Karen Hinchliffe Consultant Commercial and Residential Property Lawyer

Karen has nearly 20 years’ experience in property law, working across both residential and commercial sectors. She has developed a reputation for clarity, precision and dependable expertise.

Karen has worked for a large Legal 500 firm in the City of London, as well as specialist boutique practices, acting for landlords and tenants in commercial property matters and buyers and sellers in commercial and residential transactions. Her early career in Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions also provided a strong commercial foundation before moving fully into property law.

Areas of expertise

Residential Property

• Freehold and leasehold conveyancing
• New build sales and purchases, including acting for purchasers and developers on land acquisitions and disposals
• Shared ownership schemes
• Part-exchange properties
• Transfers of equity
• Remortgages
• Auction sales and purchases
• Overage agreements
• Deeds of variation
• Statutory declarations
• Easement and wayleave agreements

Commercial Property

• Acting for landlords and tenants
• Lease drafting, renewals and assignments
• Lease extensions
• Enfranchisement and rights of first refusal
• Deeds of surrender and re-grant
• Sale and purchase of commercial property

Approach to work and clients

Property law can be complex and fast-moving, so Karen focuses on giving clients a clear understanding of their position, options, and next steps. She believes in being proactive, anticipating issues before they arise and guiding clients through the process with confidence.

Karen enjoys solving complex property issues, providing clear and practical guidance and supporting clients through important decisions. She prides herself on her thoroughness, attention to detail and calm, proactive communication.

Career highlights

A key career highlight was leading the creation of a full property department from the ground up, developing workflows, compliance structures, client service standards, and training programmes to establish a reliable and efficient function within the firm.

She has also held senior leadership positions as Head of Property, COLP and Partner, overseeing risk management, regulatory compliance and team development.