Attorney

Real Estate Finance Associate | Charlotte, NC | $310,000 to $455,000 plus bonus | CMBS and CLO Lending

Most people think a CMBS loan is finished when it closes. Good lender counsel know the real test comes later, when the rating agencies and the securitization team pull it apart. If you already draft with that day in mind, you'll like this firm's clients.

I'm a recruiter at Distinct Recruitment, hiring on behalf of a national law firm for its real estate finance team in Charlotte. I know this one well. I placed an attorney with the firm earlier this year, and they're loving it. Here's what caught my attention.

Why it's worth a move

• The Charlotte office follows the New York salary and bonus scale. You get Manhattan economics on a Charlotte cost of living, and the gap between those two numbers is yours to keep.
• The real estate practice is Chambers ranked. The deal flow is established, so you won't spend your first year waiting for work to find you.
• Your clients sit on the capital side: institutional lenders, investment banks and CMBS platforms. You'd be advising the people setting the terms.
• The asset mix is wide. Office, retail, multifamily, hospitality and industrial all come through, so you keep building range rather than repeating one deal type.
• You'd own transactions from term sheet to securitization. Drafting, diligence, structuring, closing and the loan review afterwards. That's the full arc, and it's how lender side finance lawyers get genuinely valuable.
• I've already got someone inside. Before you commit to anything, I can tell you how the first months have actually gone for them.
• The opening is immediate. This is a live need, not a pipeline posting.

What your week looks like

• Drafting and negotiating loan agreements, promissory notes, mortgages and deeds of trust, guaranties and the ancillary documents that hold the package together.
• Running and overseeing due diligence. Zoning reports, leases, organizational documents and third party reports. You'll direct parts of it, not just grind through it.
• Structuring loans so they survive securitization. Ground lease treatment, cash management, and the structural features rating agencies look at hardest.
• Advising clients on the legal and structural issues that decide whether a loan is eligible and whether it sells.
• Working alongside originators, underwriters and securitization counsel, so you see how your loan behaves once it leaves your desk.
• Running closings and timelines. Your client, borrower's counsel and third party providers all move to your schedule.
• Handling the work after closing, including loan reviews ahead of securitization.

About that salary range

• $310,000 to $455,000 base, set by class year on the New York scale. Bonus follows the same scale.
• The range is wide because the firm is open across class years, from associates around four years in through more senior associates. Your class year sets where you land, not a negotiation.

Who they want

• At least four years in real estate finance, with significant lender side experience on CMBS and/or CLO originations.
• Working knowledge of rating agency criteria and securitization requirements.
• Precise, clean writing. You notice when a defined term drifts between the loan agreement and the guaranty.
• A strong academic record. The firm asks for your transcript, so have it ready.
• A North Carolina license, or the ability to waive in.

To apply

• Send your resume, law school transcript and a deal sheet or list of representative matters.
• Everything is handled in strict confidence.

Thinking about it but want the inside view first? Call me, Clark Pollins at Distinct Recruitment, on View phone number on click.appcast.io, or find me on LinkedIn at