Associate - Property Litigation

Russell-Cooke Solicitors; London Borough of Wandsworth; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Russell-Cooke LLP in south west London (Putney, SW15) is seeking an Associate to join the Property Litigation team. The role is full-time, 9:30am–5:30pm, for a 0–2 year PQE solicitor to handle a broad spectrum of property litigation matters.

You will advise on residential and commercial lease disputes, boundary issues, covenants, and building safety claims, while supporting colleagues across real estate, conveyancing and corporate teams to deliver top-quality client service.

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level with a 2:1 or above preferred.
• Solicitor newly qualified or up to ~2 years PQE in property litigation.
• Experience in residential long leasehold disputes and/or building safety disputes optional.
• Demonstrates commercial awareness and attention to detail.
• Ambitious and client-focused with a view to developing the career in property litigation.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality legal service to Russell-Cooke clients.
• Assist with residential leasehold advisory and disputes, including ground rent and service charge arrears.
• Advise on commercial lease disputes including renewals, service charge, dilapidations.
• Handle real property disputes such as boundaries, covenants, easements, trespass, nuisance.
• Support other teams on property-related transactions.

Skills

Property litigation

Leasehold disputes

Building safety disputes

Commercial leases

Client relationship skills

Education

Degree with 2:1 or above

Job description

Associate – Property Litigation

Hours: Full-time 9.30am-5.30pm

Department: Property Litigation

The Role

We are seeking a highly motivated and professional 0-2 year PQE solicitor to join our property litigation team in south west London office (Putney, SW15).

The team has an established reputation and broad experience, providing a first-class service to our clients who include real estate investment companies, institutions, developers and retailers as well as not-for-profit bodies and HNW individuals and families. We are highly rated in the legal directories and believe that we punch above our weight in terms of the value and quality of work we handle.

The team deals with the full spectrum of litigation relating to property.

What you might be doing – some examples

• residential long leasehold advisory and dispute resolution covering ground rent and service charge arrears recovery, breaches of covenants, major works and development on leasehold land, appointment of manager and related management issues
• commercial lease advisory and disputes covering lease renewal, break notices, service charge, dilapidations, breaches of covenants, forfeiture
• real property disputes including boundary, restrictive covenants, easements such as right of way and right to light, trespass (including squatters), nuisance, adverse possession
• Specialist advisory and dispute resolution work concerning cladding, fire and building safety related claims and telecoms
• providing support to our real estate, conveyancing, charity and company commercial teams on transactions involving properties

What you’re like

• educated to degree level and preferably obtained a 2:1 or above
• a solicitor who is either newly qualified and has had a seat with a property litigation team or up to around 2 years PQE and qualified into property litigation
• you might have experience of residential long leasehold landlord and tenant disputes and/or building safety disputes but that is not essential
• you work and think independently, can demonstrate commercial awareness, technically excellent and have a keen eye for attention to detail
• you're ambitious, willing to throw yourself into impressing our existing clients and winning new ones and want to develop your career

What we’re like

• our property and housing litigation team comprises 20 fee earners across two offices.
• we are already highly respected and are looking to be recognised as amongst the very best property litigation teams in the country
• we're committed to maintaining a friendly and supportive working environment. We look to support the professional development of everyone in the team in order to bring out the best in them
• we operate to an agile working policy (briefly, up to 40% of the month may be worked from home)
• you'll be part of a supportive cohort of your peers from across the firm, participating in a variety of career development activities

Technical skills and expertise

The Key Responsibilities and Duties of the role

Core Legal Duties:

• to provide a high-quality legal service to all Russell-Cooke clients
• to consistently provide a high-quality experience to our clients in terms of service timing and delivery
• to develop and maintain good client relationship skills, gaining clients’ confidence and that of your colleagues
• to receive requests for legal advice from current and potential clients and deciding on the most appropriate responses
• to establish what needs to be done to solve a client’s problems
• to offer advice on the law, legal procedures and a wide range of associated issues
• to attend and represent Russell-Cooke at client meetings
• to draft notices, statements of case, witness statements, settlement agreements and other legal documents
• to represent clients in tribunals and courts where required

Professional Standards:

• to work and behave in a professional manner and to the highest standards of the profession
• to comply with procedures set out in Russell-Cooke's Office Manual, professional standards and any requirement set by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
• to carry out duties given by the partners or employees faithfully and diligently and follow all reasonable instructions
• to participate in the growth and development of the department and the firm
• to treat all information about the firm and its client and their business as wholly confidential
• to keep up-to-date with changes in the law
• to record all chargeable hours and maintain financial hygiene of all files

We have a diverse workforce and aim to attract high calibre applicants that reflect the demography of our geographical location and client base. Individuals will be employed solely on merit and the requirement of the position. No applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of sex, race, marital status, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender Identity or religion. Reasonable adjustments will be made to eliminate or reduce disadvantage.