Description
The Role
The Brussels office of Baker McKenzie seek highly motivated junior associates to join their team.
The junior associates will have the opportunity to work with multinational clients in a multicultural Firm and to participate in local and European level Practice Group meetings and external seminars. The Firm offers a stimulating work environment with an open, friendly and enthusiastic atmosphere.
If you are interested in applying for this position, please send your curriculum vitae together with a copy of transcripts of your academic results and cover letter .
The Team
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 long lease on the Blue Tower from Befimmo in Brussels, the disposal of the Post X companies from IRET to AG Real Estate (one of the two largest office deals in recent years), the sale of Shopping Olen NV by Aberdeen (one of the largest Belgian retail deal in latest years)
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, HansaInvest…) and major Belgian developers (IRET, Revive, Dwntwn, Baltissimo, 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, banking, 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.
Key Skills and Experience Required
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate all or the majority of the following:
- Master of Laws from a Belgian University
- Strong academic track record
- Excellent command of English and good knowledge of Dutch
- An additional foreign Law Degree is recommended
- 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 world's 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 Global Law Firm of the Year in Europe at the Lawyer European Awards 2021
- Named Leading Legal Brand for the 12th Consecutive Year by Thomson Reuters Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index
- Ranked as one of the Stonewall Top Global Employers for 2022 with a Gold Award on Stonewall's Global Workplace Equality Index of Top Global Employers for LGBTQ+ people, reflecting our commitment to our progressive values and our collaborative, diverse and inclusive culture
- Top 75 employers in the 2021 Social Mobility Employer Index
- 2022 Hall of Fame for the Best Law Firm for Women - Working Mother Magazine
- One of the Top Law Firms for Women - Law360 Glass Ceiling Report 2020
- 2020 Best Law Firm for Women in Europe and Asia - Euromoney Women in Business Law Awards
- Recognised as a global leader in the climate change sphere by Global Market Leaders 2022
- Recognised by Accenture in 2022 in its Outside Counsel Diversity Awards for its efforts around increasing equality and inclusion in the legal profession
- Belgium Tax Disputes Firm of the Year 2021 - ITR European Tax Awards 2021
- Climate Change Firm of the Year 2020 - Who's Who Legal Awards
- TARGET job awards 2020 - Finalist for most popular graduate recruiter in law
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 belgianrecruitment@bakermckenzie.com
NO AGENCIES PLEASE
Please note Baker McKenzie does not accept unsolicited CVs.
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.