Description:

Full Job Description:
First Student is seeking an experienced Senior Real Estate Attorney to join its ten-person legal team and serve as a trusted legal advisor to the business. This role supports the General Counsel by providing comprehensive legal counsel across a broad range of matters, with approximately 70% of responsibilities focused on sophisticated commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, development matters, and M&A-related activity, and approximately 30% focused on broader in-house legal matters such as commercial contracting, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and litigation management.

The successful candidate will support a real estate portfolio of more than 750 owned and leased properties across 42 U.S. states and 8 Canadian provinces while providing practical, business-minded legal counsel that protects the company's interests, facilitates strategic growth, and supports key business objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

Draft, review, and negotiate complex real estate agreements, including commercial leases, purchase and sale agreements, amendments, easements, development agreements, and related transaction documents.
Manage real estate transactions from due diligence through closing, including title and survey reviews, zoning verifications, land use matters, environmental assessments, financing-related issues, and other real estate diligence activities.
Partner with business leaders and internal stakeholders on acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, and other strategic transactions involving real estate assets.
Serve as the primary legal partner to First Student's Real Estate team, providing practical, business-oriented counsel on strategic initiatives, transactions, and operational matters.
Advise internal stakeholders regarding property management issues, landlord-tenant matters, environmental concerns, regulatory compliance, and land use matters.
Review, draft, and negotiate a wide variety of commercial contracts, including vendor agreements, NDAs, SaaS agreements, consulting agreements, licensing agreements, and other commercial transactions.
Provide general legal guidance to operations support teams, including Risk, HR, Business Development, Communications, IT, and Labor, ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Assist in corporate governance matters, including commercial, regulatory, and transactional matters.
Identify potential legal risks across business operations and develop practical mitigation strategies.
Manage litigation and dispute-related matters and oversee outside counsel on specialized real estate, commercial, regulatory, and litigation matters as needed.
Collaborate with executive leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to support strategic growth initiatives and operational objectives.

Qualifications:

Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school.
Active license to practice law and in good standing with the State of Ohio (or eligible to register as in-house counsel).
5+ years of legal experience, with significant experience handling sophisticated commercial real estate transactions in a law firm and/or corporate legal department.
Experience advising on litigation or managing outside counsel is preferred.
Proven track record of handling general real estate/commercial contracts and corporate matters.
Strong negotiation, analytical, and interpersonal communication skills.
Ability to balance multiple priorities in a fast-paced, business-oriented environment.