Real Estate Associate/Senior Associate in Sheffield

We’re a national law firm with a local reach. Our legal experts are here for you. Whether it’s personal or business, we understand that everyone’s situation is different. But we’re more than just a law firm – we’re a team of people working together to help individuals and businesses navigate life’s ups and downs. Working here you’ll feel a part of our friendly and inclusive environment.

We’ll value you for who you are and what you bring. We support each other and push boundaries to achieve incredible things and make a real difference to our clients and communities. We're always looking to support our colleagues to work in a way that works best for them and everyone else, including our clients, the business and the regulators.

Your Role and What You'll Be Doing

The Northern Real Estate Transactions team advises on a wide range of commercial property matters, with particular strengths in development‑led transactions, investment acquisitions and disposals, property finance and strategic land. The team operates across Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester and forms part of one of the largest national real estate teams in the UK, providing both deep national resource and strong regional expertise.

Led in the North by Partner James Knowles, the team is known for its commercially focused and pragmatic approach, acting for developers, investors, landowners, funders and occupiers on complex, high‑value transactions across the full property lifecycle. The Northern team is recognised for delivering clear, solutions‑focused advice and for working collaboratively across disciplines to drive transactions forward efficiently and effectively.

As a member of the team, you’ll be involved in:

• Advising on a varied portfolio of real estate transactions, including acquisitions and disposals, development projects, investment work, property finance matters and significant landlord and tenant instructions.
• Managing matters from instruction through to completion, maintaining high standards of technical quality, commercial awareness and client service.
• Acting as a key point of contact for clients, building trusted relationships and providing clear, practical advice tailored to clients’ commercial objectives.
• Supporting business development activity, including developing existing client relationships and contributing to wider team growth initiatives.
• Collaborating closely with colleagues across planning, construction, corporate, banking and tax to deliver integrated advice on complex, multi‑disciplinary matters.
• For senior associates, supporting, supervising and mentoring junior team members and contributing to the ongoing development of the team.

About You

We’re looking for a commercially minded real estate lawyer who brings strong technical foundations and a collaborative approach:

• A minimum of 4 years PQE.
• Demonstrable technical experience across transactional real estate work, particularly focusing on development work (either residential or commercial).
• The ability to manage multiple matters simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail and delivering a consistently high level of client service.
• A commercial and pragmatic approach, with the confidence to engage directly with clients and understand their wider business objectives.
• An interest in business development and in building strong, long‑term client and referrer relationships.

You’ll be joining a collaborative and forward‑thinking national real estate team that values quality, ambition and progression. If you’re looking to develop your career within a leading real estate practice, working on complex and high‑profile transactions from our Leeds, Sheffield or Manchester offices, we’d love to hear from you.

Our Benefits - What We Can Offer You

• 25 days holidays as standard plus bank holidays - You can ‘buy’ up to 35hrs of extra holiday too.
• Generous and flexible pension schemes.
• Volunteering days – Two days of volunteering every year for a cause of your choice (fully paid).
• Westfield Health membership, offering refunds on medical services alongside our Aviva Digital GP services.
• We also offer a wide range of well-being initiatives to encourage positive mental health both in and out of the workplace and to make sure you’re fully supported.
• This includes our Flexible by Choice programme which gives our colleagues more choice over a hybrid way of working subject to role, team and client requirements.
• We have been ranked in the Best Workplaces for Wellbeing for Large Organisations for 2024!

Our responsible business programmes are fundamental to who we are and our purpose. We’re committed to being a diverse and inclusive workplace where our colleagues can flourish, and we have established a number of inclusion network groups across our business to support this aim. Our commitment to Social Responsibility, community investment activity and tackling climate change is a fundamental part of who we are. It’s made up of four strands: Our People, Our Community, Our Environment and Our Pro Bono.

Additional Information

As part of the Irwin Mitchell Group’s on-boarding process all successful applicants are required to complete the group’s employment screening process. This process helps to ensure that all new employees meet our standards in relation to honesty and integrity therefore protecting the interests of the Group, colleagues, clients, partners and other stakeholders. We carry out pre-employment screening to establish your eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record and financial checks with our trusted 3rd parties. The employment screening process will fully comply with Data Protection and other applicable laws. Irwin Mitchell LLP is an equal opportunity employer.