Articles From the Team

I love real estate, amongst other things

I am in no way qualified to discuss relationships or the annals of love. This is not my forte, although I would happily describe myself as hopelessly romantic (don’t we all?). Different people love different things, take myself for example; having previously attempted the life of a musician I absolutely love nothing more than being on-stage and performing to a crowd (10 or more people ideally, otherwise it’s just a little bit sad) and this dream came to a very real fruition between 2010 and 2013. Drums being my instrument of choice, rock being my expertise, wild parties and groupies unfortunately were all beyond my reach. But nonetheless I love being a drummer (I particularly love my Pearl MCX kit), I loved being in a band (3 singles released on iTunes) and of course I absolutely and unquestionably love rock music (rock hand in the air as I write this). But I also love what I do, I take a great pride in my work and being a solid component in the BCL Legal team as a whole and particularly in Birmingham. To love what I do I have to understand what I do, I have to see the value in it and I have to 100% portray this at all times (between the hours of 9:00am – 6:00pm Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays, the Queen’s birthday, the last Thursday of every other month and Tuesday lunch times (some of this is satire, I implore you to bear with me…)). Could this be love? It must be love… definite musical reference there!

I read an article recently in The Times which was simply entitled “Love me, love my real estate” and it got me thinking about the things we do, the things we own and the things we profess to love. There are reams of people who will profess to love what they do and love the field they work in. Great! But how much of this is lust? We humans are a fickle breed, easily swayed with short attention spans and a proclivity to take actions on short term joys rather than long term security and happiness. So, I beg the question, do you really love what you do? Let me profess to be the first to say (although I doubt I am) that Lawyers are some of the biggest culprits. There is no doubt that real estate is once again a growing market. Both residential and commercial development on the rise nationwide with Birmingham in particular experiencing a lot of the love. This is truly good news, not just for the firms in Birmingham and across the UK undertaking the work but for all involved and economic growth as a whole (although I have heard that payments on the Gherkin have defaulted – anyone fancy buying a big vegetable patch in the middle of London?) and with all of this growth and development comes new jobs. Birmingham seems to be a focal point for leading national firms currently recruiting. With this in mind, it is officially NQ season and it is raining jobs! We were instructed on no less than 18 jobs in half an hour this past Wednesday. So I ask the question, of candidates and recruiting partners alike; do you love being a real estate lawyer? The answer is always a firm yes with no hesitation or room for question. Great! But what about those of you who haven’t been asked, or have already decided that you don’t love real estate? Are you sure?! Love can be found in the strangest of places, it can happen unexpectedly, yet would we have it any other way? We are driven by success, we are driven by money, we are driven by challenges and adventure. It would appear that all of these things are now being found in the realms of real estate. This could be mistaken for lust, and if the bubble bursts (furiously touching wood) then we might see the true colours of love for real estate. But for the time being, we’re all smitten. Historically, perhaps traditionally, the majority of high complexity and high value work (that lawyers love…) was undertaken by leading firms and their London offices. This is no longer the case, as we see an ever increasing rise in Birmingham firms leading the charge with new clients, large-scale projects and development across the city, as well as taking charge of nationwide projects. As a central hub many leading national practices are now focussing their efforts on expanding in the Midlands and at the heart of the Midlands is, of course, Birmingham.

So If you’re a Lawyer within the Private Practice sphere or in-house looking for a new challenge, new adventure (or a new love…) firms are looking to recruit in real estate and other practice areas across all levels from NQ to Partner. BCL Legal can help you find that new role and prepare you for the journey.

For more information please contact, Gishan Abeyratne or visit our website BCL Legal