General Counsel

Global real estate development firm seeks General Counsel to join New York office.

FIRM
Our client is the US-affiliate of one of Asia's largest vertically-integrated real estate development, construction, property management, engineering and materials firms.

POSITION
Our client is seeking a General Counsel to work in the New York office. The position is for a candidate who is interested in all legal practices relating to real estate development, including corporate governance, financing, real estate acquisition, and construction & development. The position will report directly to CFO and will interact with senior executives and all the business teams within the organization.

Responsibilities include:

Negotiate, draft, review, revise, interpret and finalize agreements, leases/subleases, financing assignments, construction contracts and other transactional and legal documentations as necessary.

Advise on complex legal matters, analyze legal (and business, where applicable) issues, negotiate legal and commercial issues and solve intricate problems using sounded legal judgment and expertise, with minimal supervision.

Deal with daily general corporate matters, including but not limited to employment matters, by-laws etc.

Participate in the formulation and revision of the internal policies such as the Employees’ Handbook and the Company Regulations.

Oversee maintenance of legal archives and legal logs.

Responsible for litigation (if occurs) tasks including discovery and documents collection.

Advise the management on regulatory and compliance requirements.

Prepare and file various statutory reports.

Maintain compliance with local licensing requirements.

Assist on dispute resolution, litigation, and regulatory matters on an as-needed basis and with outside counsels, as applicable.

Research items related to the Company’s operation as needed (e.g. local laws, best practices) and prepare concise internal memo summarizing applicable issues and offer recommendations.

Supervise and coordinate with outside counsel on matters that require specialized legal team.

Attend external meetings when necessary.

Serve as corporate secretary as needed.

Lead and facilitate other corporate legal matters as necessary.

QUALIFICATIONS
5+ years of general corporate or practicing attorney experience. Real estate related experience is a plus.
Admitted to practice in the State of New York. Alternatively, candidates should either have recently passed the bar exam or be a member in good standing of a state bar.

Excellent legal writing.

Creative approach to problem-solving.

Desire to work independently and cross-functionally in a fast-paced environment.

Ability to identify and assess issues and provide legally sound recommendations consistent with good business practices.

A team player with excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously.

Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.

Business proficiency in Mandarin Chinese is a plus.