Charity Real Estate Solicitor

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: property, corporate services, litigation and private client advisory.

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 Charity Real Estate team comprises two senior lawyers who specialise in advising charities and other not-for-profit organisations on their land and property dealings.

The team collaborates across the firm, with one lawyer based in our Charities team and the other based in our Commercial Real Estate team.

Our charity lawyers advise a broad and full range of charities, including Royal Charter and household names on all aspects of charity law, including formation, restructuring, mergers and collaborative arrangements, trading and tax, governance, fundraising, commercial arrangements, investment powers, property transactions, legacy disputes, and regulatory matters.

The team is large enough to include dedicated charity property specialists who deal with a wide range of matters in the complex area where charity law and property law overlap, including property transactional work, but also compliance with charity law, good decision-making practice and advice on permanent endowment, designated land and Charities Act compliance.

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 and provide a sector based offering for our clients. It also means there is support and opportunity across the Real Estate spectrum.

Purpose of job

Due to continued growth, we are looking to add a Solicitor/Associate to the team to assist with our busy caseload.

This role offers the opportunity for one-on-one learning and mentoring but also plenty of scope for the candidate to work with colleagues across the firm and make the role their own, with a clear path for career advancement.

• Buying and selling property for investment or occupational purposes
• Landlord and tenant issues for charities and not for profits
• Strategic development
• Compliance with charity law in the context of land and property
• Collaborative work on complex projects with the Charities team, such as the property aspects of charity mergers, incorporations, restructures and closures

The candidate

0 - 4 PQE gained within a strong regional, national or City firm with experience in some or all of the following real estate areas:

• Commercial landlord and tenant work
• Investment and asset management
• General commercial property development
• Experience of acting for banks and/or borrowers in secured lending matters
• Knowledge of providing property support as part of corporate transactions
• No prior experience of charity law is necessary as this can be taught.

Equal opportunities

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:

• 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays (rising to 30 days)
• 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 and Individual Performance Bonus Scheme
• Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
• Paid CSR Day
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Subsidised gym membership
• Electric car scheme
• Agile/Hybrid Working Policy
• Dress for your Day Policy

https://www.birketts.co.uk/recognition-reward-benefits/

Birketts is a flexible business which has embraced a hybrid working model where our colleagues enjoy a mix of home and office working. We welcome applications from people looking for flexible, agile, and part-time roles and we are happy to explore your preferred working patterns as part of your application.

Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.

Birketts is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is unequivocal: we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.