Professional Support Lawyer
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Trowers & Hamlins is a City-led, international and national law firm with over 160 partners and 950 staff. With offices across the UK, Middle East and Asia, we provide a full-service integrated offering.
Our clients operate in diverse industry sectors such as construction, transport and infrastructure, banking and financial services, distribution and logistics, education and health, hotels and leisure, defence, engineering and surveying, charities, retail and energy and natural resources. We also act for many high net worth individuals.
We are different and we believe it is our people that make us unique. We expect and respect that you and your talents are too. The truth is we don't prescribe who you are or how you ought to be. It's what you can do that interests us most.
While the work on offer is rewarding and often complex, the qualities we look for are simple. The ability to get on with people from all walks of life, for example. To talk and to listen. To develop the sorts of relationships that mean you win the friendship and loyalty of clients and colleagues alike. In short, to connect. These are the characteristics our people all have in common. They are vital, as is the drive and imagination to use your unique talents to the full. We will help you in this. In fact, we will support you in every way we can.
Where you'll work
Real Estate is a key focus of our business. From investment and management of existing assets to major development and regeneration schemes, about 60% of our lawyers practice full-time in the sector across a wide range of disciplines including investment, finance, development, construction, asset management, planning, environmental and dispute resolution. We are ranked by The Lawyer as having one of the UK's Top 15 Real Estate practices overall.
From large scale investment and regeneration to local housing, our thinking extends beyond the day to day delivery of transactional and advisory legal services - we provide our clients with fresh thinking and commercially driven solutions. Our multidisciplinary real estate team advises on investment and development across commercial, retail, residential and mixed-use real estate, with a strong inward investment practice.
This is an exciting opportunity to join an existing professional support team comprising of one other experienced Professional Support Lawyer and a junior Professional Support Legal Assistant that look after the knowledge management and professional support needs of a large, national Real Estate department. This role can be based in either London, Birmingham, Manchester or Exeter.
What you'll be doing
- Assist with management of the know how database and provide the Real Estate team with regular updates via email or at team meetings
- Create and maintain precedents and regularly update the team and produce guidance notes, as appropriate with a focus on development, housing, residential and public sector;
- Provide relevant updates to the Real Estate team in relation to all practice areas
- Assist in the research, preparation and presentation of seminars and training workshops
- Co-ordinate and roll out the departmental education and training programme, ensuring the appropriate training and development of fee earners
- Carry out legal research for fee earners
- Liaise and share information with the firm’s other PSLs and Information and KM services as appropriate
- Assist with regulatory and compliance matters including working with risk to update our risk management procedures
- Assist with responding to government consultations
- Work with our Innovation team to develop internal initiatives relevant to Real Estate;
- Work closely with our Marketing and Bids colleagues in relation to internal and external publications and client tenders
- Maintain and develop our relationship with external organisations such as Land Registry and the various search providers we use, attending various forums as necessary to ensure we remain at the forefront of current practice
What you'll need:
In particular, for this role we require:
- Solid experience as a real estate lawyer, ideally with minimum four years' PQE
- Ideally with particular exposure to residential development (both private and affordable) and housing law, including public sector and governance experience
- Ideally experience of working with automated precedents and familiarity with emerging tech relevant to Real Estate
- Prior experience as a PSL is preferred, otherwise a strong commitment to move into such a role, with a demonstrable understanding of what this entails
- Ability to prioritise work effectively and meet deadlines
- Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
- A strong team player, keen to collaborate with colleagues across the national team and other legal and support departments
- Ability to use initiative
- A positive and proactive attitude
- An ability to operate with minimum supervision
- An ability to supervise and mentor juniors within the team
- Ability to cover a breadth of matters within different disciplines
- Strong attention to details with a methodical and logical approach
- Friendly and professional manner
As part of our firm recruitment policy our candidates are subject to employment screening background checks. These checks include personal details, education and employment history, professional qualifications and credit and criminal checks as appropriate.
Trowers & Hamlins is an equal opportunities employer and values diversity and inclusion. All applications will be considered on merit and the applicant's suitability to meet the requirements of the role and will be treated equally irrespective of Ethnicity, Gender (including Trans and non-binary) Race, Disability, Religion and sexual orientation.