Business Group Lawyer - Real Estate

The Business Group Knowledge Lawyer (BGKL) is a senior lawyer role which will report directly to the Business Group Head (BGH) for our Real Estate Business Group which encompasses our core real estate teams, residential development and planning.

In this role you will work strategically with the BGH to help deliver innovation projects and other priorities. This will include playing a key role in promoting the use of our self-service legal technology toolkit and liaising with our Legal Technology Application Manager, acting as the subject matter expert for legal technology tools that are applicable to the Real Estate Business Group.

You will be part of a team of two knowledge lawyers and a knowledge paralegal who will work with the BGH and the various teams across the business group to drive a culture of excellence and continuous development of our legal knowledge. You will facilitate an environment where teams and individual fee-earners feel empowered develop their own knowledge and skills and can see the value in doing so.

There is not expectation to be a subject matter expert for every specialism within the business group. Instead, you'll work collaboratively with the teams to ensure that every team has the right processes in place for onboarding trainees, developing early-stage talent, keeping abreast of new legal developments, sharing knowledge and much more

You will be leading the dissemination of legal and best practice updates, identifying and mitigating existing and new risks, and identifying and implementing new ways of working, particularly where those initiatives are broadly applicable across the business group.

In addition to working closely with the BGH, you will work with the Chief Innovation Officer (and the wider Innovation & Legal Technology Team) to support the continued use, development and adoption of legal technology, drive innovation, and identify more effective ways of delivering legal services.

You will work closely with the other Knowledge Lawyer and the Knowledge Paralegal in the real estate business group to deliver the following:

• Continuous review of each team's processes for developing legal knowledge, ensuring consistency and best practice across all teams.
• Promote knowledge development across the teams through our third-party content and knowledge tools. Manage training and development of legal knowledge for trainees and other early-stage talent.
• Implement, maintain and review a training programme across the business group, and facilitate training within teams and sub-teams as necessary.
• Ensure teams and sub-teams have the necessary tools and (where still applicable) precedent banks of relevant documents and information required to deliver excellent client service.
• Provide guidance and support to the Knowledge Paralegal ; particularly ensuring that the Paralegal is effectively fulfilling their primary role in helping teams to co-ordinate the development of legal knowledge.
• Work with the BGH and play a key role in promoting the use of AI and our firmwide legal technology toolkit, acting as the subject matter expert for legal technology tools that are specific to the real estate group (eg Orbital and Avail).
• Leading on the sharing of information of broad applicability to the business group on risk, working practices, and legal updates.
• Supporting the business development team in responding to tender questions relating specifically to knowledge management in the business group.
• Work with our business development, marketing and content creation teams in terms of horizon scanning ; monitoring Bills, Law Commission consultations, major case law developments and other relevant sources to ensure…