Fixed term contract until mid-January 2025
The Opportunity
The Real Estate Legal Team is seeking a motivated, proactive and effective lawyer to join for a period of maternity cover. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced real estate lawyer to join a large and highly regarded inhouse legal team, as well as a rare opportunity to work as part of an established inhouse team of real estate lawyers in a fun and friendly environment.
What will my accountabilities be?
1. Supervising and supporting external lawyers on acquisition transactions, and working closely with acquisition surveyors and other members of the Legal team
2. Undertaking some acquisition transactional work, although the majority of this is undertaken by external counsel
3. Helping the Legal and Development teams achieve targets for new store openings and transactional acquisition work
4. Providing day to day advice to colleagues in the Acquisitions, Estates and Construction teams on all matters connected with new restaurant acquisitions, as well as the existing restaurant estate
5. Monitoring and reviewing best practice, standard documents, policies and precedents used on acquisitions
6. Compliance advice and support, applying McDonald’s global legal policies
7. Identifying and communicating risks consistent with the both the risk appetite of the business and the legal department and advising accordingly
8. Helping to develop the legal skills of more junior members of the team
9. Proactively identifying market trends and regulatory changes to improve company policies and procedures, develop communication and training programmes and ensure awareness and compliance across the business.
What Team will I be a part?
You will be a part of the Real Estate Legal Team, which is one of three sub-teams within the UK & Ireland Legal Team. Both the UK&I Legal Team and the Real Estate sub-team are highly regarded across the business as high-performing, friendly and dynamic teams with a great reputation for influencing, challenging and leading those at all levels, across all departments. You will report into the Head of the Real Estate Legal Practice Group, and work alongside a further four real estate lawyers and a legal assistant. The wider UK&I Legal Department consists of around 20 team members.
Who are my customers?
10. The McDonald’s Development team, which comprises separate teams of Acquisitions Surveyors, Estates Surveyors and Construction Project Managers
11. The rest of the Real Estate Legal team, as well as the wider UK&I Legal team
12. The Global Legal Team, including Global Compliance, Global Litigation, and real estate lawyers in other markets.
Qualifications:
What background do I need to have?
You will be a qualified solicitor with strong academic credentials and post-qualification commercial property experience gained with a respected law firm or within an established in-house real estate department. Experience should include complex acquisition, development and landlord and tenant work, with some knowledge of planning and construction law. In-house or secondment experience, whilst not essential, will be advantageous.
You will have the following critical skills and qualities:
13. be an effective communicator (including having strong drafting skills and the ability to clearly and concisely explain concepts to non-legal partners); a relationship builder; efficient; and able to see the big picture by providing commercially sound advice
14. adaptability to audience and ability to clearly and concisely explain concepts and to influence internal clients
15. an innovative solution-focused approach and strong problem-solving ability
16. strong commercial awareness and understanding, business judgment and ability to evaluate legal risk
17. be a team player, with an ability to mentor, develop and model skills for others
18. be positive, self-motivated, enthusiastic, authentic, pragmatic, forward-thinking and curious