Real Estate Lawyer Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

By | August 12, 2023
Real Estate Lawyer Job Description
Real estate lawyers are responsible for the legal aspects of real estate matters.

Real Estate Lawyer Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

This post provides complete information on the job description of a real estate lawyer, to help you learn what they do.

It highlights the key tasks, duties, and responsibilities that commonly make up the real estate lawyer work description in most companies.

It also presents the major requirements you may be expected to fulfill to be hired for the real estate lawyer role.

Please, continue reading to increase your knowledge of the real estate lawyer career:

What Does a Real Estate Lawyer Do?

A real estate lawyer has the primary responsibility of preparing and reviewing documents, negotiating terms and conditions, and processing the transfer of titles.

His/her job description involves helping clients with legal issues related to residential and commercial real estate, tenants and neighbors, commercial leasing, and private property ownership.

The real estate lawyer is responsible for the legal aspects of real estate matters such as land developments, purchases of property, and asset transfers.

They meet with clients and make sure that documentation is in line with current property laws and regulations.

Real estate lawyers offer legal advice on property management, zoning violations, restrictions and agreements on real estate, property taxes, and value estimates.

They handle real estate disputes like infringement, trespassing and injuries, and define boundaries and work towards resolving disputes.

Real estate lawyers also stand for their clients in court and participate in trials and hearings, file appeals, and draft documents and legal pleadings.

They bargain and negotiate on behalf of clients and help them to reach settlement agreements.

They also help clients to deal with the legal aspect of rental property and defend the rights of owners, landlords, renters, and tenants.

If you are seeking to work as a real estate lawyer, some of the requirements that employers/recruiters may want you to meet include analytical and verbal/written communication skills, a broad business law foundation, and strong negotiating skills.

Others are time management skills, organizational skills to handle multiple cases and documents, and remarkable decision-making skills; interpersonal skills and great problem-solving skills.

Real Estate Lawyer Educational Qualifications

To be hires for the real estate lawyer role, you will be required to show proof of academic qualifications.

A real estate lawyer needs to obtain a Jurisdiction Doctorate Degree from an accredited school by the American Bar Association.

He/she also needs to hold an attorney’s license through passing the bar exam.

He/she can attend a law school, but applying for internships with different law firms will help gain the work experience necessary to land one’s job of choice.

Continuing education may be required yearly or every three years in 45 States, but that is after graduation.

Real Estate Lawyer Salary Information and Employment Outlook

The average salary for a real estate lawyer is $118,000, depending on the job experience and hourly rate charged.

The pay is increased when working for a large firm or becoming a partner, but declines in an economic recession.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the mean annual salary for lawyers in 2018 was $144,230.

The BLS also predicted employment for all lawyers to grow as rapidly as the average from 2018 to 2028.

Real Estate Lawyer Job Description Example/Sample/Template

The job description example below shows the major tasks, duties, and responsibilities typically performed by real estate lawyers:

  • Monitoring legal risk in real estate documentation and giving the correct advice to clients
  • Managing regulatory and compliance-related services
  • Representing the clients in purchases and sales of properties
  • Defending municipal code litigation
  • Ensuring that suitable approvals are prepared before real estate transactions are carried out
  • Drafting routine leases and amendments, as well as drafting and negotiating real estate transactions
  • Supporting legal and general advisory needs associated with a large-scale real estate portfolio
  • Interpreting laws, rulings, and regulations for real estate transactions.

Real Estate Lawyer Job Description for Resume

If you are making a new resume or CV and are presently working or have previous worked as a real estate lawyer, you should have the professional or work experience section in your resume.

The professional experience part of your resume helps to inform the recruiter/employer that you have been successfully performing the duties and responsibilities of a real estate lawyer.

This piece of information can help the recruiter/employer decide to give you an interview, especially if the new position that you are applying for requires some real estate lawyer work experience.

You can quickly create an effective professional experience section for your resume/CV by applying the sample real estate lawyer job description shown above.

Real Estate Lawyer Requirements – Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities for Career Success

If you seeking the real estate lawyer job, most recruiters/employers may want you to meet the following requirements to be hired:

  • Knowledge about legal terminology and ability to work long hours
  • Negotiation skills required to assist in situations where clients are displeased
  • Being an analytical thinker who can work through legal issues and provide solutions
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills to effectively and accurately communicate ideas and propositions to clients, judges, and other legal professionals
  • Acting with good character, competence, and sound judgments when dealing with client matters
  • High degree of organizational and self-motivational skills
  • Networking skills and collaboration ability
  • Solid experience in title insurance underwriting, curative, and claims
  • Analytical thinker with strong conceptual and research skills
  • Natural leader who displays sound judgment and attention to detail
  • Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
  • Capable networker with excellent interpersonal, communication, and public speaking skills
  • Proficient with Microsoft Office programs and strong experience in real estate law
  • Strong working knowledge of litigation, lease transactions, and property management
  • Solid experience in insurance underwriting
  • Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines
  • Working knowledge of computer technology and Microsoft Office programs
  • Extensive legal background and business acumen
  • Financial expertise and specific real estate knowledge
  • Skilled investigative researcher and the ability to analyze located information
  • Comfortable with conflict resolution and a good understanding of foreclosure
  • Familiar with legal terminology and the ability to work long hours.

Conclusion

This post is helpful to individuals interested in the real estate lawyer career; they will be able to learn the duties and responsibilities associated with the role.

They will therefore be able to decide correctly if the real estate lawyer career is best for them.

This article is also useful to recruiters/employers who are looking to hire for the real estate lawyer position in their organizations.

They can apply the real estate lawyer job description sample provided on this page to make one for their companies for use in the recruitment process.