Legal Advisor - Fixed Term Contract at CBRE Excellerate

About the role

• We are seeking a skilled and detail-oriented Legal Advisor to manage all legal matters within our property portfolio. In this role, you will provide expert legal advisory services, ensuring compliance with industry regulations and safeguarding the interests of both the company and our clients.

What you will bring

• LLB degree.
• Admitted Attorney with a minimum of 7 years post-admission experience
• Experience in corporate/commercial law, preferably in landlord/tenant litigation
• Strong commercial legal drafting skills
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in a large corporate environment with broad generalist legal knowledge
• General business acumen
• Contract management and contract drafting
• Negotiation skills
• Litigation experience
• Understanding of relevant legal frameworks, including:
• Companies Act
• POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act)
• FICA (Financial Intelligence Centre Act)
• PPRA (Property Practitioner’s Regulatory Authority)
• General property and commercial legislation
• Strong communication skills (written & verbal)
• Analytical thinking and problem-solving ability
• Client relationship management
• Productivity-driven with a strong work ethic

What you will be doing:

Legal Advisory & Compliance:

• Provide legal advice, guidance, and support to internal teams and clients
• Ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations in the property industry
• Assist in the development of policies and procedures to manage legal risks

Contract & Document Management:

• Draft, review, and vet lease agreements, utility contracts, and commercial storage agreements
• Prepare and manage breach notices, letters of demand, and acknowledgment of debt agreements
• Oversee contract negotiations to protect the company's interests

Stakeholder & Risk Management:

• Liaise with internal teams (Portfolio Executives, Leasing Managers, Finance Managers, and Administrators)
• Manage relationships with external stakeholders, including clients and a panel of Attorneys
• Identify, assess, and mitigate legal risks affecting the business

Litigation & Dispute Resolution:

• Provide support on landlord/tenant litigation and other property-related legal disputes
• Work with legal counsel to ensure effective resolution of legal matters

Reporting & Monitoring:

• Track and report on legal risks, compliance, and contractual obligations
• Monitor industry regulations and legislative changes affecting the business
• Insurance Reporting and case management:
• Notify insurer of events that may give rise to possible claims and of any claims instituted
• Liaise with business unit to obtain information and documentation requested from brokers in order to process notification or claim
• Receive feedback and updates from insurer regarding insurance claims and discuss with business unit
• Liaise with brokers to obtain advice regarding insurance clauses and the effect thereof contained in agreements
• Ensure that insurance clauses in agreements are in line with insurance cover
• Ensure that limitation of liability – and other clauses are not in conflict with policy wording and cover provided
• Company Secretarial:
• Draft resolutions
• Statutory Documentation Compliance
• Corporate Legal Advising/Assistance / Deals and Ad Hoc Legal Advice:
• Intercompany Deals – drafting/instructing attorneys and assist with execution and implementation of:
• Shareholders agreements
• MOI’s
• Sale of business agreements
• Sale of shares agreements
• External Deals/Transactions – liaise and consult with external attorneys and management to assist with review, execution and implementation of:
• JV deals
• Partnerships
• BBBEE transactions
• Affiliation Agreements
• Section 197 agreements
• Any other deals / projects
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Review NDA’s, LOI’s, and draft agreements
• Liaise and consult with external attorneys and executives to assist with execution and implementation of deals

Ad Hoc Legal Advice:

• Ad hoc requests on legal issues
• Identifying risk
• Provide ad hoc advice on legal agreements
• Preparation of advice based on research
• Drafting of legal view and way forward
• Resolving issues through correspondence, telephonic discussions, verbal advice, etc.

Other: Trademarks, Fraud and Compliance:

• Regular communication / feedback with Attorneys
• Monitor performance, based on instructions provided and output delivered
• Sign-off on Attorney invoices
• Keep updated Trademark Register
• Trademarks