Clifford Chance

Graduate recruitment in the UK

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Real Estate

As well as knowledge and expertise in real estate and real estate finance, lawyers working in this area today need to grasp a wide range of legal and commercial skills to maximise the value property adds to our clients’ businesses. At Clifford Chance we specialise in providing commercial advice in the UK and internationally on all transaction types where real estate is the core asset.

We are involved in a multitude of UK and international property transactions relating to the sale and acquisition of property portfolios or significant stand-alone properties, real estate investments (including private equity investments and joint ventures), development projects and leasing transactions. The group also acts on the promotion of and investment in real estate investment funds and unit trusts as well as representing hotel operators on property and hotel management matters. Acknowledged as one of the market-leading practices for real estate and real estate finance in the UK, we also have a number of specialist groups:

  • Environment & Planning

  • Real Estate

  • Litigation

  • Construction

  • PFI/PPP

Sophisticated alternative funding methods have widened the scope of real estate work, which now encompasses equity investment, joint venture structuring, debt origination and securitisation, among others. We work with clients representing every aspect of the market, from investors, developers and occupiers to commercial and investment banks, private equity groups, and asset and fund managers.

Typical work

The department deals with a wide range of issues including:

  • Large and complex transactions featuring property-related structured finance; debt finance and securitisation; private finance initiative (PFI) financing

  • Acquisition and disposal of properties

  • Development agreements

  • Leases and licences

  • Planning and environmental matters

In addition, our Construction group advises on construction and engineering projects in the UK and overseas.

Notable deals

  • Advised on the £959 billion purchase of Chelsea Barracks in London for Project Blue (Guernsey) Ltd, a joint venture between Qatari Diar and CPC Group (part of Candy & Candy). We also advised the joint venture on the ground-breaking £1 billion Islamic financing of the project, which is the largest Islamic financing to date of land in the UK. Deal insight video >>

  • Advised Metrovacesa on the £1.09 billion acquisition of the global headquarters of the HSBC Tower at Canary Wharf in London. In terms of value, this is the largest ever single property deal in the UK

  • Advised Oxford Properties, a subsidiary of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System ("OMERS"), Canada's third largest pension fund, on the Group's first UK property acquisition and development transaction. This acquisition took the form of a long-term "side-by-side" lease and related development arrangements for the Watermark Place riverside development project on Upper Thames Street in the City of London.

Accolades and Awards

  • Real Estate Team of the Year (Legal Business Awards 2007)

  • Best Global Legal Advisor (Euromoney Liquid Real Estate Awards 2008)

  • Best Legal Services in Western Europe (Euromoney Liquid Real Estate Awards 2008)

What you might do

The type of work and level of responsibility given to trainees in the Real Estate practice is varied.

At one end of the scale, you might manage your own files for small matters, dealing with clients and taking on real responsibility, but on large one-off deals you are likely to be involved in research, due diligence, drafting, organising and managing completions, conducting local authority searches, completing stamp duty tax forms and so on. You could be asked to draft contracts, briefing notes, agreements or other documents or to take on proofreading or associated document management duties. You will also have good contact with clients and lawyers throughout the group.

In the property finance-related group, you might be expected to draft debt agreements and certificates, legal charges, deeds of release, fee letters and legal opinions. You could also become involved in drafting amendment agreements, security packages and other transaction documents

Whatever tasks you’re given, you will find the nature and scope of the work to be extremely broad.