Senior Lawyer in London

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a skilled, forward-thinking and highly organised Senior Lawyer to join the Dentons Helix Real Estate team. This role offers the opportunity to undertake high-quality, complex work for significant clients within a genuinely flexible and modern working environment that supports remote working, autonomy and work-life balance.

Dentons Helix is an innovative legal delivery model within Dentons, combining high-quality legal capability, technology, process efficiency and data-led delivery to provide effective, commercially focused support to a roster of high-quality clients. This is a senior role in a growing team, offering the opportunity to support a small number of clients across a broad range of commercial real estate matters, while playing an active role in shaping, developing and building long-term client relationships.

The right candidate will be a trusted day-to-day contact for clients and stakeholders, helping to ensure that legal support is responsive, well organised, commercially relevant and aligned with each client's business needs. You will work on a wide range of commercial real estate matters, including leases, land and title investigations, estate management, and support for major projects or transactions.

The role requires more than technical legal ability. We are looking for someone who is organised, practical and takes initiative, and who is willing to manage both the legal and operational aspects of matter delivery. This includes managing workstreams, progressing matters efficiently, coordinating stakeholders, tracking deadlines, identifying blockers early and ensuring that matters are properly documented and managed through to completion.

You will also collaborate closely with Dentons' Band 1 ranked UK Real Estate team, benefiting from its deep market knowledge, training and mentoring, while enjoying a flexible, supportive and inclusive working environment.

The candidate will be expected to:

• Deliver a broad range of commercial real estate work, including drafting, reviewing and negotiating property contracts, leases, licences, title documentation and other real estate documents.
• Provide clear, practical and commercially focused advice on freehold and leasehold matters and other property-related queries from both landlord and tenant perspectives.
• Act as a trusted day-to-day contact across multiple significant, high-quality client relationships, building connections with clients and business stakeholders and helping to develop long-term partnerships.
• Manage matters and workstreams, ensuring that legal issues, administrative requirements, client expectations, deadlines and next steps are actively managed.
• Move matters forward, including coordinating input from clients, counterparties, colleagues and other stakeholders.
• Maintain matter discipline, including accurate matter tracking, clear file management, deadline monitoring, status reporting and prompt escalation of risks or blockers.
• Be willing to get involved in both the legal and administrative aspects of a matter where required, recognising that effective delivery in Helix depends on solid organisation, process management and follow-through.
• Manage multiple matters simultaneously, using sound judgement to prioritise work, balance competing deadlines and maintain high standards under pressure.
• Support junior lawyers, paralegals and other team members where appropriate, including by providing guidance, reviewing work and helping maintain consistent quality of delivery.
• Collaborate effectively with colleagues across Dentons Helix and the wider Real Estate practice, including Dentons' Band 1 ranked UK Real Estate team, to ensure seamless, consistent and high-quality service delivery.
• Contribute to the development of existing and new client relationships across a portfolio of significant, high-quality clients, including by understanding client priorities, identifying opportunities to improve delivery and supporting the continued growth of Helix Real Estate.
• Contribute to continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to improve processes, templates, playbooks, reporting, matter management and service delivery.
• Engage with and leverage technology, including workflow tools, legal technology, data solutions and AI, to improve efficiency, consistency, quality and client outcomes.
• Support the ongoing development of Dentons Helix as a modern, technology-enabled legal delivery model.

Candidates should be qualified solicitors with:

• A solid academic record, including a degree or equivalent qualification.
• Extensive commercial real estate experience gained across a broad range of transactions, estate management matters and asset types.
• Experience in the retail, restaurant, infrastructure, energy, electric vehicle roll‐out or similar multi‐site sectors.
• Extensive drafting, reviewing and legal analysis skills.
• The ability to provide clear, pragmatic and commercially focused advice.
• Well‐developed organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple matters, competing deadlines and complex workstreams.
• An initiative driven approach to matter management, including the ability to anticipate issues, identify next steps and drive progress without waiting to be prompted.
• Thorough attention to detail and a disciplined approach to matter administration, file management, tracking and reporting.
• Confidence in managing direct client and stakeholder interactions.
• Experience of supervising, supporting or mentoring junior lawyers, paralegals or other team members.
• Proficiency in using technology and a genuine interest in engaging with new tools, including legal technology and AI.
• An interest in process improvement, innovation and the use of data to improve legal service delivery.

The candidate will demonstrate:

• A commitment to delivering high quality client service.
• A highly organised, structured and disciplined working style.
• A practical approach and willingness to get involved in both the legal and practical delivery aspects of a matter.
• Well‐developed communication skills, including the ability to explain legal and process issues clearly to clients, colleagues and stakeholders.
• Commercial judgement and a solutions‐focused approach.
• A personable, positive and constructive working style, with a reputation for being easy to work with and supportive of colleagues and clients.
• Versatility and professionalism when working across multiple matters and deadlines.
• Curiosity about innovation in legal service delivery, including the practical use of technology, automation, data and AI.
• The ability to work effectively and independently within a flexible, remote‐working environment.
• A collaborative approach and the ability to work effectively as part of an integrated team across Dentons Helix and the wider Real Estate practice.

We are committed to building an inclusive culture here at Dentons where our people can thrive, regardless of their background or circumstance. As well as being the right thing to do, it makes good business sense too. A richness of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives helps us best serve our clients and the communities in which we operate.

Dentons is committed to providing equal opportunities for all. We welcome applications from everyone including of any age, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, neurotype, disability, or with parental or caring responsibilities. We are also "Happy to Talk Flexible Working" and welcome conversations about flexible working arrangements.

Dentons is a Disability Confident employer. Candidates with a disability may choose to apply under the Disability Confident Scheme. We will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role. Where application volumes are high, we may offer interviews to those who best meet the minimum criteria, consistent with our approach for all candidates. Any information you share with us during the application process is treated in confidence.