Legal Counsel, Real Estate and Development

Overview

A global solar development organization with active projects across North America and Europe is seeking a Legal Counsel specializing in Real Estate and Project Development to support its U.S. development platform. The role focuses primarily on title, survey, curative, project closings, and related real estate matters, while also supporting broader development and project-specific legal workstreams as needed.

This position reports to the General Counsel and collaborates closely with internal teams including development, engineering, land acquisition, finance, and executives, as well as external parties such as outside counsel, title companies, and surveyors.

The role is fully remote for U.S.-based candidates and hybrid for Toronto-based candidates, requiring at least three days per week in the Liberty Village office. Occasional travel within the U.S. may be required.

Responsibilities

Title, Survey, and Curative

• Oversee review of title commitments, exception documents, surveys, and due diligence materials, identifying legal and commercial risks and advising on next steps.
• Review property surveys and development documents to identify easement, access, crossing, encroachment, and other issues affecting project viability.
• Manage title curative workstreams, including surface, mineral, and other title issues, coordinating with internal teams and external service providers.
• Collaborate with development, engineering, and other stakeholders to resolve title, survey, access, and curative issues practically and commercially.
• Assist in developing and refining internal tools and processes related to title review, curative, survey matters, and closing readiness.

Real Estate and Project Closings

• Review leases, lease amendments, easements, crossing agreements, access agreements, and other site-control or real estate documents for legal risk and commercial reasonableness.
• Review and negotiate pro forma title policies and endorsements for project sales, financings, and closings to ensure clean, marketable, and financeable title.
• Coordinate with title insurers, surveyors, land service providers, outside counsel, and lenders’ or buyers’ counsel regarding title review, surveys, endorsements, and closing deliverables.
• Support project closings by managing real estate-related closing documents and workstreams to ensure completeness and insurability.
• Conduct legal diligence and maintain issue tracking for project sales, acquisitions, financings, and similar transactions.

Development and Legal Support

• Support broader development legal matters such as permitting agreements, access arrangements, and other project-level legal work.
• Provide secondary support on project transactions and commercial agreements, with a primary focus on real estate workstreams.
• Assist the General Counsel with other in-house legal matters as needed.
• Exercise sound judgment to escalate material legal, commercial, or reputational issues appropriately while managing day-to-day matters independently.
• Maintain organized legal records, closing files, and documentation, facilitating clear communication across stakeholders.

Requirements

• Minimum 5 years of legal experience with significant exposure to U.S. commercial real estate, real estate finance, or project development.
• Juris Doctor degree and licensed to practice law in the United States.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. real estate fundamentals including title and survey review, easements, access issues, and real estate diligence.
• Experience reviewing and negotiating real estate-related agreements such as leases, easements, access and crossing agreements, and amendments.
• Experience supporting real estate asset or development-stage project transactions including closings, financings, acquisitions, and dispositions.
• Strong commercial judgment with the ability to provide practical advice balancing legal risk and business objectives.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, capable of managing multiple matters simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, able to work effectively with internal teams and external parties.
• Comfortable working independently and collaboratively with business teams and outside advisors.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in solar, battery energy storage systems (BESS), infrastructure, or other development-oriented industries.
• Prior in-house legal experience or roles involving regular cross-functional business collaboration.
• Familiarity with U.S. title insurance, survey practices, and real estate closing processes.
• Experience working with land professionals, title agents, surveyors, or other non-lawyer real estate service providers.
• Tech-savvy with openness to adopting new tools including AI, email marketing platforms, dialing systems, and automation tools.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Clear and confident communicator capable of driving accountability and improving execution without formal hierarchy.
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment and improve team workflows.

Compensation & Benefits

Details regarding compensation and benefits are not specified in the job description.

Location

• Fully remote for U.S.-based candidates.
• Hybrid for Toronto-based candidates, requiring at least three days per week in the Liberty Village office.
• Occasional travel within the United States may be required.