Assistant Counsel

Job Description

Job Description

Who We Are:

Based in New Jersey and established in 2010, Asset Based Lending, LLC (“ABL”) is one of the nation’s leading private hard money lenders. We provide fast bridge financing to real estate investors for the purchase, renovation, or new construction of single-family, multi-family, and mixed-use properties, as well as DSCR rental loans for long-term investors. All of our loans are business purpose loans made to entity borrowers and secured by non-owner-occupied residential real estate. We have closed thousands of loans across a nationwide footprint, producing more than $4B in originations. ABL was acquired by a private equity firm in 2021, and with a focus on growth, we’ve set our sights on consistent evolution and cementing our place as the premier private lender in the country.

Our Mission is Simple:

Make Good Loans

Provide Exceptional Service, Every Time

Protect The Firm

Build The Future

Job Summary:

Asset Based Lending is seeking a driven, dynamic, and detail-oriented Assistant Counsel to join our legal team. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in real estate lending transactions — loans, closings, loan documentation, title insurance, borrower entity documentation — along with excellent drafting and communication skills, a quality-control and process-improvement mindset, and the judgment and maturity to supervise and develop a high-performing paralegal team.

This role reports directly to ABL’s General Counsel and has two core components.

First, the Assistant Counsel will lead and oversee ABL’s paralegal team — a team of paralegals responsible for reviewing borrower entity and title insurance documents, and drafting loan documents for closings nationwide. The Assistant Counsel will work closely with the paralegal team lead to serve as the team’s primary legal resource. This includes answering day-to-day questions, resolving escalated issues, performing regular quality-control reviews of the team’s work, and driving process and technology improvements that increase the speed, accuracy, and volume of in-house file reviews. The Assistant Counsel should be ready to roll up their sleeves and step in to help the team as needed.

Second, the Assistant Counsel will handle substantive legal work assigned by the General Counsel , including drafting and negotiating specialty loan documents for workouts and loss mitigation (loan modifications, forbearance agreements, deed-in-lieu agreements, joint venture agreements, and similar instruments), reviewing and negotiating contracts, NDAs, and vendor agreements, and assisting the Senior Compliance Officer with their compliance function as needed. The Assistant Counsel will provide legal support to all departments across the company in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Paralegal Team Leadership: Oversee, advise, and support a team of paralegals who review borrower entity and title insurance documents, and draft loan document packages; serve as the escalation point for legal questions arising from file reviews and closings.
• Quality Control: Conduct regular QC reviews of paralegal work product, identify recurring issues, provide coaching and training, and implement checklists, procedures, and technology that improve accuracy and throughput.
• Loan Document Compliance : Working in tandem with ABL’s Compliance Officer, monitor federal, state, and local legal and regulatory developments affecting business-purpose lending, and update ABL’s loan document packages and closing procedures to ensure they remain compliant and enforceable in every jurisdiction where ABL lends.
• Specialty Document Drafting: Prepare accurate and comprehensive legal documents, including loan modifications, forbearance agreements, deed-in-lieu agreements, joint venture agreements, settlement agreements, and other workout and ancillary documents.
• Title and Closing Coordination: Collaborate with title companies, outside counsel, and ABL staff to address title-related issues, resolve defects, and ensure appropriate title insurance coverage and endorsements for ABL’s transactions.
• Outside Closing Counsel Management: Manage ABL’s relationships with the outside closing attorneys who work with the paralegal team, including overseeing their work product, responsiveness, and performance, serving as their primary legal point of contact, and escalating and resolving issues that arise during closings.
• Closing Process Support: Coordinate with loan officers, underwriters, processors, and other team members to facilitate a smooth and efficient closing process, and help implement and augment ABL’s closing processes with current best practices.
• Departmental Collaboration: Partner with all departments and teams to provide strategic legal guidance and ensure smooth and efficient operations.
• General: Conduct legal research and perform other tasks as assigned by the General Counsel.

• Required Qualifications:

Education:

• Juris Doctor from an accredited law school.

Licensing:

• Licensed to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction (New Jersey or New York preferred) with active membership in good standing with the state bar association, and, if not admitted to practice in New Jersey, eligible to obtain in-house counsel licensure with the State of New Jersey.

Experience:

• 3–5+ years of post-graduate legal experience with meaningful exposure to real estate lending transactions — loans, closings, loan documentation, and/or title insurance — at a law firm, lender, or title company.

Skills:

• Exceptional drafting, negotiation, and communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational abilities, with a proven track record of managing complex legal documentation.
• Sound judgment and the interpersonal skills to supervise, coach, and develop a paralegal team.
• Ability to work independently, flexibly, and collaboratively within a fast-paced environment.
• Comfortable with technology and proficient in Microsoft Office and industry-standard legal research and document platforms. Enthusiasm for using technology to improve legal department efficiency is essential.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Hard money / private lending experience: Working experience with business-purpose, bridge, fix-and-flip, new construction, and/or DSCR lending to entity borrowers is strongly preferred.
• Multi-state practice exposure: Familiarity with multi-state lending, licensing, or compliance issues.
• In-house experience: Prior in-house experience with a mortgage lender, private lender, or title insurance company.
• Legal technology and AI proficiency: Experience using AI tools; AI-assisted legal research and drafting tools and document automation platforms.

• Team management experience: Prior experience supervising paralegals or other legal support staff, including workflow management and quality-control review.

Nice to Have:

• Electronic Loan Closing experience: Experience with fully remote electronic loan closings, including RON and eNotes.

• Workout and loss mitigation experience: Hands-on experience drafting and negotiating loan modifications, forbearance agreements, deeds in lieu of foreclosure, joint venture agreements, and related creditor-side documents.

• Contract review and negotiation experience: Experience reviewing, drafting, and negotiating non-disclosure agreements, vendor contracts, and other commercial agreements.
• Litigation experience: General litigation experience is a plus; experience with foreclosure, creditors’ rights, title litigation, or other real estate–related disputes is even better.