Attorney

Distinct | North America; Charleston (SC); On-site; USD 160,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Distinct Recruitment is seeking a commercial real estate attorney for its Am Law 200 client in Charleston, SC. The role targets attorneys with 3+ years of experience in complex CRE transactions and SC admission (or eligibility).

You should prefer owning a deal and building a practice over routine review, with a clear path to partnership through a developed book of business. The position features hybrid working with team-agreed split, a focus on local deals, and a potential for significant client

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience on complex commercial real estate transactions.
• South Carolina admission or eligibility.
• Entrepreneurial mindset to own deals.
• Willingness to build a book of business.

Responsibilities

• Draft and negotiate purchase and sale agreements to protect client interests.
• Prepare and review financing documents from draft to closing.
• Draft development and commercial leases for multifamily, industrial, mixed-use, and coastal projects.
• Coordinate due diligence across title, survey, and zoning.
• Own the closing checklist from start to finish.

Skills

Commercial real estate

Negotiation

Job description

In real estate, the client rarely remembers who drafted the PSA. They remember who picked up on a Sunday when the survey came back wrong. This role is built to make you that lawyer, and to put your name on the partnership track for it.

I’m Clark Pollins at Distinct Recruitment. I’m recruiting for an Am Law 200 firm that wants a commercial real estate attorney in its Charleston office.

The short version

• An Am Law 200 platform, worked from an office where the deals are local.
• A billable target of 1,800 to 1,900 hours, so there’s time left in the week for business development.
• Hybrid working, agreed with your team from the start. You set the split.
• A partnership track where building your book is the route, and the firm backs you while you build it.

The deals on your desk

• Purchase and sale agreements, negotiated so your client knows exactly what they’re buying.
• Financing documents, from first draft to closing set.
• Development agreements for multifamily, industrial, mixed use and coastal projects. On these, approvals and timing have to hold up for years, not weeks.
• Commercial leases, for landlords and tenants.
• Due diligence across title, survey and zoning.
• The closing checklist, which is yours from start to finish.

When a deal goes sideways

• The firm has real estate litigators down the hall.
• You hand the dispute over. The client relationship stays with you.
• Clients notice when their lawyer has a plan for the bad day. That’s often how one deal becomes ten.

The range, explained

• Nearer $160,000: an associate who already runs transactions alone and wants that independence to turn into clients of their own.
• Nearer $260,000: someone with established relationships or portable work, on a faster road to partner.
• The deals you run and the clients you bring decide where you land.

You’ll fit if

• You have around 3 years or more on complex commercial real estate transactions.
• You’re admitted in South Carolina, or eligible.
• You’d rather own a deal than have every page checked.
• You want to build a practice. A book helps, but appetite counts just as much.