Senior Counsel, Real Estate and Construction

Eaton Corporation; Beachwood (OH); On-site; USD 182,000 - 266,000; Full time

Job summary

Eaton Corporation is seeking a Senior Counsel, Real Estate and Construction to join our global legal team. The role supports high-profile growth projects, manages a broad real estate portfolio, and leads complex negotiations across leases, acquisitions, and financing structures.

Ideal candidates have a JD, a US license to practice law, and at least 10 years of relevant experience, with a proven ability to navigate diverse markets and collaborate across functions to drive strategic growth while

Qualifications

• Licensed attorney with JD and US bar admission.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience as an actively licensed attorney.
• Proven track record negotiating real estate and construction transactions.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal support for global real estate and construction transactions across Eaton’s portfolio.
• Lead negotiations and due diligence for leases, acquisitions, sales, and financing vehicles.
• Collaborate with Real Estate, Tax, Government Relations, Finance, and other stakeholders to enable growth while mitigating risks.
• Offer pragmatic legal guidance across diverse transaction types and ensure alignment with company objectives.

Skills

Real estate transactions

Construction negotiations

Legal analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Juris Doctorate

US Bar admission

Job description

What you’ll do:

Job Summary

Eaton is seeking an experienced Senior Counsel, Real Estate and Construction to join our legal team. Reporting to the Vice President and Chief Counsel, EHS/Security & Sustainability, the Senior Counsel will provide legal support for high-profile and innovative growth projects, including major real estate and construction developments that have a significant impact on Eaton and the communities within which we operate. This role will also manage the high volume and complexity of transactions across Eaton’s real estate portfolio, helping to mitigate legal and regulatory risk while supporting operational efficiency and strategic growth initiatives. The position is ideal for a candidate with a collaborative mindset and the skills to lead a wide range of real estate transactions and associated negotiations, while engaging with cross-functional teams including operations, finance, government relations, tax, EHS/sustainability and business stakeholders.

Job Responsibilities

• In this role, you will provide legal support to enable Eaton's real estate/manufacturing footprint capacity growth initiative on a global basis.
• You will also manage the high volume and complexity of transactions across Eaton’s real estate portfolio, working closely with the Company’s real estate function, on both leased and owned facilities.
• You will collaborate with organizational leaders to enable growth, compliance, mitigate risk, and support business objectives while helping protect the interests of Eaton.
• You will support new, cutting-edge facilities that help shape the future of global power management and serve the world's most pressing energy needs. More specifically, you will lead the legal/real estate analysis for business capacity needs including sitting options/strategies and associated diligence, contracting efforts, and negotiations to meet Company growth objectives while identifying and mitigating legal and commercial risks for Eaton and helping drive consistent project execution against Eaton performance standards.
• This role requires providing pragmatic guidance to our businesses across a variety of transaction types including leases, sales/acquisitions, sale lease backs (and other financing vehicles), construction projects (from facility expansion projects to new greenfield development) and associated issues including government incentives support.
• You will also collaborate with internal organizations including Real Estate, Tax, Government Relations, Finance, EHS/Sustainability, Supply Chain and Insurance and specialty practice areas within the Law team (e.g.s. Business Counsel, EHS, etc.).
• You will likewise support associated real estate and/or construction dispute management and resolution.
• High emotional intelligence and the ability to tailor your advice to the experience and perspective of your stakeholders will be key to your success.
• In addition, the role requires that you demonstrate leadership behaviors that create trust, influence outcomes, and elevate others regardless of role.

Qualifications

Education level required

• Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university. Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school and an active license to practice law in the United States.

Years and area of experience required

• A minimum of 10 years of experience as an actively licensed attorney.

Technical knowledge

• Proven track record of at least 10 years negotiating real estate and construction transactions efficiently and effectively while navigating various commercial and legal risk areas across a variety of markets/industries.
• Capability for tailoring legal advice and solutions to the unique growth needs across Eaton's various business segments.
• Strong problem-solving capabilities with the ability to visualize and communicate solutions.
• Detailed oriented, with excellent organizational skills and the ability to work independently with a minimal level of supervision.

Skills

Soft skills

• Has excellent spoken and written communication skills and the ability to adapt the message to effectively share information with internal and external stakeholders.
• Effectively builds relationships at all levels of the organization and across stakeholders with different interests and perspectives.
• Works beyond boundaries & collaboratively in a team environment to advance the success of the group or enterprise.
• Leads with courage, emotional intelligence, and accountability.
• Stay curious to understand customer needs, challenges, and experiences, and use those insights to guide decisions that create value.
• Deliver clear, practical, and business-focused recommendations.

Additional Information

Organizational chart

Supervisor: Vice President/Chief Counsel EHS/Security & Sustainability, Lisa Sutton

Functional Manager (if applicable):

Incumbent (if applicable):

Peers (if applicable): NA

Direct Reports (if applicable): None

Indirect/Functional Reports (if applicable): None

Dimensions

Scope of Responsibilities: Global, though North American focus.

All positions may require participation in video and in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. All candidates will be evaluated based on job-related competencies, and all candidates’ privacy rights and data security will be protected in accordance with applicable laws.

At Eaton, we strive to provide compensation and benefits that attract, engage, and retain the best talent. This includes competitive pay and a variety of benefit programs for eligible employees. The expected annual salary range for this role is $182000 - $266000 a year. This role is also eligible for a variable incentive program. Please note the salary information shown above is a general guideline only. Salaries are based upon candidate skills, experience, and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations.

We are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law.

Eaton believes in second chance employment. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction history will be considered regardless of their arrest or conviction history, consistent with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the California Fair Chance Act and other local laws.

You do not need to disclose your conviction history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if Eaton is concerned about conviction that is directly related to the job, you will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report.

To request a disability-related reasonable accommodation to assist you in your job search, application, or interview process, please call us at 1-800-836-6345 to discuss your specific need. Only accommodation requests will be accepted by this phone number.

We know that good benefit programs are important to employees and their families. Eaton provides various Health and Welfare benefits as well as Retirement benefits, and several programs that provide for paid and unpaid time away from work. Please note that specific programs and options available to an employee may depend on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.