Associate General Counsel

Our client, a highly active real estate investment and operating company, is seeking an Associate General Counsel to join its in-house legal team in Sonoma, California. Reporting directly to the General Counsel, this attorney will play a critical role supporting acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, financing, joint ventures, asset management and corporate legal matters across a growing real estate portfolio. The position offers significant exposure to senior leadership and is ideal for a commercially minded real estate attorney who enjoys managing sophisticated transactions in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment. Key Responsibilities: Acquisitions & Dispositions Lead legal aspects of acquisitions and dispositions, including drafting and negotiating purchase and sale agreements, letters of intent and closing documentation. Manage legal due diligence, including title, survey, zoning, environmental, lease and entity reviews. Coordinate transactions with lenders, title companies, brokers, outside counsel and internal stakeholders through closing. Leasing Draft and negotiate commercial leases, amendments, assignments, subleases and related agreements. Advise internal leasing and property management teams on lease interpretation, defaults, renewals, exclusivity, co-tenancy and operating issues. Support leasing matters involving single-tenant retail and franchised restaurant operators. Support mortgage financings, refinancings and portfolio-level debt transactions. Assist with joint ventures, partnership agreements, entity formation and corporate governance. Advise on legal risk, compliance, insurance and operational matters affecting the portfolio. Manage outside counsel across transactional and litigation matters. Help develop legal processes, templates and best practices to support the continued growth of the business. Qualifications: J.D. from an accredited law school with active bar membership in good standing. Approximately 6–10 years of commercial real estate legal experience. Strong experience handling acquisitions, dispositions, leasing and financing transactions. Demonstrated expertise negotiating purchase and sale agreements, commercial leases, loan documents and conducting title and survey review. Experience with joint ventures, entity structuring and sophisticated real estate investments. Ability to manage multiple complex transactions simultaneously while maintaining exceptional attention to detail. Outstanding drafting, negotiation and communication skills. Commercially minded with the ability to balance legal risk against business objectives. Preferred Experience: In-house experience with a real estate private equity firm, REIT, developer or institutional owner/operator. Experience with net lease investments, retail real estate and/or franchised restaurant portfolios. Familiarity with fund structures, capital markets transactions and joint venture arrangements. Experience managing outside counsel and coordinating across multiple legal disciplines. Why Join? This is an outstanding opportunity to join a growing, entrepreneurial real estate organization where legal is viewed as a true business partner. You'll work directly alongside senior executives, lead sophisticated transactions from inception through closing, and have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the continued growth of the platform. #J-18808-Ljbffr