Associate, Transactional Real Estate, 3yrsPQE+, Leeds or Remote

Addleshaw Goddard; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading law firm in Leeds is seeking an Associate to deliver legal services for a major institutional landlord client. This role allows you to develop sector expertise within a supportive team, focusing on commercial property matters. Candidates should have 3-7 years of experience and strong communication skills. The position offers flexible working arrangements and comprehensive career development opportunities.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Comprehensive support and training

Qualifications

• Experience working with institutional landlords is preferred.
• Ability to manage high volume, fast paced workloads.
• Dedication to high levels of client service.

Responsibilities

• Deliver legal services focused on one major client.
• Draft and negotiate commercial leases and ancillary documents.
• Manage own caseload under appropriate supervision.
• Supervise junior lawyers and paralegals.
• Direct communication with clients and tenants.

Skills

Strong communication skills

Relationship building

Proactive risk identification

Education

3 – 7 years PQE in commercial property

Tools

Legal technology tools

Job description

Purpose of the Role

• As part of a new and exciting mandate from one of our major clients, the AG Transactional Real Estate team are looking to appoint two Associates to act as a dedicated resource to one of our major institutional landlord clients within a structured delivery model.
• You will be delivering legal services for an exceptional client as part of a new and progressive delivery team model, using the latest innovative ways of working and embracing forward‑thinking approaches to drive value.
• Offering a real work life balance with increased certainty and flexibility in hours, the role can be office based or primarily home based role with travel to our Leeds office at least twice per month (to be agreed depending on the level of experience of the individual(s)). There will be additional attendance required initially for training with the team and occasional visits to London to meet with the client.
• This role offers the unique opportunity to focus exclusively on one major client, enabling you to develop deep sector expertise and build strong client relationships, while also benefitting from the comprehensive support, training, and career development opportunities available at Addleshaw Goddard.

The Team

• The Real Estate Group is one of Addleshaw Goddard's largest, comprising a team of nearly 300 lawyers. In our Leeds office, the Transactional Real Estate team currently consists of 6 partners and 50+ other fee earners.
• The Leeds Transactional Real Estate team is a Tier 1 ranked team and won both the Yorkshire Property Insider Awards and the Yorkshire Lawyer Awards Real Estate Team of the year in 2023.
• The team places a high emphasis on their transactional expertise and bring a commercial and business‑oriented approach to a wide range of property matters.
• In delivering transactions we use the latest technology in conjunction with our legal tech team and the wider Innovation Group. We encourage our team to think differently and to test the latest technology, including advances in generative AI.

What to Expect in This Role

• Acting as a dedicated resource to one of our major institutional landlord clients within a structured delivery model. This role will allow you to build up in‑depth knowledge of the client and its business, but with the benefits of the law firm support & innovation model. You will work as part of a wider team and have all the training and support necessary to ensure you can be successful in your role.
• As this is a dedicated role, you will have a reduced hours target of 1,400 chargeable hours per year.
• Principally responsible for your own caseload and compliance with AG policies and processes (under appropriate supervision) including: Drafting and negotiating commercial leases (including new, renewal and reversionary leases)
• Drafting and negotiating ancillary lettings documents such as licences to alter, rent deposit deeds etc.
• Creating and maintaining letting due diligence packs including title, CPSE, property specific documents etc.
• Answering tenant due diligence enquires including liaising with appropriate professional advisors of the client and / or the client.
• Dealing with letting / management applications (such as licences to assign, underlet, deed of variation etc.) during the term of existing leases.
• Dealing with completion processes such as deeds administration, collection of completion monies and post completion administration and billing.
• Supervising work carried out by junior lawyers and paralegals who assist with such lettings and management matters (e.g. draft CPSE replies).
• Carrying out other appropriate legal tasks as may be required from time to time for this client or senior members of the team (including assisting with sales, purchases and other transactions from time to time).
• Maintaining a worklog / status update for each matter with contemporaneous updates.
• Complying with / maintaining / implementing client specific "admin" requirements such as Horizon inputting, insertion / negotiation of client specific drafting and adopting portfolio positions on certain negotiation points.
• Direct contact with client and other professionals engaged by client (including social / networking opportunities).
• Direct contact with tenant and their own professional representatives.
• Working closely with the wider client account team to ensure consistency of approach and sharing of best practice knowledge for the client (including assisting with creating and maintaining precedents and client processes).
• Responsible for managing own personal financials such as WIP, billing, write offs.

Your Skills and Experience

To be successful in this role, you will :

• Have 3 – 7 years PQE as an Associate working within commercial property matters in England & Wales.
• Ideally have experience of working for institutional landlords.
• Be dedicated to the highest levels of client service, with strong communication and relationship building skills.
• Ideally have experience managing high volume, fast paced workloads in a client facing role as part of a wider team following processes and utilising legal technology tools will be especially suitable.
• Have a proactive approach to identifying risks and opportunities, and developing practical, commercially focused solutions.

Our Firm

Addleshaw Goddard is a place where you are valued, encouraged, and challenged to fulfil your potential in a supportive and collegiate environment. Our culture of improvement, growth and collaboration delivers results, drives innovation, and rewards ambition.

We not only provide technical excellence and experience but, crucially, demonstrate real insight into our clients and what really matters to them and as such we are natural choice for FTSE100 clients and their equivalents in other markets.

Our success has been built by people from the widest range of backgrounds, locations, and perspectives. We have a number of employee networks that provide space to discuss the differences that make us who we are and celebrate this at AG.

OUR APPROACH : IMAGINE THE BESTYOUCAN BE

Everything we've accomplished can be traced back to our people and the way we work. Our reputation is something we are proud of, and constantly invest in.

Here, you'll do high calibre work, with high-character colleagues who care for one another and our clients.

Are you up for the challenge?