What does this practice area consist of?
In effect, real estate/property lawyers practice a transactional type of law. Though, unlike their peers in banking or general corporate, real estate lawyers can witness the tangible results of their work, which aids in adding a personal element. It is common for lawyers to develop a specialism within this field, such as residential conveyancing, mortgage lending and property finance, social housing or the leisure and hotels sector. The majority of firms will have a real estate department, though the nature of the work in each will certainly vary. For example, at a regional or high street firm, the work may involve residential claims, while at a City firm, planning for TFL could be in the mix!
Real estate deals require an extra layer of specialist legal and procedural knowledge, though this is certain to come as junior lawyers develop over their careers.
What are the tasks of these lawyers?
- To negotiate and structure transactions on land or buildings. This can often run into very technical areas of the law.
- To liaise with the Land Registry regarding new buildings and proprietors. This is typically done following a survey of information from the owners, surveyors, and local authorities.
- Record the terms of an agreement in legal documents.
- To prepare reports for buyers or lenders, before managing the transfer of funds and property.
- To take the appropriate steps to register new proprietors or occupiers.
- Advise clients on their responsibilities, and how to take action in the event of problems.
- Arrange permissions for new buildings or the alteration of existing ones.
- Manage portfolios and real estate funds.
What are the realities of the job?
- Property practice will always follow the market. In an economic downturn, especially a global one, there’s less demand for properties and new developments, so values drop, and conventional bank lending becomes increasingly hard to find. However, this may not always be the case. Due to the Chancellor’s support for the housing market, it has been unexpectedly busy in the housing market since the onset of the pandemic. In August 2020, sales were above the 5-year average by over 76%.
- Multi-tasking ability is a prerequisite. One deal could involve hundreds of properties, so the ability to stay on top of your caseload at different stages in a deal is of the utmost importance.
- The ability to explain complex legal problems in “normal” terms to your clients is also necessary.
- This is mainly a desk job- do not expect frequent site visits.
- Property departments are home to the most instances of solicitor negligence. Though this may seem obvious, always stick to the solicitor’s code of conduct.
- Your days will be busy, but generally, the hours are more sociable and predictable than in other transactional practices.
- Prepare for “death by a thousand papercuts”- property departments are known for offering trainees plenty of independent responsibility: often you’ll be dealing with several small property files at the same time.
Ten firms with a noted presence in this area:
- Addleshaw Goddard
- Ashurst
- Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
- Clifford Chance
- CMS
- Herbert Smith Freehills
- Hogan Lovells
- Linklaters
- Macfarlanes
- Mayer Brown
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