Legal Counsel

Sovereign Network Group; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Part time

Job summary

A prominent Housing Association in the UK seeks a part-time Legal Counsel for a fixed term contract. You'll manage your own caseload and advise on property-related legal matters while supporting the business's complex legal needs. Candidates should have experience in property law and hold a valid Practising Certificate. This role offers flexible and hybrid working arrangements, along with competitive benefits.

Benefits

25 Days Holiday plus Bank Holidays

Company pension scheme matched up to 12%

Flexible working opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience managing a legal caseload in a similar setting.
• Strong planning skills to meet statutory deadlines.
• Ability to build relationships with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Manage legal processes for Right to Acquire and Right to Buy.
• Conduct legal work for shared ownership property management.
• Advise on property-related leasehold matters.

Skills

Legal experience in Property matters

Transactional experience

Understanding of Landlord and Tenant law

Analytical and problem-solving skills

Excellent communication skills

Ability to prioritize work

Education

Valid Practising Certificate

2+ years PQE in a relevant setting

Job description

Sovereign Network Group (SNG) is a leading Housing Association, committed to providing quality, affordable homes and services within sustainable, successful communities.

We have a fantastic opportunity for a part time Legal Counsel to join our In-House Legal team at SNG for a fixed term contract for 1 year. You'll be working 27 hours a week reporting into one of our Senior Legal Counsels and working together with Legal Advisers and other Legal Counsels.

Based in the Hurn office, you'll combine home and office working. There will be some requirements to travel to our other offices as and when required, so you should be happy to travel.

The role

You'll be responsible for your own caseload of legal cases as well as working with senior members of the team to partner with the business to resolve more complex legal cases and provide strategic input, including but not limited to:

• Managing legal processes for statutory Right to Acquire and statutory Preserved Right to Buy applications received by SNG. This includes all eligibility, drafting of all statutory notices and the entire conveyancing process.
• Carrying out legal work required for asset management of a shared ownership property portfolio including, acting for the landlord on staircasing of shared ownership leases; dealing with repossessions of shared ownership leases; acting on assignments of shared ownership leases to include transfers of the superior title on 100% staircasing when required
• Advising on an extensive range of property matters involving leasehold estates, whether SNG is landlord or leaseholder, including service charge provisions and legislation, understanding the extent of obligations, tenancy breach, replies to enquiries, etc
• Carrying out legal reviews of title, planning, estate documents and leases to provide reports and advice on the above.

What we're looking for

You'll need previous experience in a similar legal role, with experience in legal matters relating to Property. We need you to have transactional experience but experience of portfolio asset management is desirable. We will provide training on aspects of property law work that are less commonly carried out where you may not have dealt with previously eg Right to Buy/Acquire rules.

You'll also need:

• To hold a valid Practising Certificate (or equivalent) to ensure you can carry out Reserved Work as defined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, as well as be responsible for the supervision of members of the team who are not qualified to undertake Reserved Work
• 2 years + PQE working within a law firm, in-house legal department, housing association or local authority and managing own legal caseload of similar cases
• Strong understanding of Landlord and Tenant law and substantial experience of drafting Transfers of Whole Part and residential leases
• Excellent planning skills with the ability to prioritise your work and able to meet the demands of statutory timescales
• Strong commercial awareness and excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to develop strong working relationships within the Legal team, with internal clients and other third-party stakeholders
• Ability to exercise good judgment and discretion

Equality and Diversity is fundamental to creating an inclusive culture at SNG and we embrace and understand the importance of diversity of thought, especially in our leadership positions.

We welcome candidates with a growth mindset who imbue these values and are excited to be part of an organisation that is leading change.

What you'll receive from us

We have some fantastic benefits on offer, including:

• Hybrid working (currently a minimum of 2 days in the office)
• 25 Days Holiday pa + Bank Holidays
• Company pension scheme matched up to 12%, life cover at 4x your salary
• Flexible working - we're committed to giving people flexibility as widely as possible

Our purpose is to provide good, affordable homes that are the foundation for a better life - and our vision is thriving communities, over generations. We provide over 85,000 homes and invest in communities across the South, West and East of England, including London, as well as aiming to create thousands of new affordable homes every year.

If you're looking for a role where you can really make an impact, apply now to be considered!