Senior Associate

at  IBB Law

PQE: 6 years + Term: Permanent Working hours: Full-time Department: New Homes Team Location: Uxbridge
IBB Law is not your usual law firm. We work hard to understand our clients and deliver the best solutions to let them get on with what matters to them most – be that personally or in their businesses. We have one foot in the Thames Valley and the other in the thriving inward investment market of West London. Close to Heathrow, we are perfectly placed to support businesses, both regionally and across the UK. We are a modern law business that is proud of the people we work with – both our clients and our employees. We care about the communities we serve and take time to reach out to those in trouble through our community legal services. We provide expertise in commercial, property and private client law.
This is a post to strengthen the dedicated new homes capability and is an opportunity for the post-holder to work on both new build work and traditional residential conveyancing allowing the post-holder to have a wide skill set within residential property.
The post-holder will be responsible for:
(i) working within a chain of delegated responsibility for setting up sites for the disposal of new homes to include assisting with the less routine purchaser enquiries and supervising plot sales and part exchange purchases and sales on.
(ii) working with developer clients in relation to their exit from sites to include the disposal of managed land and freehold reversions after the sale of individual plots has concluded.
(iii) in relation to traditional residential conveyancing transactions, managing transactions from start to finish including (but not limited to) reviewing, preparing and collating legal and title deed documentation in respect of any transaction or approving these when drafted by a Legal Administrator and liaising with the clients, law firms and third parties such as estate agents as required. Transactions will include sales and purchases, re-mortgages, lease extensions, Deeds of Variation, Transfers of Equity etc
The post-holder will assist the Team Leader in supervision of the junior conveyancers/legal executives/solicitors and administrative assistants.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide a high quality and timely legal service to clients of the firm in site set-ups. This will include all aspects of the site set-up stage to ensure that sites are set up correctly and to ensure that the same are amended promptly as required when new information is provided /amendments made to the site or scheme. For example, but not limited to: attend initial pre-start meetings; liaison with acquisition lawyers, managing agents, clients technical and sales teams; draft the necessary plot disposal documents; obtain land registry approval of conveyance lay out plans. All whilst adhering closely to client and firm protocol and process
• Provide advice to developer clients regarding their exit from development sites to include managed land transfers and the disposal of freehold reversions
• Provide a high quality and timely legal service to clients of the firm in residential conveyancing work, mainly dealing with private client/personal residential conveyancing for key housebuilders clients and other clients
• Your role will involve day-to-day responsibility for efficient, accurate and cost-effective progression of site set up matters and residential conveyancing and will include a high standard of liaison and rapport with the clients’ key contacts
• You will on a day-to-day basis supervise and guide more junior and less-experienced members of staff and deputise when required for the Team Leader / Partner
• You will support the Team Leader with the on-going growth and development and management of the team and develop and maintain strong and effective relationships with clients
• You will contribute to the case management workflow setups and contribute / edit the standard documents for this area of work
• Develop your own self-organisational and interpersonal skills so that: work is prioritised and progressed as efficiently as possible; your Team Leader and the partners in the Group are sufficiently aware of your workload and specific issues which arise on your matters and you maintain a flexible and proactive approach to work and good working relationships with external institutions including clients, the land registry, search providers, lenders and any professional trade bodies
• To ensure that professional services provided by you are of the highest quality, that client care standards are effectively maintained, and that work completed meets the appropriate standards. To ensure that the files are maintained properly and that matters are progressed in line with the firm’s standard up to and including billing and file closing

Person Specification

QUALIFICATIONS

You will be a qualified Solicitor, Legal Executive or Licensed Conveyancer who has sound demonstrable experience for at least 6 years in the following:

• Setting up dwellings for sale for house builders. Dealing with large/medium size housebuilders a distinct advantage but not essential
• Dealing with/supervising plot sales
• Dealing with/supervising home purchase mortgage schemes
• Management agreements and managed land transfers
• Disposal of Freehold Reversions
• Residential conveyancing matters of all types
• Part Exchange purchases and onward sales

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES

• Proven technical knowledge and a track record in dealing with a broad range of residential conveyancing matters
• Proven technical knowledge and track record in dealing with residential development and plot sales;
• At ease with processing standard sale/purchase conveyancing instructions with a minimum level of supervision.
• Experience of delegating work and managing monitoring systems with the ability to provide supervision and support to junior team members.
• IT literate with good working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications including Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint and self-sufficient in using document management systems and the internet as s business tool.
• Able to take a flexible approach and work to tight deadlines whilst maintaining the highest quality standards and attention to detail

• Provide a high quality and timely legal service to clients of the firm in site set-ups. This will include all aspects of the site set-up stage to ensure that sites are set up correctly and to ensure that the same are amended promptly as required when new information is provided /amendments made to the site or scheme. For example, but not limited to: attend initial pre-start meetings; liaison with acquisition lawyers, managing agents, clients technical and sales teams; draft the necessary plot disposal documents; obtain land registry approval of conveyance lay out plans. All whilst adhering closely to client and firm protocol and process
• Provide advice to developer clients regarding their exit from development sites to include managed land transfers and the disposal of freehold reversions
• Provide a high quality and timely legal service to clients of the firm in residential conveyancing work, mainly dealing with private client/personal residential conveyancing for key housebuilders clients and other clients
• Your role will involve day-to-day responsibility for efficient, accurate and cost-effective progression of site set up matters and residential conveyancing and will include a high standard of liaison and rapport with the clients’ key contacts
• You will on a day-to-day basis supervise and guide more junior and less-experienced members of staff and deputise when required for the Team Leader / Partner
• You will support the Team Leader with the on-going growth and development and management of the team and develop and maintain strong and effective relationships with clients
• You will contribute to the case management workflow setups and contribute / edit the standard documents for this area of work
• Develop your own self-organisational and interpersonal skills so that: work is prioritised and progressed as efficiently as possible; your Team Leader and the partners in the Group are sufficiently aware of your workload and specific issues which arise on your matters and you maintain a flexible and proactive approach to work and good working relationships with external institutions including clients, the land registry, search providers, lenders and any professional trade bodies
• To ensure that professional services provided by you are of the highest quality, that client care standards are effectively maintained, and that work completed meets the appropriate standards. To ensure that the files are maintained properly and that matters are progressed in line with the firm’s standard up to and including billing and file closin