Real Estate Legal Counsel

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate is a seasoned legal professional with a broad range of private practice and/or in-house experience with sophisticated real estate transactions in both equity and debt investment types, financing matters, and corporate law, with proven strong business acumen.  The candidate shall possess the following qualifications:    

• Strategic insight and critical legal skills in formulating legal and commercial positions, and in managing legal risks at corporate and at investment levels;
• 5+ years of combined experience with leading law firms and corporate in-house legal departments with excellent academic record and a demonstrated track record of sound judgment, integrity and business ethics. Prior experience in working with non-US entities or international companies is helpful but not required;
• Experience in the following areas of law will be a focus: real estate finance and investments, real estate transactional matters, general corporate, joint ventures, and financing/banking;
• General familiarity with the following areas of law will be helpful: construction, fund formation, securities, regulatory compliance, cross-border transaction and investment structuring, and complex litigation;
• An understanding of the real estate business and a desire to complement legal expertise with a developing business acumen. 
• Experience in advising senior management and executive level business people on all aspects of corporate legal matters to contribute to commercial decision processes;
• Experience in developing and maximizing internal legal resources;
• Experience in development and management of outside legal counsel relationships and the supervision, review and oversight of outside legal counsel work product and budgets;
• Ability to anticipate legal issues or risks and to “see around the corner” so that appropriate steps can be taken to eliminate or mitigate potential consequences;
• Excellent writing and verbal skills are essential, with the ability to convey complex legal advice in non-legal business language;
• Ability to organize and prioritize many different competing matters, and should be able to shift quickly between subjects with the utmost discretion;
• A Juris Doctorate (JD) degree is required;
• License to practice law within the U.S., preferably in New York.

A successful candidate would also possess the following characteristics:

• High level of integrity and dependability are absolutely required;
• Entrepreneurial and self-starter to assume development strategic responsibilities to navigate in a fast-growing and at times ambiguous environment; 
• A respectful, professional, thoughtful, balanced work style that fits effectively across cultures and geographies;
• Effective verbal and written communication skills to engage peers and senior executives across all functions internally and externally;
• A highly collaborative team player that motivates peers and builds cohesive teams;
• Focus on creating solutions, not reporting problems.

Responsibilities:

The Legal Counsel is a critical member of the Vanke US team and will report directly to the Managing Director and head of Vanke’s US business. Duties include but are not limited to:

• Manage the execution of various transactional matters and complex litigation matters in close coordination with business counterparts and external counsel. 
• Counseling and guiding the strategic aspect of Vanke US’ business development and operation from a legal, compliance, and risk management perspective;
• Participate in the commercial decision-making process on all aspects of the companies’ lines of business, including but not limited to real estate transactions and corporate matters;
• Participating in the definition and development of corporate strategies, policies, procedures and programs;
• Managing the selection, retention, management and evaluation of all outside counsels.  Providing supervision, review and oversight of outside legal counsel work product;
• Participating in the negotiation of business/legal terms for Vanke US' real estate investment and development projects and related lending and financing efforts;
• Reviewing and negotiating principal legal documents such as term sheets, joint venture agreements, and loan documents;
• Managing Vanke US legal library and documentation process;
• Managing and coordinate periodical risk assessment exercise and mitigation plans across Vanke US departments;
• Participating in the structuring and negotiation of cross-border investments with capital partners and investors;
• Managing Vanke US’ internal legal function to ensure efficient and effective delivery of legal support services;
• Liaising with various colleagues in the legal and finance departments of Vanke’s headquarters and Hong Kong offices to educate colleagues regarding US market practices and manage corporate, regulatory and compliance matters relating to publicly traded parent company;
• Providing legal and advisory support for Vanke US’ HR, administrative and financial control functions by reviewing and negotiating all vendor contracts and engagement letters.