Associate – Real Estate

Our Real Estate Practice provides market-leading advice on transactions and disputes with real estate at the core. We assist developers, owners, private and institutional investors, corporates, lenders, and underwriters around the world in understanding industry trends and their impact on business. Our expertise extends to advising borrowers, lenders, and servicers across all types of domestic and international real estate financings. Clients trust us to manage the intricacies of their transactions and disputes, synthesising legal and commercial knowledge to provide counsel that translates into successful outcomes. By leveraging our deep understanding of real estate and legal frameworks, we help clients achieve their goals in a dynamic and evolving market.

Position Summary

We are currently looking for a mid-level real estate associate to join our Chicago office with a focus on data center transactions.

In addition to strong academic credentials, you should possess excellent technical skills and a solid foundation in commercial real estate leasing. Bright and adaptable, you should be willing to work across a broad range of real estate matters and asset classes, including work that may fall outside a traditional real estate practice. Experience with international transactions is preferred, particularly coordinating multi-country workstreams, managing local counsel and recognizing jurisdiction-specific issues that affect transaction structure, diligence and execution.

Strong oral and written communication skills will be significant assets, enabling you to explain complex legal concepts to non-lawyers. Working on a relatively high volume of matters at any one time, you will need to be highly organized, adept at managing multiple workstreams and producing outstanding results within the short deadlines often demanded by our clients’ projects.

Collaborative and cooperative, you should enjoy working as part of a team but also demonstrate an independence of thought and action, proactively anticipating clients’ needs and exceeding their expectations by developing creative and original solutions to their problems.

Duties and Accountabilities

• Represent domestic and international investors, owners, developers, operators, lenders and institutions in data center, digital infrastructure and other commercial real estate transactions

• Draft and negotiate documentation for a wide range of real estate transactions, including purchase and sale agreements, joint venture agreements, leases, development agreements and real estate finance documents, as well as ancillary documents such as certificates, resolutions and consents

• Advise on leasing, acquisition, disposition, development, financing and operational matters involving data centers and other commercial real estate assets

• Assist with cross-border and multi-country transactions by coordinating local counsel, diligence workstreams and jurisdiction-specific advice

• Support all stages of leasing transactions, including transaction structuring, document preparation, negotiation, diligence, signing and closing

• Conduct and coordinate due diligence for real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, financings and joint ventures

• Identify and communicate material jurisdictional differences affecting property rights, leasing structures, utilities, permitting, data center operations and transaction execution

• Support M&A, private equity, fund formation, debt finance and other practice groups with respect to real estate matters

• Ensure that our clients’ interests are properly represented and protected at all times

• Conduct legal research and prepare practical analyses of real estate, leasing, data center and jurisdiction-specific legal issues

Qualifications

• A Juris Doctor (JD) degree (LLM or foreign equivalent) from an accredited law school required

• Admitted to the Illinois bar

• Minimum of four years of relevant real estate experience in a large firm setting

• Strong general commercial leasing experience, including drafting, reviewing and negotiating leases and related transaction documents

• Experience should include representing borrowers and lenders in financing transactions with respect to various asset classes, with a preference of experience in data centers or other digital infrastructure transactions

• Exposure to international transactions, multi-country coordination and local counsel management preferred

• Familiarity with jurisdiction-specific differences affecting real estate transactions and an ability to recognize when specialized local advice is required

• Experience conducting due diligence, including lease review, title and survey review and drafting due diligence reports

• Strong time management skills, ability to stay calm under pressure when juggling multiple projects

• Strong professional presence with a client service focus

• Team player with sound judgment

• Proactive, resourceful, takes initiative and a self-starter driven by professional growth

• Outstanding communication skills

• Excellent drafting skills

• Fluency in English

Locations and Compensation

• Offices: Chicago

• Salary range: $225,000 - $390,000

This role reports to

Partner

Equal Opportunities

White & Case is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and is committed to creating a fair workplace. It is our Firm’s policy to recruit, employ, train, compensate and promote without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other category protected by applicable law.

Applicants who are interested in applying for a position and require an accommodation during the process should contact [email protected].

Benefits at White & Case

White & Case LLP offers a comprehensive suite of benefit programs to all eligible employees, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, life and disability coverage, 401(k) retirement savings, vacation time, and leave programs (including parental leave). Exempt roles are also performance bonus eligible.

The Firm may modify and amend any job description at any time in its sole discretion. Nothing herein creates a contract of employment or otherwise modifies the at-will nature of employment.

The above is only a general description of the essential duties associated with this position and does not represent an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all duties.

Note to Recruitment Agencies

Our internal Recruitment team manages all aspects of lateral hiring. All agencies must have signed terms of business—specific to the relevant office—before submitting any candidates. CVs or applications sent directly to White & Case partners or employees will also not be considered formal introductions. If you have questions, please contact the relevant Recruitment team. We work with our preferred suppliers when engaging agencies.