Real Estate Senior Associate - Flex

If you’re 5+ PQE in commercial property and starting to wonder what the next few years actually look like where you are, this is worth a conversation.

I’m working with a very good regional firm in Durham that has a busy, established Real Estate team and a genuine need for someone at Associate / Senior Associate level.

They’re not looking for someone to just inherit a caseload and quietly get on with it.

You’d be handling good-quality commercial property work across acquisitions and disposals, landlord and tenant, finance and refinance, development and portfolio management.

There’s work for regional developers and national house builders, plus a sizeable stream of refinance instructions coming through from a well-known digital bank.

What I like here is the shape of the team.

There’s proper junior support underneath you, so you’re not expected to do everything yourself.

There’s also room to support and develop the more junior lawyers without being pushed into management if that’s not what you want.

If you do want to move towards leadership, that route is there too.

The firm is also open to people building a niche.

If there’s an area you want to develop, they’ll support business plans, panel applications and client development rather than telling you to stay in your lane.

Progression looks credible as well.

Several of the current partners originally joined the firm as solicitors or trainees, which says more to me than a generic line about “clear career progression”.

Development or agricultural property experience would be useful, but it isn’t essential.

A strong general commercial property lawyer who can run matters confidently and build good client relationships would still be very relevant.

Hybrid working is available, there’s free on-site parking in Durham, a bonus structure, and the role can be shaped around Associate or Senior Associate level.

I think this is one for someone who likes the technical work but wants a bit more say in where their career goes next.