Assistant General Counsel

Cushman & Wakefield; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 211,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, vision, and dental insurance

Competitive pay

Retirement savings plans

Job summary

Cushman & Wakefield is seeking an Assistant General Counsel for Americas Services in the Chicago area. You will join an agile, business‑focused legal team that provides strategic, transactional, and litigation support to drive growth and improve client service delivery.

You will partner with senior leadership, help shape policy and risk management, and leverage technology and AI tools to draft and negotiate agreements.

Qualifications

• Combination of private practice and in-house experience preferred.
• Bar admission in good standing required.
• Requires 7 to 10 years of experience.

Responsibilities

• Partner with executive and operational leadership to strategize and drive growth across Americas Services.
• Mitigate complex operational and contractual risk for evolving service offerings.
• Provide business-minded counsel and develop policies; implement training.
• Direct pre-litigation strategy and assist with active litigation.
• Collaborate with compliance and business teams to optimize risk management.
• Research legal trends affecting the real estate industry and service providers.
• Leverage software and AI tools to draft and negotiate service agreements.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Litigation support

Contract negotiation

Regulatory compliance

Leadership

AI tools

Cross-functional collaboration

Technology savvy

Education

Bar admission in good standing

Private practice and in-house experience

Tools

AI tools

Legal software

Contract management systems

Job description

Job Title

Assistant General Counsel

Job Description Summary

Assistant General Counsel for Americas Services

Job Description

Assistant General Counsel – Americas Services

Position Summary

The successful candidate will join an agile, business focused legal team that plays a key role in driving the growth and success of Cushman & Wakefield. In this role, you will provide a broad range of strategic, transactional, and litigation support, partnering directly with business leadership to plan and execute initiatives to shape our client service delivery. We are seeking someone who is flexible, tech-savvy, collaborative, and eager to engage with a dynamic, global business enterprise.

You will have the opportunity to work across complex and meaningful matters while helping to enhance C&W’s culture of practical problem solving, teamwork, and professional excellence. C&W will empower you with the technology and support necessary to thrive under time-sensitive deadlines with multiple competing priorities. In addition to supporting day-to-day business needs, this role will participate in special projects in partnership with leadership of other C&W functions and departments, providing opportunities to determine the firm's operational and legal strategy.

This position reports to an Associate General Counsel. Chicago area location is preferred, to provide easier in-person participation with members of the leadership team and broader legal department. However, we will consider any location for the right candidate.

Essential Job Duties

• Partner closely with the executive and operational leadership of C&W’s Americas Services businesses, including Multifamily Asset Services, to strategize and drive profitable growth by refining operational risk management practices, educating the team regarding industry trends and regulatory developments, promoting compliance initiatives and providing steady, thoughtful leadership.


• Analyze and creatively mitigate complex operational and contractual risk for rapidly evolving service offerings, including: construction project management, property management, facility management, real estate transaction management and consulting.


• Provide effective, business minded counsel for a wide variety of topics and questions; create and promote legal and operational policies and implement internal training programs.


• Direct pre-litigation strategy and pursue early resolution of disputes. Assist internal and external litigation counsel with management of active litigation.


• Collaborate with legal, compliance and business colleagues and other internal stakeholders to develop best practices and optimize risk management and negotiation strategies.


• Research, analyze and stay up to date on legal trends, laws, legislation, regulations, and caselaw affecting the real estate industry and real estate service providers.


• Leverage software and Ai tools to efficiently draft, review and negotiate service agreements with C&W's clients and vendors.


• Perform other related duties as required or requested.

Education/Experience/Training

• Combination of private practice and in-house experience preferred


• Bar admission in good standing


• Requires 7 to 10 years of experience

Competencies

• Adaptability to thrive in a rapidly and constantly changing business


• Innovation fluency with strong intellectual curiosity and growth mindset


• Demonstrated business acumen


• Eagerness and ability to adopt and leverage software and Ai tools


• Creative, strategic problem solving, exhibiting strong analytical skills


• Ability to efficiently prioritize and achieve outstanding results in time-sensitive situations


• Passion for collaboration with varied stakeholders, accounting for multiple perspectives


• Exceptional communication skills

Cushman & Wakefield also provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health, vision, and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life, and disability insurance programs, and paid and unpaid time away from work. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, Cushman & Wakefield provide eligible employees with competitive pay, which may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, total hours worked, job type, business line, and applicability of collective bargaining agreements.

The compensation that will be offered to the successful candidate will depend on factors such as whether the position is covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the geographic area in which the work will be performed, market pay rates in that area, and the candidate’s experience and qualifications.

The company will not pay less than minimum wage for this role.

The compensation for the position is: $ 179,605.00 - $211,300.00

Cushman & Wakefield is an Equal Opportunity employer to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated.

INCO: “Cushman & Wakefield”