Deputy General Counsel

About the role

Fairstead, a real estate firm focused on affordable housing, is seeking a Deputy General Counsel to join its legal department as a senior partner to the General Counsel. The role reports directly to the General Counsel, supervises the in-house legal team, manages outside counsel and acts on the General Counsel's behalf. It covers real estate transactions, finance, accounting, human resources, asset management, alternative business lines and compliance.

Key responsibilities

• Oversee legal work on real estate transactions such as acquisitions, dispositions, development, recapitalizations, joint ventures and financings involving LIHTC, tax-exempt bonds, HUD programs and Section 8.
• Partner with finance on financings and capital structuring, including debt and equity across the capital stack.
• Advise HR, accounting and asset management on employment, contract and operational matters, and support alternative business lines and new ventures.
• Support responses to RFPs and RFQs, and advise on corporate matters such as entity formation and governance.
• Oversee compliance across affordable housing programs, corporate operations and securities-related compliance, and review and approve transaction and corporate documents.
• Manage outside counsel and legal spend, and supervise, mentor and allocate work among in-house attorneys, paralegals and legal staff.
• Work with the General Counsel and senior leadership on legal strategy and align legal objectives with business goals.

Required profile

• J.D. from an accredited law school and admission to the New York State Bar in good standing.
• At least 10 years of legal experience, including partner-level experience at a large firm and increasingly senior in-house leadership roles.
• Experience with complex transactions and managing multiple deals at once; litigation experience preferred.
• Proven ability to supervise legal staff and manage outside counsel.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and communication skills, able to work independently and meet deadlines.