Residential Development Senior Associate

Gateley Legal; Birmingham; Presencial; GBP 70.000 - 110.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Performance bonus

Learning platform

My Flex benefits

Descripción de la vacante

Gateley Legal in Leeds seeks a Residential Development Senior Associate with 4–6+ years PQE in real estate. You will lead land acquisitions, option and promotion agreements, and complex deals for national housebuilders and developers.

Join a large, market-leading team with cross-disciplinary support, mentoring junior lawyers, and opportunities to shape major housing projects across England.

Formación

• Qualified solicitor with 4+ years PQE (ideally 6+ PQE) in residential development or commercial real estate.

Responsabilidades

• Draft and negotiate land acquisition deals, strategic option agreements, and promotion agreements.
• Prepare transfers, overage deeds, and funding documents; advise on brownfield regeneration schemes.
• Supervise 0-3 PQE solicitors and trainees; contribute to knowledge sharing.
• Manage client training and business development events; nurture long-term client relationships.
• Provide leadership in complex, high-value housing projects and deal cycles.

Conocimientos

Residential real estate

Commercial real estate

PQE 4+ years

Mentoring junior lawyers

Client relationship management

Descripción del empleo

This opportunity was posted more than 30 days ago and no application deadline was provided. You can explore active listings below.

Residential Development Senior Associate at Gateley Legal

G

Organising Institution / Firm

Not Specified by Organiser

Leeds, England, United Kingdom

Not Specified

Qualified solicitor with 4+ years PQE (ideally 6+ PQE) in residential development or commercial real estate; personable, self-motivated, confident, with strong teamwork, attention to detail, and commercial awareness. Residential experience helpful but not essential.

Job

Full Opportunity Brief

For lawyers specialising in real estate, the path to the upper tier of the profession is often paved by the complexity of the deals they lead and the calibre of the clients they advise. The Residential Development Senior Associate position at Gateley Legal in Leeds is one of those rare opportunities that can accelerate a career from competent practitioner to recognised national specialist. This role is not just about drafting contracts; it is about advising on the full life cycle of new build housing, from land acquisition and planning consent to the sale of tens of thousands of homes each year. If you have spent four to six years honing your craft in real estate, this is the platform to build a practice that shapes the skylines of England.

Why This Role is a Career-Defining Move

Gateley Legal is widely recognised as the UK's leading residential development and urban regeneration legal team. The firm acts for 18 of the top 20 UK housebuilders, including institutional landowners such as Oxford University, and advises on schemes ranging from 50-home local developments to 20,000-unit greenfield urban extensions and multi-billion-pound regeneration projects in central London. Joining this team means you will be working in an environment where the deals are not just high-volume but also high-stakes and intellectually demanding. The role offers direct mentorship from John Kiff, Partner, which is a rare chance for any ambitious solicitor to learn from one of the sector's most respected practitioners.

Our team is over 240 strong and is based in 8 of our offices across England. The team operates within Gateley PLC's Property Platform, which comprises over 700 lawyers, surveyors, engineers, architects, accountants and support staff who provide a unique cross-disciplinary service delivery to our wider property client base.

This is not a back-office drafting role. You will be front and centre in some of the most significant housing developments in the country, dealing with clients at every level, from national housebuilders to local authorities and registered providers. The exposure and responsibility available to a Senior Associate at this level are exceptional and rarely found elsewhere in the market.

Decoding the Opportunity: What Gateley Legal Is Looking For

Gateley has been explicit about the profile of the candidate they want. The firm is ideally looking for a Senior Associate with 6 years' PQE or more, but will consider Associates from 4 years' PQE. This flexibility recognises that talent and drive can outweigh a strict number on paper. What matters more is that you have spent the early years of your career learning your craft, are commercially aware, and are now keen to develop your skills further in a large, growing team.

Beyond technical legal proficiency, the firm places critical importance on personality and cultural fit. They are looking for individuals who are:

• Personable and confident, capable of daily interaction with colleagues and clients at every level.
• Self-motivated with a genuine 'can do' attitude and the resilience to work under pressure.
• Commercially aware and proactive, able to work both independently and as part of the wider team.
• Detail-obsessed, with an exceptional eye for drafting and transaction management.
• Ambitious to build and grow a network of clients within professional services.

Residential development experience is helpful, but it is not essential if you come from a strong commercial real estate background. This is a significant point for many would-be applicants who may have avoided applying because they lack direct housebuilder experience. Gateley is willing to invest in training and mentoring the right candidate, providing a comprehensive training programme covering technical legal, transaction management and soft skills throughout the careers of their lawyers.

The Daily Work: Beyond Land Acquisition

The responsibilities of the Residential Development Senior Associate are extensive and strategically important. You will be acting for an unrivalled range of national and regional housebuilder clients, and your day-to-day will likely involve:

• Drafting and negotiating immediate land acquisition deals, strategic option agreements, and promotion agreements.
• Preparing ancillary documentation such as transfers, overage deeds, and funding agreements.
• Advising property developers on brownfield regeneration schemes, including joint ventures with registered providers (RPs) and/or public sector bodies.
• Handling large-scale disposals of affordable housing to RPs and the bulk sale of units to private rented sector (PRS) and build-to-rent (BTR) providers.
• Supervising 0-3 PQE solicitors and trainee solicitors, playing a key role in the development of the next generation of real estate lawyers.
• Organising and attending client training and business development events, helping to nurture long-term client relationships.

This is a role that demands more than just technical excellence. You will need to be able to juggle multiple transactions simultaneously while maintaining the highest standards of service. The ability to supervise and mentor junior colleagues is not a box-ticking exercise here; the team is over 240 strong, and a Senior Associate is expected to contribute actively to the team's knowledge culture and operational efficiency.

Why Gateley Leagues Above: The Platform Advantage

One of the most compelling reasons to join Gateley is the sheer scale and depth of its support framework. The Property Platform, with more than 700 professionals, means you are not a lone lawyer operating in a vacuum. You have immediate access to surveyors, engineers, architects, accountants, and specialist support staff who can help you deliver solutions to clients from every angle. This cross-disciplinary approach is unusual in the legal market and gives Gateley a distinct edge when competing for high-value work.

Another differentiator is the firm's Plot Sales team, which handles approximately 15,000 plots and £3 billion in revenue each year, using highly developed IT processes and automation. This means that as a Senior Associate, you will see the complete transaction cycle, from the initial heads of terms to the post-completion sale of individual new homes. This breadth of exposure is invaluable for any lawyer who wants to become a truly rounded residential development specialist.

Gateley also advises PLC clients at Group level on national issues such as cladding remediation post-Grenfell and Competition and Markets Authority investigations. Being part of these high-profile mandates gives you a level of visibility and professional credibility that is difficult to replicate elsewhere. If you are aiming to become a sector leader, this is the environment that will give you the platform to do so.

The Gateley Culture: Benefits, Diversity, and Growth

• Gateley offers a competitive remuneration package, including an individual performance-based annual bonus.
• The benefits are designed to support your wellbeing and professional development.
• The 'Learn' platform provides a wide range of learning and development opportunities, from technical legal skills to soft skills and leadership training.
• The 'My Flex' comprehensive rewards package includes options covering annual leave, cycle to work, critical illness benefit, employee assistance programme, group personal pension, health care, season ticket loan, and a host of retail benefits through 'Perks At Work/Home'.
• They even offer Community Online Academy courses from fitness to coding to languages – so there is something for everyone.

Diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing are not just buzzwords at Gateley. The firm has been recognised by The Law Society as gold standard for its Diversity and Inclusion Charter and is a Stonewall Diversity Champion. They actively encourage applications from candidates seeking flexible working patterns and are committed to creating an environment where everyone can reach their potential. This is a firm that understands that long-term success is built on looking after its people.

Of course, any offer of employment will be subject to pre-employment screening checks, which may include eligibility to work, professional and academic qualifications, criminal records, financial stability, and references from previous employers. This is standard practice for a firm of this calibre.

Frequently Asked Questions

What level of PQE is Gateley looking for?

The role is ideally suited to a Senior Associate with 6 years' PQE or more, but the firm will consider Associates from 4 years' PQE. This is a fantastic opportunity for experienced real estate lawyers to step into a more senior role within a market-leading team. Residential experience is helpful but not essential if you have a solid background in commercial real estate.

Where is the role based?

The role is based in Leeds, England, United Kingdom. Gateley's residential development and urban regeneration team operates across 8 offices in England, but this particular position is Leeds-based. The team also works on national matters and has a collaborative culture, so you may interact with colleagues across multiple locations on a daily basis.

What makes Gateley's residential development team unique?

Gateley acts for 18 of the top 20 UK housebuilders and offers a truly integrated Property Platform of over 700 professionals, including lawyers, surveyors, engineers, and accountants. The Plot Sales team alone handles around 15,000 plots and £3 billion in revenue each year. This scale and cross-disciplinary approach give Gateley an unrivalled position in the market and provide associates with exposure to some of the most significant residential development projects in the country.