Senior Legal Counsel

JLL; Dubai; On-site; AED 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading real estate firm is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel to provide operational legal support across its MENA operations. The successful candidate will manage legal affairs, review contracts, and offer strategic legal advice to stakeholders. Applicants should have a law degree and at least six years of relevant experience in UAE, ideally with an international firm in real estate. This role is based on-site in Dubai and requires proficiency in English, with Arabic preferred.

Benefits

Competitive benefits and pay

Career development opportunities

Qualifications

• Six years of post-degree work experience in UAE, preferably in a multicultural environment.
• Past experience in an international law firm in real estate practice is a strong advantage.
• Full proficiency in oral and written English is mandatory.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational legal support for all legal affairs.
• Prepare and review contracts and negotiate independently.
• Assist General Counsel on strategic projects.
• Provide legal advice on regulatory matters.

Skills

Communication skills

Time-management skills

Commercial thinking

Team-oriented mindset

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Law

Job description

JLL empowers you to shape a brighter way.

Our people at JLL and JLL Technologies are shaping the future of real estate for a better world by combining world class services, advisory and technology for our clients. We are committed to hiring the best, most talented people and empowering them to thrive, grow, and build meaningful careers where they feel they belong. Whether you have deep experience in commercial real estate, skilled trades or technology, or you’re looking to apply your relevant experience to a new industry, join our team as we help shape a brighter way forward.

About JLL

We are a leading professional services and investment management firm specializing in real estate. We have operations in over 80 countries and a workforce of more than 92,000 individuals worldwide who help real‑estate owners, occupiers and investors achieve their business ambitions. As a Global Fortune 500 company we are also committed to sustainability and corporate social responsibility. We use advanced technology to create rewarding opportunities, amazing spaces and sustainable real‑estate solutions for our clients, people and communities.

Our core values of teamwork, ethics and excellence guide everything we do. We are proud to be recognized for our success by global and local organizations.

We also believe in a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone feels welcomed, valued and empowered to achieve their full potential. Unique backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives help us think bigger, spark innovation, and succeed together.

If this job description resonates with you we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all of the requirements. We’re interested in getting to know you and what you bring to the table!

Role

As a Senior Legal Counsel you will work as an in‑house lawyer for our business activities in the MENA/MEA region, working closely with the business and company stakeholders to ensure timely and professional support in managing legal activities.

What this job involves

• Provide full‑scale day‑to‑day operational legal support for all legal affairs within JLL MENA/MEA business (contractual, corporate, labour, litigation).
• Prepare and review contracts and negotiate independently with clients and contractors (service agreements, construction agreements, agency agreements, facility management agreements, lease agreements, supplier agreements, etc.).
• Assist the MEA General Counsel on strategic projects and corporate matters related to the region, including roll‑out of new business lines, incorporation/liquidation of legal entities, amendments to constitutional documents, resolutions, etc.
• Liaise with global legal team on cross‑jurisdictional transactions and corporate projects.
• Independently review, interpret, evaluate and analyze relevant laws and regulations and provide updates on critical legal changes to Head of Legal MENA/MEA.
• Provide legal advice to business and company stakeholders on regulatory matters relating to operation of the company.
• Ensure the company’s operations and legal documents are prepared in compliance with JLL practices, policies and applicable laws.
• Assist in handling insurance license related matters, claims and disputes involving the company.
• Coordinate, analyse and manage work with external legal counsel(s) and liaise with the wider region and EMEA when required.
• Assist MEA General Counsel in developing local policies and adopting global policies, updating templates for the region.
• Provide any other support as needed to MEA General Counsel.

Desired skills and experience for this

• Bachelor’s degree in Law or a related field from a leading law school.
• Six (6) years of post‑degree work experience in UAE, preferably in a multicultural environment.
• Past experience in an international law firm in real‑estate practice, construction or real‑estate consulting, or as in‑house counsel – a strong advantage.
• Full proficiency in oral and written English is mandatory; proficiency in Arabic would be a strong preference.
• High level of integrity, good communication and time‑management skills, and a team‑oriented mindset.
• The individual should be a senior‑level professional with good commercial thinking, business judgment, and a strategic and tactical implementation approach to company business goals; high responsibility, initiative and an independent, can‑do attitude with exceptional ethical standards.

What you can expect from us

We succeed together and believe the best inspire the best. We invest in supporting each other, learning together, and celebrating our success.

Our Total Rewards program reflects our commitment to helping you achieve your career ambitions, recognising your contributions, investing in your well‑being and providing competitive benefits and pay.

Location

On‑site, Dubai, UAE (ARE).

JLL Privacy Notice

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) together with its subsidiaries and affiliates is a leading global provider of real‑estate and investment management services. We take our responsibility to protect the personal information provided to us seriously. Generally, the personal information we collect from you is for the purposes of processing in connection with JLL’s recruitment process. We endeavor to keep your personal information secure with an appropriate level of security and keep it for as long as we need it for legitimate business or legal reasons. We will then delete it safely and securely. For more information about how JLL processes your personal data, please view our Candidate Privacy Statement. For additional details, see our career site pages for each country. For candidates in the United States, see a full copy of our Equal Employment Opportunity and affirmative action policy here.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, including the online application and/or overall selection process, you may contact our Accommodation Requests team. We are committed to providing a fair and inclusive hiring process.