Real Estate Counsel

Savory Fund; Draper (UT); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Savory Fund is seeking an experienced Real Estate Counsel to join our legal team and support a growing multi-brand restaurant portfolio. You’ll lead leasing, development, and real estate transactions with a commercially focused, high-volume workload.

Reporting to the General Counsel, you’ll collaborate with real estate, development, and construction teams, brand leadership, and outside brokers to secure locations that drive growth. Utah bar eligibility preferred for candidate consideration.

Qualifications

• J.D. degree and active U.S. state bar membership required (Utah preferred).
• 5–10 years of commercial real estate experience with a focus on retail leasing.

Responsibilities

• Negotiate and draft letters of intent, commercial retail leases, and lease amendments for tenant brands.
• Handle renewals, extensions, assignments, subleases, guaranties, SNDAs, estoppels, and work letters.
• Support site selection and development with title, survey, zoning, and entitlement reviews.
• Lead real estate due diligence for acquisitions, brand transactions, refinancings, and exits.
• Support lease administration by tracking dates, options, and obligations.
• Develop lease templates, playbooks, and negotiation standards for portfolio consistency.
• Independently manage high volumes of real estate matters.

Skills

Real estate law

Lease negotiation

Drafting

Attention to detail

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

J.D. degree

Tools

Document management systems

Lease templates

Job description

Savory Fund is seeking an experienced Real Estate Counsel to join our legal team and play a key role in supporting the growth of our portfolio brands. This is an excellent opportunity for a commercially minded real estate attorney who thrives in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment and wants direct ownership of a high volume of leasing and development matters across a growing multi-brand restaurant portfolio.

Reporting to the General Counsel, you’ll partner closely with real estate, development, and construction teams, brand leadership, and outside brokers to secure and protect the locations that drive our brands’ growth. You’ll serve as a trusted advisor at every level of the organization, from field leadership to the executive team.

What You’ll Do

• Negotiate and draft letters of intent, commercial retail leases, and lease amendments on behalf of tenant portfolio brands
• Handle the full range of lease-related documents, including renewals, extensions, assignments, subleases, guaranties, SNDAs, estoppels, and work letters
• Support site selection and development activity, including title, survey, zoning, use restriction, and entitlement review
• Lead real estate due diligence for acquisitions, brand transactions, refinancings, and exits
• Support lease administration by tracking critical dates, options, exclusives, and other key lease obligations
• Develop and maintain lease templates, playbooks, and negotiation standards to drive consistency and efficiency across the portfolio
• Independently manage a high volume of real estate matters, escalating as appropriate
• Support the Office of General Counsel on general corporate matters, financing transactions, vendor and commercial contracts, and other legal matters as needed.

What You Bring

• J.D. and active U.S. state bar membership in good standing (Utah admission or eligibility preferred)
• 5–10 years of commercial real estate experience, with a strong focus on retail lease negotiation
• Tenant-side retail leasing experience strongly preferred
• Restaurant, hospitality, franchise, multi-unit retail, or private equity experience a plus
• Exceptional attention to detail and strong drafting and communication skills
• A collaborative, solutions-oriented mindset with the ability to manage competing priorities and tight deal timelines
• Comfort with technology, lease administration tools, and document management systems

Why Savory Fund

Savory Fund invests in and scales emerging restaurant brands. We’re guided by our core values (Competency, Humility, Integrity, and Positivity), and we’re looking for a legal partner who shares that mindset and wants to make a tangible impact on our continued growth.

We use eVerify to confirm U.S. Employment eligibility.

Compensation: Competitive salary