Articles From the Team
The Surge in Commercial Property
Since starting here at BCL last summer after I moved from Gowling WLG where I specialised in property, I have seen a few changes in the commercial property market.
During the last six months of 2016, there was a lot of change on a global scale which did have an impact on the legal job market. Back in the summer of last year, the commercial property market was extremely buoyant. In fact the first placements I made were into West Midlands based commercial property teams outside the Birmingham city centre. Then, there was Brexit! In the run up to the vote, there was a definite feel of worry and firms were starting to act tentatively around recruiting, particularly for those luxury growth hire roles.
When the vote went in favour of Brexit, there was a fast decline in the amount of commercial property roles. As time went on through quarters three and four of 2016, the rise in commercial property roles has steadily crept up again because the work is most definitely there! If you are working in Birmingham City Centre, you only need look out of your window to dispel any concerns about whether we are still building or not! The city is vibrant with commercial building work, cranes and scaffolding is everywhere and so too is the incessant noise of pneumatic drills! Someone has to carry out the legal work on all of this; planning, construction, the actual commercial property transaction. The work is most definitely there!
Going into quarter one of 2017, I have seen a surge in the number of commercial property roles across the West Midlands. The work is being carried out on the ground; the law firms have the work and not enough people to do it! If you are a qualified solicitor with experience in commercial property, now is a great time to assess your options given the choice that is available. As preferred suppliers to most of the leading firms in the West Midlands, BCL Legal is perfectly positioned to advise you on available roles and assist with applications. I specifically work with law firms across the West Midlands, specialising in ‘out of town’ vacancies that exist in the Black Country, Worcestershire and Warwickshire, so I would be more than happy to talk things through on a formal or informal basis if you would like to know what exists outside of Birmingham.
I met with one of our best Black Country clients just this week, they are looking for three, possibly four, 3+ PQE commercial property lawyers, they can offer a salary that is on a par with some City Centre firms, no fee earning target and free parking! Whilst I see the attraction of the City Centre, vacancies such as these are hard to ignore.