Legal Advisor

SUMMARY:
We are seeking a skilled and detail-oriented Legal Advisor to manage all legal matters within our property portfolio.

POSITION INFO:

Job requirements

• 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

Job Responsibilities

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

Fraud and Compliance

• Review / draft standard documents (i.e. policies / terms of reference) as and when required