Senior In House Property Lawyer

JMC Legal Recruitment; Manchester; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Autonomy to drive matters forward

Collaborative non-hierarchical team environment

Flexibility of a privately owned business

Job summary

JMC Legal Recruitment is seeking a Senior Real Estate Lawyer to join a well-established privately owned property development group in Manchester. This role provides end-to-end responsibility for the full development lifecycle, focusing on complex high-value transactions.

With over 8 years PQE, you will lead site acquisitions, negotiate contracts, and manage legal risks, all within a collaborative team environment that values autonomy and flexibility.

Qualifications

• Qualified solicitor with at least 8 years of PQE.
• Demonstrable exposure to property development work.
• Proven ability to handle complex, high-value transactions.

Responsibilities

• Lead site acquisitions and disposals end to end.
• Negotiate conditional contracts and development agreements.
• Advise on complex property risk issues across projects.
• Draft and negotiate commercial contracts strategically.
• Instruct and manage external counsel effectively.
• Drive improvements to templates and team processes.

Skills

Strong real estate background

Ability to handle complex transactions

Commercially astute

Sound drafting and negotiation skills

Highly organized

Education

Qualified solicitor with 8+ years PQE

Job description

An excellent opportunity for a senior real estate lawyer to join the legal team of one of the UK’s most established privately owned property development groups. This role offers end-to-end responsibility across the full development lifecycle, with a focus on complex, high-value transactions and strategic input.

The Business

This privately owned property development group has been operating for over 35 years and has built a substantial and growing presence across the UK, accumulating more than 100 industry awards for design and quality. The in-house legal team is split across construction and property. This senior role sits within the property team, working closely with a small number of colleagues and reporting directly to the Head of Legal.

As a privately owned business, it retains the culture and agility that larger corporate structures rarely allow.

The Role

The focus is on leading development work spanning the full property lifecycle, with an emphasis on the more complex, high-value transactions and strategic workstreams.

Day to day you will:

• Lead site acquisitions and disposals end to end (freehold and leasehold), including due diligence, title review, complex condition precedent management and completions.
• Take the lead on negotiating conditional contracts, options, overage agreements, development agreements and ancillary documentation - often on larger or more intricate schemes.
• Advise on and resolve complex property risk issues across live projects, including title defects, easements, restrictive covenants, access, utilities and environmental matters.
• Draft and negotiate commercial contracts (professional services, agency, marketing, NDAs) with a commercial, risk-aware approach.
• Instruct and manage external counsel, with a focus on controlling cost, maintaining quality and ensuring responsiveness.
• Contribute to the team’s ongoing development by driving improvements to templates, playbooks and checklists.

Requirements

• Qualified solicitor with 8+ years PQE.
• Strong real estate background with substantial, demonstrable exposure to property development work, gained in private practice, in-house, or a mix of both.
• Proven ability to handle complex, high-value development transactions independently and pragmatically.
• Commercially astute, confident advising senior internal stakeholders and non-lawyers on complex risk and strategy.
• Highly organised, able to manage a demanding and varied caseload while keeping multiple transactions progressing simultaneously.
• Sound drafting and negotiation skills with exceptional attention to detail.

What's on Offer

• A genuinely interesting and varied senior in-house role with true end-to-end ownership and the autonomy to drive matters forward.
• Direct exposure to a high-quality development programme, including the most complex and strategically important projects.
• A collaborative, non-hierarchical team environment within a business that has real scale and ambition.
• The culture and flexibility of a privately owned business, with genuine scope to influence processes and add value from day one.