Partner - Commercial Real Estate

The firm

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals based in Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: Real Estate, Corporate Services, Dispute Resolution and Private Client.

We are defined by our Next Level Law proposition. We work with our clients as a proactive partner, horizon scanning and thinking ahead to the changes, challenges or opportunities that they may face.

Next Level Law is also applied to our people. Our collegiate culture means everyone is encouraged to achieve their next level in everything they do. RollOnFriday recently ranked us as the 5th best law firm to work at in 2024.

With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 40% of our partnership.

The department

Our Sevenoaks office opened in April 2023 and now the South East team comprises more than 60 lawyers. We continue to establish a full-service presence in Sevenoaks, and this is an exciting opportunity to be part of that and help form the office as we grow. Since opening we have won Professional services Firm of the year in the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards 2024 recognising our commitment to supporting our clients in the South East.

We have one of the best regarded and largest dedicated real estate teams within the country, numbering over 100 specialists. Our real estate lawyers are particularly experienced in dealing with development and investment, planning, secured lending and landlord and tenant matters.

Our lawyers come from a range of backgrounds, including major City practices, other major national and regional firms, industry and local government and include individuals with construction, planning and commercial expertise. The depth and range of expertise means the team can work together in major and complex transactions on cost effective terms, providing our clients with true value for money.

The team currently comprises a number of specialist qualified Commercial real estate solicitors and Partners, making us one of the largest Commercial real estate teams in the East of England.

Purpose of job

Our team has extensive combined experience, and the ideal candidate will possess experience in the following areas:

• Conditional and unconditional acquisitions and disposals
• Portfolio acquisitions, disposals and management
• Secured lending transactions for lenders and borrowers
• Acting for landlords and tenants across multiple sectors in relation to: Leases, Surrenders, Conditional, Unconditional agreements for lease, Management matters such as licences to assign and alter etc
• Supporting the firm's corporate team with the real estate aspects of their share and asset sales and purchases

The candidate

To join our Commercial real estate team, we are seeking a candidate who is a solicitor with ideally 10+ years' PQE experience gained within a well-regarded city, regional or national firm with a well-developed knowledge in all areas of commercial real estate law.

The successful candidate will have an excellent knowledge of the law yet be able to think commercially and analytically so as to provide accurate and practical advice to company clients and high net worth individuals which is tailored to their needs, with an ability to think clearly under pressure. You will also be expected to play an active role in marketing and practice development as well as providing a high level of service to existing clients.

Qualifications/Experience:

• 10 years'+ PQE gained within a strong regional, national or City firm
• Commercial landlord and tenant work knowledge
• Experience of acting for both banks and borrowers in secured lending matters
• Knowledge of providing real estate support as part of corporate transactions
• Strong academic background
• A high attention to detail to produce work/ documentation which is consistently of a high standard
• To have a flexible approach to work to ensure client deadlines are always met and clients are communicated with on a consistent and regular basis.
• Interest in and aptitude for business development

Employee benefits

At Birketts, our culture is driven by ambition and a commitment to positively impact all the communities we serve. We are dedicated to the success, development, and wellbeing of our colleagues, helping them achieve their goals and seize the opportunities that come with our growth. Alongside a flexible and inclusive work environment, we offer the following core benefits:

• 30 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays
• Long Service holiday award - 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
• Private Healthcare with BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
• Staff Profit Share / Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
• Paid ESG day (Environmental, Social and Governance)
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Subsidised gym membership
• Electric car scheme
• Agile Working Policy
• Dress for your Day Policy

Partner Benefits Discussed At Interview Stage.