Construction Attorney

Reco Legal; California (MO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Reco Legal is seeking a construction lawyer to lead a hybrid role focusing on transactional work and business development in California. You will review, draft, and negotiate construction contracts while guiding clients on California law, liens, bond and payment issues.

The position rewards strategic impact and deep market relationships instead of solely billable hours. You will leverage AI-assisted tools to speed reviews, develop playbooks, and shape the firm’s California market strategy.

Qualifications

• Licensed and in good standing with the State Bar of California.
• 3+ years of construction law experience, with depth on transactional work.
• Working knowledge of California construction-specific law: mechanics liens, CSLB licensing, prompt payment, public works.
• Strong relationships in the California construction market that you can bring with you.
• Willing to be measured on more than billable hours and to grow the practice.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review and negotiate construction contracts: AIA and ConsensusDocs forms, owner-GC agreements, subcontracts, design-build agreements and change orders.
• Advise clients on California construction law: mechanics liens, stop notices, prompt payment statutes, CSLB license law, Public Contract Code issues and Right to Repair (SB 800).
• Advise on risk allocation: indemnity, insurance requirements, warranties and limitation of liability.
• Turn recurring issues into playbooks and templates to scale the firm’s judgment.

Skills

Construction law

Drafting

Negotiation

Client relationships

California law

Risk allocation

Education

Bar admission: California

Job description

The Role

This role will involve a combination of contract work and business development. You will review, draft and negotiate the paper that runs a construction project for clients building across California.

Inbound work comes to you from day one, so the practice is not something you have to build from nothing before you can bill.

Direct the AI, don't babysit it. Our tooling takes you through review and first drafts quickly. Your

judgment goes where it changes the outcome: risk allocation, payment terms, exposure on the terms a client is about to sign.

The business development half runs on who you already know. We want someone with deep relationships across the California construction market, who wants a say in where the practice goes and which part of the market we go after next, rather than waiting to be staffed on whatever comes in.

This fits a construction lawyer who wants leverage over billable hours, and who wants to be early at a

firm changing how legal work gets sold and delivered.

What You'll Do

Legal practice

Draft, review and negotiate construction contracts: AIA and ConsensusDocs forms, owner-GC agreements, subcontracts, design-build agreements and change orders.

Advise clients on California construction law: mechanics liens and stop notices, prompt payment

statutes, CSLB license law, Public Contract Code issues on public works, and Right to Repair (SB 800)

obligations.

Advise on risk allocation: indemnity, insurance requirements, warranties and limitation of liability.

Turn recurring issues into playbooks and templates, so the firm's judgment compounds instead of

resetting on every matter.

Business development and strategy

Bring your relationships across GCs, developers, subcontractors and property owners into the practice, and grow them.

Help decide which parts of the California market we go after, and what we say to them. You are closer to these clients than anyone else here will be.

Represent ReCo at industry events and trade associations: AGC, CFMA, local builder exchanges.

Work with leadership on ReCo's positioning for construction clients, based on what you are hearing.

Required Qualifications

Licensed and in good standing with the State Bar of California.

3+ years of construction law experience, with real depth on the transactional side, at a firm or on a

company legal team.

Working knowledge of California construction-specific law: mechanics liens, CSLB licensing, prompt

payment, public works requirements.

Relationships in the California construction market that you can bring with you.

Willing to be measured on more than billable hours. You want to grow something, not staff it.

A clear writer. You can explain a lien deadline to a superintendent and a limitation of liability clause

to a GC in the same day.

Comfortable with ambiguity and a small, fast-moving team. You would rather build the process than wait for one to exist.