Senior Counsel (Real Estate Finance)

Rutherford is mandated on a new search for a deal lawyer based in London. Our client manages private debt, hybrid capital, real estate and private equity across the UK and US. The role sits primarily within the real estate debt business, with exposure to other strategies including private equity and direct lending. Deal sizes typically range from £10m to £50m across a diverse mix of asset classes — commercial, office, leisure and more.

Responsibilities:

• Own deals end-to-end — you are the decision-maker on legal, not a reviewer. You will drive transactions to close, set the legal strategy and call the shots on documentation and negotiation
• Sit at the table commercially — working directly with originators and transactors, you will have real influence on how deals are structured, not just documented
• Build and manage your own panel — instruct, direct and push external counsel rather than take instructions from them
• Keep a live loan book moving — extensions, amendments, restructurings and enforcement situations handled by you, giving you a breadth of work that most law firm roles simply cannot offer
• Grow with the platform — as new products are added (securitisation, hybrid capital, equity) there will be genuine scope to expand your remit and take on work well beyond REF

What they are looking for

• 6–10 PQE with strong real estate finance experience, ideally lender-side from a leading Law Firm.
• Comfortable running deals independently and managing external counsel without needing day-to-day oversight
• Commercially minded — this is a deal-focused team, not a process-driven one
• Any exposure to mezzanine, hybrid capital or securitisation is a bonus but not essential

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