Senior Associate, Real Estate

About the Role

We are seeking an ambitious and talented Senior Associate to join Baker McKenzie’s UAE Real Estate team. The role involves leading and supporting a broad range of real estate transactions and delivering clear, commercially focused advice within a globally connected practice. You will act as a primary client contact and contribute to business development and profile-raising activities. What You'll Do

• Lead and support on a broad range of real estate transactions, including acquisitions, disposals and joint ventures, development and mixed-use projects, jointly owned property laws and transactions, hotel and branded residences structures and agreements, leasing, asset management and portfolio transactions, and real estate finance and investment structuring

• Advise clients across multiple asset classes, including office, retail, hospitality, logistics and mixed-use developments

• Manage transaction processes from inception to completion, including due diligence, structuring, drafting and negotiations

• Deliver clear, commercial and pragmatic advice, taking into account regional legal and regulatory frameworks

• Act as a key day-to-day contact for clients, building and maintaining strong relationships

• Generate new ideas and innovative, commercially viable solutions for clients

• Proactively communicate trends and developments of interest to clients

• Consolidate and enhance external individual and firm profile and engage in profile-raising activities

• Lead and support on business development activities, including raising the individual and firm profiles, contributing to pitches, capability statements and client presentations

• Participate in industry events, thought leadership and market engagement

• Build and maintain long-term client relationships, including understanding clients' businesses, economic drivers, markets, and sectors in order to deliver relevant and commercial advice

• Work as part of a team and take an active and leading role in sharing knowledge and experience What We're Looking For

• Ambitious and talented Senior Associate with exemplary technical skills and a track record in real estate transactions within a leading market practice

• Ability to lead and support on transactions across acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, development, leasing, finance and investment structuring

• Experience managing end-to-end transaction processes: due diligence, structuring, drafting and negotiations

• Strong client relationship management and ability to develop new business, pitches, capability statements and thought leadership

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills; ability to work across jurisdictions and teams in a Gulf/MENA context

• Knowledge of regional regulatory frameworks and market trends