Meet Katie

I am fortunate in that I am involved in various aspects of our schemes that extend throughout the full lifespan of developments. I am a construction lawyer so predominantly my role involves reviewing and negotiating our main contracts and development agreements with clients, appointing consultants, procuring letters of reliance and all the required collateral warranties, reviewing PCGs and bonds. I assist the Development team with legal aspects of the pre-contract stage for schemes including reviewing tenders, negotiating licences, exclusivity agreements and liaising with external lawyers where we require specialist advice. During the construction stage I assist the Commercial team with sub-contract negotiations and any disputes with clients and the supply chain and post completion I assist the Commercial and Operations team with resolving any retention issues.

I started with Strategic team maintenance in July 2018 as Legal Manager. Strategic became part of GTP in July 2019 and Vistry as of January 2020. I became Associate Legal Director as of April 2021.

Working alongside my colleagues in the Yorkshire Business Unit. They have an extensive breadth of knowledge and experience in the industry but are also friendly, down to earth people who are easy to work with.

I qualified as a lawyer in 2009 and went to work in-house straight away at an architect’s practice as Commercial Services Solicitor. I was there for 9 years before moving to Strategic as Legal Manager in 2018, becoming a Director for the Yorkshire Business Unit in 2021.

Becoming a Director in 2021. Whilst my role still predominantly involves providing internal legal advice, I was proud to become part of the Director team to contribute more (where I can) to fulfil the wider ambitions and success of the Business Unit.

I previously worked as an in-house solicitor at an architect’s practice but I had a desire to be involved in more challenging and diverse work, which was definitely fulfilled when moving to work for a housebuilder!

For me, being successful is working hard and being committed to the day job whilst contributing to the team effort as a whole and all the while maintaining an approachable and communicative approach with colleagues and counterparts.

Working at Vistry demands dedication, hard work and an understanding of what it is like to work in a Group Plc environment. It can also be rewarding, not just financially but in terms of great opportunities for quality training and career progression.