Commercial Real Estate Senior Associate (NYC)

What we're looking for

We need a senior commercial real estate attorney with 6-8 years of experience and a heavy retail industry focus, including big box retail. You should be comfortable handling both tenant-side (65%) and landlord-side (35%) representation, with a proven track record in lease negotiation, purchase and sale agreements, and M&A due diligence. You must be admitted to the New York bar and in good standing.

What you'll do

• Negotiate and draft commercial leases — retail and office agreements on both tenant-side and landlord-side, with a heavy emphasis on retail/big box retail clients
• Prepare and negotiate purchase and sale agreements for commercial real estate transactions
• Conduct due diligence for real estate-related M&A transactions, including title review and analysis of complex title reports and policies
• Negotiate SNDAs and lender approval instruments in connection with commercial real estate deals
• Advise on regulatory and land use matters, including representation at municipal hearings on an ad hoc basis
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders — working directly with two hiring partners (Scott Kipnis and Nicholas Malito) to coordinate transaction outcomes and support a growing NY Real Estate practice

About the role

• This is a backfill position on an established team supporting two named partners, with plans to also hire an entry-level associate — signaling long-term investment in the practice
• Fox Rothschild is an Am Law 100 firm with ~1,000 attorneys across 30 offices, and the NY Real Estate practice is in a significant growth phase
• Hybrid schedule: 3 days/week in the New York office
• Billable target of 1,900 hours with incremental bonuses every 25 hours above target
• Compensation: $270,000–$290,000 base salary

Must-haves

• 6-8 years of commercial real estate transactional experience
• Retail industry experience, including big box retail — this is the key differentiator for this role
• Active New York bar admission, in good standing
• Experience with lease negotiation/drafting, purchase and sale agreements, due diligence, and title review
• Strong research, writing skills, and academic record (3.0+ GPA preferred)
• Stable tenure history — no frequent job changes

Nice-to-haves

• BigLaw experience or equivalent caliber firm (strong candidates from smaller RE-focused firms with deep retail experience are welcome)
• Both tenant-side and landlord-side experience
• SNDA negotiation and lender approval instrument experience
• Land use/zoning/municipal hearing experience
• Deal sheet available at submission