Assistant General Counsel

City of New York; New York (NY); On-site; USD 80,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking an Assistant General Counsel to join their legal team. This role focuses on affordable housing development, compliance, and regulatory affairs. The ideal candidate will provide legal guidance, manage compliance programs, and ensure adherence to laws while developing expertise in financing vehicles. With a commitment to public service, this position offers a unique opportunity to impact the housing landscape significantly. If you have a strong legal background and a passion for public housing, this role is perfect for you.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of legal experience post-bar admission, with 18 months in a supervisory role.
• Strong background in real estate and public housing regulations.

Responsibilities

• Assist in real estate transactions and compliance with financing partners.
• Monitor regulatory changes and advise on compliance matters.
• Develop and oversee ethics and compliance programs.

Skills

Real Estate Transaction Structuring

Regulatory Compliance

Legal Advice

Risk Management

Training and Education

Education

Admission to the New York State Bar

Job description

On June 16, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the NYC Public Housing Preservation Trust Act, which authorized creation of the NYC Public Housing Preservation Trust (the Trust). The Trust is a public benefit corporation that will oversee the renovation and rehabilitation of the city’s public housing developments, owned by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). NYCHA remains permanent owner of the land/buildings and enters into a long-term ground lease with the Trust to secure Section 8 vouchers, a subsidy worth double NYCHA’s current federal subsidy. Using the Section 8 rental subsidy contract, the Trust will raise financing to fund comprehensive building renovations. The Trust Act limits the Trust’s initial unit volume to 25,000 units. No NYCHA site can convert to the Trust without a positive vote of the site’s residents. Under the Act, NYCHA must develop and administer a voting process to provide residents with that choice. Residents at three developments have opted into the Trust, resulting in over 1,500 units that will be financed and renovated with other potential projects in the pipeline, impacting over 2,800 residents.

Position Summary

The Assistant General Counsel reports directly to the General Counsel and is a key member of the Trust’s legal team. The Assistant General Counsel will assist in managing the Trust’s legal matters, focusing on affordable housing development and ownership, compliance, ethics, and regulatory affairs. This role involves providing legal advice, overseeing compliance programs, ensuring the organization adheres to all applicable laws and regulations, and developing/sharing expertise in Trust organizational structure as it relates to potential affordable housing financing vehicles and otherwise.

Primary Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of the Assistant General Counsel include, but are not limited to:

1. Real Estate Transaction Structuring: Assist project finance team in aligning Trust organizational status, capabilities and restrictions with requirements of financing partners, including historic tax credit investors.
2. Regulatory Affairs: Monitor regulatory changes, advise on compliance, and liaise with regulatory bodies, including areas of the Department of Housing & Urban Development responsible for RAD conversions, Section 18 dispositions and HAP (Section 8) contract administration.
3. Procurement and Contracts: Support procurement and contracting efforts.
4. Legal and Compliance Support: Assist in overseeing legal matters, provide legal advice, and ensure compliance with laws and regulations.
5. Ethics and Compliance Programs: Develop, implement, and oversee ethics and compliance programs.
6. Risk Management: Identify, evaluate, and mitigate legal and compliance risks.
7. Training and Education: Develop and provide legal and compliance training to staff.

Minimum Qualifications

Admission to the New York State Bar; and four years of recent full-time responsible, relevant, satisfactory legal experience subsequent to admission to any bar, eighteen months of which must have been in the supervision of other attorneys, in an administrative, managerial or executive capacity, or performing highly complex and significant legal work.

Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.

Preferred Skills

Key Competencies:

1. Significant real estate transaction background and familiarity with creative financing structures.
2. Strong understanding of laws and regulations applicable to public housing, real estate, municipal finance, public procurement and contracting.
3. Experience in developing and overseeing compliance programs, coupled with the ability and interest in conducting training associated with the same.
4. Experience with the Department of Housing & Urban Development a plus.
5. Ability to communicate expertly and clearly in written and oral communication, with strong track record of collaborating to execute large, complex projects.
6. Possesses the highest degree of integrity, supported by a flawless record of maintaining confidentiality.
7. Comfortable leading as well as executing and taking constructive input from multiple sources willingness to get hands dirty and work with job responsibilities traditionally allocated to supporting staff as needed.

Qualification & Experience Preferred:

1. Admission to the New York State Bar, member in good standing.
2. Six years or more of recent full-time responsible, relevant legal experience, preferably with a focus on affordable housing, real estate transactions and financing, construction, or similar areas within a legal department.
3. An understanding of public housing law, bond finance, construction management, and US Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations is a bonus.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

Residency Requirement

NYCHA has no residency requirements.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.