matters via an IT case management system.
• A positive, flexible approach to new initiatives.
• Ability to manage a complex, changing workload under pressure and tight timescales.
• Attention to detail and a focus on quality.

Additional Information

Our client is a Disability Confident Scheme employer, committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. Reasonable adjustments can be arranged at any stage of the application, assessment, or interview process — please get in touch to discuss requirements, quoting the vacancy reference.

About the Employer

Our client is a leading international legal business with thousands of colleagues and a diverse range of capabilities. They are market leaders in insurance, health, and real estate, alongside a full-service offering that includes growing Financial Services and Tech capabilities. They represent a wide range of clients — from household names to government departments and public sector bodies — including many of the UK's largest insurers and top housebuilders.

They are a fast-growing international business with offices across the UK and a network of international locations spanning Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

Our client is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion across the board, including and beyond protected characteristics, and makes decisions based solely on merit. Flexible working arrangements can be discussed during the hiring process.

For a confidential discussion about this role, please contact Joe Gregory for further details, joegregory@thinklegalrecruitment.com