Real Estate Counsel

The Quest Organization; Cleveland (OH); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

The Quest Organization is seeking a seasoned Real Estate Counsel to support a dynamic pipeline of commercial real estate activity while driving efficiency across legal workflows. This hybrid role blends hands-on transactional work with legal operations and outside counsel management.

Roughly 80% of the role focuses on real estate transactions, with the remaining 20% on matter management, budgeting, and oversight of external partners.

Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited U.S. law school; active bar membership (Ohio preferred)
• 7+ years of transactional experience (law firm or in-house)
• Strong background in commercial real estate transactions
• Experience managing outside counsel and complex legal matters preferred
• Exposure to tax credit or incentive-based real estate structures is a plus
• Strong drafting, negotiation, and analytical capabilities
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities
• Business-oriented mindset with sound judgment
• Comfortable leveraging legal technology and AI tools
• Effective communicator across legal and non-legal stakeholders

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate real estate agreements across acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, construction, financing, and property management
• Support diligence efforts including title, survey, zoning, and environmental review
• Structure and document transactions involving historic tax credits, Opportunity Zones, and other incentive-based programs
• Provide practical, business-oriented legal guidance throughout the deal lifecycle
• Partner cross-functionally with Acquisitions, Development, Asset Management, Accounting, and Operations
• Serve as primary liaison to outside counsel; manage performance, budgets, and deliverables
• Triage legal requests, allocate internal vs. external resources, and oversee matters through resolution
• Implement and refine legal workflows, tracking systems, and intake processes
• Monitor legal spend and ensure cost-effective execution
• Support adoption of AI and legal tech to improve efficiency and consistency
• Develop templates, playbooks, and internal documentation
• Provide guidance on corporate governance, compliance, and regulatory matters

Skills

Real estate transactions

Negotiation

Drafting & reviewing

Legal operations

Outside counsel management

Education

J.D. from an accredited U.S. law school

Job description

We are seeking a seasoned Real Estate Counsel to support a dynamic pipeline of commercial real estate activity while driving efficiency across legal workflows. This is a high-impact, hybrid role blending hands-on transactional work with legal operations and outside counsel management.

Roughly 80% of the role is dedicated to executing real estate transactions, with the remaining 20% focused on matter management, prioritization, budgeting, and oversight of external legal partners.

This is an ideal opportunity for a business-minded attorney who enjoys staying close to deals while also building structure and scalability within a growing organization.

Responsibilities:

• Draft, review, and negotiate agreements across acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, construction (AIA), financing, and property management
• Support diligence efforts including title, survey, zoning, and environmental review
• Structure and document transactions involving historic tax credits, Opportunity Zones, and other incentive-based programs
• Provide practical, business-oriented legal guidance throughout the deal lifecycle
• Partner cross-functionally with Acquisitions, Development, Asset Management, Accounting, and Operations

Legal Operations & Matter Management

• Serve as primary liaison to outside counsel; manage performance, budgets, and deliverables
• Triage legal requests, allocate internal vs. external resources, and oversee matters through resolution
• Implement and refine legal workflows, tracking systems, and intake processes
• Monitor legal spend and ensure cost-effective execution

Additional Responsibilities

• Support adoption of AI and legal tech to improve efficiency and consistency
• Develop templates, playbooks, and internal documentation
• Provide guidance on corporate governance, compliance, and regulatory matters

Qualifications:

• J.D. from an accredited U.S. law school; active bar membership (Ohio preferred)
• 7+ years of transactional experience (law firm or in-house)
• Strong background in commercial real estate transactions
• Experience managing outside counsel and complex legal matters preferred
• Exposure to tax credit or incentive-based real estate structures is a plus
• Strong drafting, negotiation, and analytical capabilities
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities
• Business-oriented mindset with sound judgment
• Comfortable leveraging legal technology and AI tools
• Effective communicator across legal and non-legal stakeholders