The firm
DMH Stallard provides a comprehensive range of commercial, dispute resolution and litigation, employment, cyber security and cyber-crime, corporate, intellectual property, real estate and technology, media and telecoms advice to both businesses and individuals. Our clients, our people and our professional networks are the keys to our success.. With offices in London and across the region, including Brighton, Gatwick, Guildford, Horsham, and Hassocks - we're proud to have grown to around 380 people.
Culture really matters to us. In our most recent staff survey, 99.6% of our people said DMH is a great place to work, with 90% feeling they have a strong work-life balance, and 93.9% expressing confidence in the leadership team.
We're committed to building a genuinely inclusive and supportive workplace. Our Women in Law group meets quarterly, and we're actively working toward gender balance at all levels. We already exceed the industry average, with 40% of our partners being women compared to the sector average at 29%.
We actively invest in learning and development at all career stages. Our mentoring programme is available to all partners, and we are preparing to launch an internal mentoring programme to support progression right up to partnership. We also recognise that work-life balance is essential to long-term success and wellbeing, and we promote hybrid working arrangements to help our people perform at their best inside and outside of work.
We're also especially proud to achieve gold accreditation from Investors in People, which reflects our strong commitment to people development and leadership.
The department
Our Real Estate Team handle all manner of residential and commercial property-related matters from Landlord and Tenant to Construction and Development, Asset Management, Utilities, Conveyancing and Property Finance.
Job Purpose
Legal Executive or Paralegal required to undertake a wide variety of residential property matters.
* To operate as an effective member of the Guildford real estate team, working on a variety of residential property transactions to include acquisitions and disposals, as well as plot sales.
* The individual is expected to develop good working relationships with clients and other team members.
* Achieve the targets as defined by the Group Head/Head of Department, including contribution, hours and fees.
Responsibilities And Duties
Personal
* To participate and contribute to the Real Estate group to ensure an effective working environment, supporting Associates and Partners on more complex matters as appropriate.
* Attend relevant technical training to ensure that skills and knowledge remain up-to-date.
* To attend and contribute to group meetings.
* Continuously develop their own technical expertise.
* Maintain awareness of the legal market specifically relating to commercial property.
* To promote the vision and culture of the Firm.
* Annually participate in Appraisal / Objective meetings.
* To maintain a culture where individuals are encouraged to identify problems or mistakes and are encouraged to "speak up" to ensure issues are resolved.
Legal
* Responsible for dealing with a wide range of non contentious residential property work as detailed above.
Financial
* To be responsible for ensuring achievement of own key financial targets, including fees, contribution and payment of debts and disbursements.
* Maintaining accurate data on case manager and the Firm's financial management systems.
* To monitor own performance in relation to the number of live files, file closures, file openings, billing, time recording and to take appropriate action to ensure targets are met.
* Scope all matters appropriately, including use of budget templates, delivering work on time and on budget.
Client Care
* To be responsible for the delivery of the service to the client, ensuring that the highest standards of client care are maintained so that clients use DMHS again and recommend the firm to others.
Business Development
* To assist with marketing and business development initiatives such as writing for e-newsletters, attending seminars and attending other business development activities.
Risk
* To be fully familiar with the Money Laundering and FSMA Policies and Procedures and to ensure full compliance with them.
* Conforming to the risk management procedures as stated by the firm.
* Attend regular meetings with the group to review all current work and workloads.
Other information
Knowledge, Skills And Experience Required
* Previous residential property experience is preferred, but all candidates will be considered.
* Knowledge of property legislation and relevant case law.
* Able to effectively manage a busy caseload and their time to achieve client and internal deadlines.
* Understanding the importance of client care with an ability to deal with a wide range of clients with differing objectives including being able to understand the commercial objectives of the client.
* Able to work within a team and provide support to Associates and Partners as appropriate.
* Confident Excel skills.
* Competent IT skills including Outlook, Word, Digital Dictation and time recording systems.
* Ability to draft documentation with attention to detail.
* Understanding of the strategy and vision of the firm.
* Communicate effectively with clients, in writing, over the telephone and in meetings.
* Convey technical legal information in an effective and accessible way.
Benefits
* 25 days holiday (of which 3.5 are taken during the Christmas period), plus Birthday holiday, plus Bank Holidays.
* Life Assurance
* Private Healthcare
* Employee Assistance Programme
* Sodexo Discounts
* Pension Scheme
* Interest free season ticket loans
* Cycle to work scheme
* Discounts on Legal work