The Real Estate team is an integral part of Baker McKenzie's Belgian
Office and has been involved in several high profile deals in recent
years such as the Cityforward transaction.
The team has been consistently ranked band 1 or 2 in Chambers and
Legal 500 over the last years. The Belgian Real Estate team works
closely and regularly with the Regional and Global Real Estate
practices of the Firm which boasts more than 500 real estate
professionals around the world. The work of the Brussels Real Estate
team is varied, of high-value and often international in nature and is
often performed in close integration with the banking & finance,
environmental and tax teams.
Our Real Estate department advises on a wide range of property
matters specialising in the areas of:
High value investment acquisitions and disposals;
Corporate headquarter leasing;
Real estate financings;
Hotels and leisure sector transactions;
Planning and sustainability matters;
Development projects;
Retail (luxury goods) leases;
General landlord and tenant matters;
Real estate input into M&A transactions.
The department acts for a diverse range of high profile clients in
the corporate and financial arena and its primary client base
comprises major developers, institutional investors, multinational
corporates, foreign investment, financial institutions and private
equity houses.
In recent years, the department has been able to keep a focus both on
large international and Belgian investors (BentallGreenOak, Goldman
Sachs, Aberdeen, Nextensa,…) and major Belgian developers (IRET,
Re-vive, D'Ieteren Immo…) whilst continuing to serve the Firm's
international corporate and industrial clients as well as major
transactions in the HRT sector. The team is mid-size and works as a
cohesive team with specialist lawyers in other departments
particularly administrative law, tax, funds and corporate, in both the
Belgian office and globally. The team combines an extremely high level
of real estate expertise that focuses on delivering clear, commercial
and pragmatic advice. The successful candidate would be working within
this supportive and collegiate environment.
The Role
We are currently seeking an ambitious and talented junior-mid-level
Associate, looking for a challenging and rewarding new role.
Interested applicants should be able to demonstrate exemplary
technical skills and relish the opportunity to join a truly unique and
successful global real estate team.
The role will involve:
Advising Belgian and international investors with real estate
investment acquisitions and disposals in Belgium
Advising major Belgian developers in development and disposal transactions
Advising and supporting leading multi-national corporates with
their occupational requirements in Belgium
Working closely with the Belgian offices Banking team to support
real estate finance transactions
Working closely with the Belgian office Corporate team in the
coordination and implementation of multi-jurisdictional mergers and acquisitions
Developing relationships with clients, including understanding
clients' businesses, economic drivers, markets, and sectors in order
to deliver relevant and commercial advice and contribute to growing
the relationship and winning further work.
Engaging in business development activities, and being active in
the promotion of the firm and seeking opportunities for new work.
Working as part of a team and taking an active role in sharing
knowledge and experience.
Associates are given regular and direct contact with clients, with
a culture based on associates being given the level of
responsibility that they are ready for, rather than a PQE based
method of work allocation
Posting to other offices under the firm's associate transfer
programme is also a possibility.
Key Skills and Experience Required
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate all or the
majority of the following:
Strong academic background (Belgian law degree)
2-4 years of relevant experience in Real Estate
Excellent command of English, Dutch and French
High quality work standards
Strong client-service orientation
Excellent communication skills
Ability to work well both in a team and individually
Why join us?
Baker McKenzie is a truly global law firm. Founded in 1949, we advise
many of the worlds most dynamic and successful business organisations
through our 13,200 people in 78 offices in 46 countries. Yet big does
not mean impersonal. We work hard to ensure that everyone knows their
role and has the support they need to perform it to the highest
standard. Our culture encourages this - how we work, think and behave
in a collaborative and fulfilling way.
Baker McKenzie opened its first Belgian office in Brussels in 1957.
In 2002, it opened its Antwerp office. Today, Baker McKenzie has more
than 80 Belgian qualified lawyers across the two offices
The strength of the firm and our culture is evidenced by a number of
recent awards, including:
Named Acritas' World's Strongest Law Firm Brand
for 11 consecutive years and were named Global Law Firm of the Year
in Europe at the Lawyer European Awards 2020.
Ranked as one of the Stonewall Top Global Employer for
2020, reflecting our commitment to our progressive values
and our collaborative, diverse and inclusive culture.
Top 75 employers in the 2020 Social Mobility Employer Index -
Ranked 10th
2019 Best Law Firm for Women - Working Mother Magazine, Law360
& Euromoney
2019 Lambda Legal Law Firm Leadership Award - for commitment to
addressing the legal needs of homeless youths
Best Law Firm in the Voluntary Carbon Market 2019 - Environmental Finance
Climate Change Firm of the Year - Who's Who Legal Awards
TARGET job awards 2020 - Finalist for most popular graduate
recruiter in law
LCN Best Trainer 2020 - nominee Best Recruiter Large City firm
Have a look at our YouTube
channel to find out more about us!
To Apply
At Baker McKenzie we welcome direct applications.
Please click on the Apply icon to start the online application
process for this role. We will then be in touch with you once we have
reviewed your application. If you are unable to apply online, please
contact the Recruitment Team on either +32 2 639 36 11 or Belgianrecruitment@bakermckenzie.com
For more information about this position or to discuss any
adjustments you may require during the process please contact, in
confidence, Lutz Nothbaum, Recruitment Manager, on +32 2 639 37 38 or
lutz.nothbaum@bakermckenzie.com
Please note Baker McKenzie does not accept unsolicited CVs. Please
click here for details of our Agency Policy and commitment to sourcing directly.
Our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
Respects and enjoys the diversity of cultural, social and academic
backgrounds found in the Firm.
As the first truly global law firm, diversity and inclusion are
foundational to our culture and strategic vision. Our diversity makes
our global community stronger, more interesting and richer in thought,
and helps us in solving complex problems and designing practical
solutions for our clients.
We view diversity and inclusion as a business imperative,
and seek to engage with our clients to drive diversity
and inclusion both within our Firm and in the broader legal
community. Diverse teams make innovation possible, provide us
greater insight into client needs, and lead to better performance
Our approach is global and inclusive. We have more
than 13,000 employees in 46 countries who speak 80+ languages, and
we want to ensure that all of our people feel included and empowered
The D&I Agenda is championed at the highest
level by our Global Chair and our Global Executive
Committee whose members each have KPIs around diversity
We have a Global D&I Committee who actively
work to drive forward the firm's diversity and inclusion strategy
and monitors progress through regular meetings and leadership accountability
We are proactively cultivating a diverse and inclusive
environment through leadership accountability, policies and
practices and client and community outreach.
In 2019 we enacted global targets of 40% women, 40% men and 20%
flexible (women, men or non-binary persons) by July 2025. The targets
apply to partners, senior business professionals, committee leadership
and candidate pools for recruitment.
