Real Estate Lawyer

Job Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate purchase and sale agreements, commercial leases, ground leases, and option agreements for commercial and residential properties.
• Conduct real estate due diligence, including title and survey review, zoning and land use analysis, environmental assessments, and lease abstracting.
• Structure and document real estate finance transactions, including mortgage loans, construction loans, mezzanine financing, and refinancing deals.
• Advise on land use, zoning, subdivision, entitlements, and permitting for development and redevelopment projects.
• Coordinate closings with title companies, escrow agents, lenders, and opposing counsel, preparing closing binders and post-closing documentation.
• Counsel clients on property management issues, landlord-tenant disputes, common interest communities, and real estate-related litigation risk.
• Support corporate transactions involving real estate portfolios, sale-leasebacks, and joint ventures with real estate investors and REITs.

Minimum Requirements

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school with strong academic credentials.
• Active license and good standing with at least one U.S. state bar, often with preference for the jurisdiction where the role is located.
• 1–3 years of experience in real estate transactions for entry-level or junior roles, or 4–7+ years for mid-level and senior positions.
• Foundational knowledge of real property law, land use and zoning principles, secured transactions, and contract law.
• Experience drafting and negotiating core real estate documents such as purchase agreements, leases, and loan documents under supervision or independently.
• Strong legal research and writing skills, including the ability to interpret local ordinances, zoning codes, and recorded instruments.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and matter-management skills, with the ability to handle multiple deals or projects simultaneously.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with commercial real estate development projects, including entitlement processes, construction contracts, and public-private partnerships.
• Familiarity with real estate investment structures such as joint ventures, REITs, private equity funds, and tax-efficient deal structures.
• Comfort working with real estate technology tools, virtual data rooms, document automation platforms, and e-signature workflows.
• Prior experience representing lenders, institutional investors, or large portfolio owners in multi-property or cross-border transactions.
• Ability to coordinate with multidisciplinary teams, including planners, engineers, brokers, and environmental consultants, on complex projects.