BCLP associate Daniel Haines discusses the buzz of helping clients make their real estate projects a reality
Ahead of this afternoon’s Legal Cheek virtual student event, An Introduction to Real Estate Finance — with BCLP, Daniel Haines, an associate in the firm’s real estate finance team, offers a glimpse into life in this fast-paced, tangible area of law and explains what makes it so compelling.
Haines studied history at Cardiff University before deciding the past wasn’t for him. After completing the LPC, he worked as a paralegal and eventually joined BCLP’s real estate finance team, where he says he built “the foundations of a love for real estate finance”. That experience led to a training contract and qualification into the team in 2021.
Interestingly, BCLP’s real estate finance group has something of a home-grown pipeline. A “fair few” of Haines’s colleagues also started as paralegals before qualifying into the team. It’s “certainly unique”, he says, and reflects a culture where people “buy into and like the work enough to stick around”. Once they try real estate finance, it seems, they’re hooked.
So what does a real estate finance lawyer actually do, and why does it appeal to so many? In short, it’s about helping clients borrow or lend money to buy or develop property. “At a high level it’s exactly the same as getting a mortgage on your house,” Haines explains. “Just scaled up to big commercial transactions.” Instead of a first-time buyer and a one-bed flat, think of a corporation acquiring an office block or financing a new shopping centre.
His team acts for both lenders and borrowers, negotiating all the loan documentation from each perspective. The key document is the loan agreement, often a 200-page contract setting out the terms of the financing. Alongside it comes a suite of security documents, similar to a house mortgage charge, giving the lender rights over the property and other assets if the borrower can’t repay. Pulling together this package of contracts and terms is the bread and butter of the practice.
What Haines really enjoys about his specialism is its “tangibility”, a cliché, he admits, that comes up in every conversation with a real estate lawyer. These deals aren’t about abstract numbers on a screen; they’re about buildings and land. “It’s tangible, you can touch it. You can see it when you walk around,” he says. “There’s a particular thrill in passing a skyscraper or shopping complex and knowing you played a part in its story”. Even if you only worked on the financing, Haines says he still feels connected to that physical piece of the cityscape. That sense of ownership, he adds, “scratches an itch in the back of your mind and reminds you why the work matters”. Few things, he says, are cooler than being able to tell friends, “I worked on the deal for that building.”
Another draw of real estate finance is the pace and variety. Deals move quickly, typically over a six-week timeline from start to finish, which means associates get exposure to a wide range of projects rather than being tied up in one mega-deal for months. “New projects are coming through the door all the time,” Haines notes, “keeping the work fresh and dynamic”. Each transaction brings new challenges, and that constant turnover injects energy into the team. “Unlike some practice areas where deal fatigue can set in, here there’s a burst of intense work, a release of euphoria when the deal completes, and then it’s straight on to the next one,” he tells us. With transactions spanning everything from office towers to shopping centres across the UK and beyond, there’s always something “new and cool” around the corner.
The work also comes with pressure. Real estate finance lawyers are often the final piece of a much larger puzzle. By the time they’re called in, the corporate, real estate and construction teams have already spent months shaping the deal. “Everything is in place; we just need the money from the bank now,” Haines explains. Clients are eager to move, and the message to the finance lawyers is effectively: “Hurry up! The only thing stopping the project is you,” he laughs. It’s a high-stakes stage, demanding efficiency and close collaboration across teams to get documents agreed and conditions met under tight deadlines.
The broader market has also evolved, bringing new energy to the practice. Traditional bank lending remains a key part, with big players like Barclays, NatWest and HSBC still dominant, but there’s now a wider mix of lenders in play. Insurers and pension funds have stepped in, while private credit funds, backed by private equity, are lending on real estate deals in search of higher returns, Haines explains. As big banks became more cautious after the financial crisis, these alternative lenders “blew up” the pool of available financing. For lawyers, this means a more diverse client base, each with different expectations and deal dynamics. “It keeps things interesting and makes the work more resilient,” Haines adds.
Real estate remains a strong draw for investors because, as he puts it, “it’s finite”. There’s only so much land, and over time property values tend to rise. That’s not to say it’s immune to downturns. The 2008 crash and recent economic volatility show the risks, but it’s still seen as a relatively solid bet. That reliable balance of risk and reward is what keeps lenders, borrowers and lawyers alike engaged.
Sustainability is another growing influence. “ESG is a really important thing for both lenders and borrowers,” Haines says. Many banks and funds have established green lending pools, offering better terms for projects that meet environmental or social criteria. Developers might, for example, get a lower interest rate if their new building achieves a top energy efficiency rating. “The lawyers’ job”, he explains, “is to ensure those commitments are captured precisely in the contracts. They don’t decide whether a project is truly green, but they make sure the documentation reflects the commercial intention, so that everyone knows what counts as hitting the sustainability target and what the outcome will be if it’s met or missed.”
For aspiring lawyers, Haines’s is keen to stress that “perseverance is key”. It took him several training contract cycles, and plenty of rejections, before securing a place. But the extra time, he says, wasn’t wasted. Each application honed his skills and determination, and by the time he qualified, he was better prepared for the demands of the job. His advice to those chasing a legal career, in real estate finance or otherwise, is simple. “Don’t give up. Every setback can be a learning opportunity, and the end goal is well worth the effort.”
Daniel Haines will speaking at this afternoon’s virtual student event, An Introduction to Real Estate Finance — with BCLP. Secure one of the final few spots.
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