Associate (Real Estate and Banking)

About Withers KhattarWong LLP

Withersworldwide, a leading international law firm has been acting for successful individuals, families and institutions for 125 years.  We advise clients on the full range of their business, personal and philanthropic legal needs, both at home and abroad. With offices in the key financial centres of Europe, Asia-Pacific, the United States and the Caribbean, we provide coverage and services that other law firms focussed on the needs of the individual cannot.  We have represented 66% of the Top 100 in The Sunday Times Rich List, 25% of the Forbes 400 List, 35% of the Hong Kong Forbes Rich List and 35% of Forbes Asia's Richest Families list.

Withers KhattarWong LLP, the Singapore office of Withersworldwide, is itself one of Singapore's longest established and largest full-service leading law firms. Our Singapore-based lawyers advise on Singapore law matters, and combine this with English and US law capability, where needed, to service our clients on cross-border regional and international matters. We work closely with our Hong Kong and Tokyo offices to cover the region.

Our Singapore Real Estate and Banking practices are ranked amongst Singapore's best in current market surveys and leading legal journals. Our fused Real Estate and Banking practice in Singapore means that we are well-positioned to advise clients on both the acquisition and financing aspects of some of the largest and most complex real estate transactions in the market. Working closely with our market-leading Private Client and Tax practice, we advise some of the most prominent successful people in the world.

What are we looking for?

We are looking to hire a junior to mid-level Singapore-qualified Associate to join our Real Estate and Banking team in our Singapore office.

The ideal candidate will have worked in a well-established transactional corporate real estate (CRE) team and have experience with corporate real estate work across the commercial, industrial and residential property sectors in Singapore. This assumes a sound foundation in relevant property laws, regulations and conveyancing practice and procedures.

The candidate can also expect frequent exposure to real estate financing as well as general banking and finance transactions across a variety of industry sectors, and relevant experience in this regard will also be helpful.

The role will at times be demanding and fast paced so you will need to be efficient and task-focussed, committed to excellence and client service, and can prioritise, multi-task and remain calm under pressure. 

Areas of focus and responsibilities

We service a very broad client base on real estate and financing transactions and advisory, and they include major property developers, building owners, property fund investors, SMEs and multinationals, major international and local banks and financial institutions, governmental organisations and statutory boards as well as collective sale committees. We also serve an exceptional client base of ultra high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs and their families, family offices, trustees, businesses and philanthropic endeavours, both locally and internationally.

The role will involve:

• corporate real estate transactions comprising property acquisitions, disposals, sale and leaseback and indirect investments involving joint ventures or property holding company interests (often working alongside both our Corporate/M&A and Funds practice teams)
• commercial leasing work (acting for building owner landlords, as well as advising major tenants in lease negotiations)
• Property regulatory advice
• Real estate financing transactions – including secured land loans, construction loans, enbloc acquisition loans as well as mortgage-backed credit facilities
• Private client property transactions and advisory
• General banking and finance transactions involving bilateral as well as club and syndicated loan facilities on a secured and unsecured basis, acting for both lenders as well as borrowers across a wide range of sectors

Key skills and experience

• Singapore qualified with between 2-5 years post qualification experience
• Corporate real estate transactional experience gained in an established Singapore law firm. Banking and finance experience (with a strong emphasis on real estate financing) will also be considered
• Be able to work as part of a cross-departmental team and also with colleagues from other offices in the Withersworldwide network
• Commitment to technical excellence and delivering excellent client service
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent research skills
• Keen commercial awareness
• Keen interest in the real estate sector
• Be able to work as part of a team and under pressure

This list of duties and responsibilities is not exhaustive.  It is intended to describe the general content of, and requirements for the performance of this job, and as such, the role may also include the undertaking of additional tasks as required.

Information for Recruitment Agencies

Withersworldwide endeavours to recruit and fill vacancies directly. However, when we do need to engage with agencies, Withersworldwide operates a preferred supplier list and will not be accepting unsolicited applications from non-PSL agencies for this role.

Equal Opportunities Employment Statement

It is the policy of Withers Worldwide to provide equal opportunities for all employees in relation to recruitment, training and promotion.  Decisions in these areas will be made only by reference to the requirements of the job and shall not be influenced by any consideration of ethnic origin, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation or disability.