Job Description:

Property & Bridging Finance Paralegal / Fee Earner

Location: Aldgate, London
Working Pattern: Full-time | Monday to Friday | Office-based
Practice Area: Bridging Finance | Secured Lending | Property
Salary: Dependent upon experience

The Opportunity

My client is a highly entrepreneurial London law firm with considerable strength within the property market and an established Real Estate Finance offering. An opportunity has arisen for an experienced Property & Bridging Finance Paralegal / Fee Earner to join its expanding London team. This represents an excellent opportunity for somebody with a strong property background to develop more specialist expertise across bridging finance, secured lending and property-backed transactions. The appointment combines traditional property work with specialist finance matters and provides regular exposure to lenders, brokers, underwriters, investors, borrowers and other commercial counterparties.

It is a hands-on transactional role.

The successful candidate will therefore need to possess genuine practical experience and be capable of meaningfully progressing matters rather than operating solely in an administrative capacity.

Property & Conveyancing Responsibilities

Responsibilities will include:

• Managing residential and commercial property transactions from instruction through to completion.
• Reviewing title documentation.
• Reviewing searches and contracts.
• Preparing and reviewing Reports on Title.
• Identifying and investigating potential title issues.
• Liaising directly with clients.
• Liaising with Solicitors and other legal professionals.
• Communicating with estate agents, lenders and other relevant third parties.
• Identifying potential legal and transactional risks.
• Ensuring compliance with AML and wider regulatory requirements.
• Maintaining accurate case-management records.
• Managing relevant transaction and completion deadlines.

These responsibilities reflect the client's underlying brief for the appointment.

Bridging Finance Responsibilities

The successful individual will also work extensively across short-term secured lending matters.

Responsibilities will include:

• Drafting and reviewing loan agreements.
• Drafting and reviewing debentures.
• Reviewing personal guarantees.
• Preparing and reviewing security documentation.
• Reviewing property titles against lender requirements.
• Reviewing property searches.
• Reviewing valuations within the context of lender requirements.
• Liaising with lenders.
• Liaising directly with underwriters.
• Assisting with satisfaction of pre-loan conditions.
• Identifying issues which may affect the lender's security.
• Assisting in identifying and mitigating legal and transactional risk.
• Taking an appropriately risk-conscious but commercially pragmatic approach.
• Maintaining excellent communication across all transaction participants.
• Managing multiple matters simultaneously.

The client's specification places particular emphasis upon loan and security documentation, title review, lender requirements and underwriter interaction.

The Candidate

The strongest candidates will have a solid background within property together with exposure to bridging finance, real estate finance or secured lending.

The client is specifically interested in individuals demonstrating:

• Strong residential and/or commercial conveyancing experience.
• Knowledge of bridging finance.
• Understanding of short-term lending structures.
• Understanding of property law and title issues.
• Knowledge of secured-lending processes.
• Experience liaising with lenders.
• Experience dealing with brokers and legal professionals.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Strong risk awareness.
• Excellent communication.
• The ability to manage several transactions simultaneously.
• Familiarity with AML, compliance and wider regulatory frameworks.

Candidates who understand the pace of bridging transactions and can combine technical accuracy with commercial common sense will be particularly well suited.

Career Development

This position provides an opportunity to move considerably beyond conventional volume conveyancing.

The successful individual will gain specialist exposure to property finance, secured lending and lender-side legal work whilst working with an extensive range of property-market participants.

For an ambitious Paralegal or Fee Earner, it offers the potential to build a valuable specialism within an increasingly significant area of the property market.

The firm actively develops strong performers and provides opportunities for individuals to move into increasingly senior fee-earning responsibilities as their technical ability develops.