Real Estate and Development Counsel

About the role

The Real Estate and Development Counsel will lead proactive, strategic legal work that supports our portfolio, government partnerships, and growth. This role focuses on universal documents governing our communities, negotiations with government stakeholders, real estate transactions, and legal support for development and new project onboarding.

Responsibilities

• Drafts, reviews, negotiates, and manages universal legal documents, including the Universal Lease (UL), Community Guidelines, OMMPs, and FMPs.
• Negotiates document terms and amendments with government stakeholders, including Military Housing Offices, service branches, and the Department of Defense.
• Serves as a key point of contact for real estate transactions across the portfolio, supporting parcel returns, document amendments, licenses, easements, rights of entry, access agreements, and related contracts.
• Advises on development and construction legal matters, including new construction, renovation, and infrastructure projects.
• Supports growth initiatives and new project onboarding from a legal perspective, including diligence, structuring, and document implementation.
• Maintains awareness of evolving MHPI statutory and regulatory requirements, including NDAA provisions, GAO recommendations, and DOD IG findings.
• Develops and improves operational infrastructure, policies, and legal protocols related to health and safety, maintenance, environmental risk, and risk mitigation.
• Advocates on energy, utilities, and environmental compliance matters, including utility allowance programs, energy procurement, and environmental diligence.
• Coordinates with and manages outside counsel on specialized matters within assigned areas, ensuring cost-effective, high-quality support.
• Collaborates with the Property Management Counsel on document interpretation issues, translating lessons learned into improvements to universal documents.
• Engages with congressional staff, GAO auditors, and DOD IG investigators, coordinating with the General Counsel and government relations teams.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor Degree from an accredited U.S. law school.
• Required Active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction; willingness and ability to obtain additional registrations as required.
• Required 5-10 years of experience in real estate, transactional, or regulatory law.
• Preferred Experience with government contracts, public-private partnerships, or government-regulated real estate.
• Required Demonstrated experience drafting and negotiating complex operational and transactional documents.
• Preferred Familiarity with federal regulatory frameworks, compliance obligations, and government oversight processes.
• Required Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously with minimal supervision.
• Preferred Strong written and verbal communication skills; this role requires significant document drafting and direct negotiation with government counterparts.
• Preferred Strategic thinker who can build systems, processes, and scalable legal infrastructure — not just react to issues as they arise.
• Required Detail-oriented, analytical thinker able to make practical judgments in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Required Excellent organizational skills; ability to manage multiple and diverse projects at once, must follow-through and meet deadlines.
• Required Ability to work autonomously, yet collaboratively, and be responsive.
• Required Demonstrated experience in analytical, critical thinking, negotiation and research techniques, including that which may be, at least initially, new or unfamiliar.
• Required Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and knowledge of Adobe and PDF files.
• Required Self-motivated, team player who pays close attention to detail and must be able to adapt to a fast-paced environment and effectively manage a high-volume and diverse workload spanning various substantive legal areas, but mostly focusing on legal contracts and/or real estate transactions.
• Required Proactive self-starter with the ability to work independently but also thrive in a dynamic and team-oriented environment.
• Required Results-oriented with strong project management and execution skills.
• Required Strong interpersonal, communication and customer service skills with ability to sustain strong relationships across internal and external stakeholders. Ability to interact with multiple levels within the organization and across multiple jurisdictions.
• Required The ability to think critically while balancing business goals with prudent risk management.

Pay

We are committed to offering competitive and equitable compensation. The hiring range for this position is generally between $143,000 - $185,600, exclusive of fringe benefits or potential bonuses. This position is also eligible for a performance bonus. Final salaries will be determined based on factors such as geographic location, skills, education, licenses, certifications, and/or experience. In addition to these factors - we believe in the importance of pay equity. Please keep in mind that the range mentioned above is the general Hiring Range for the role. Hiring at the top of the range is reserved for exceptionally qualified candidates. We consider internal and external factors as a part of every final offer. We also offer a generous total compensation and benefits package. Click Here For Benefits Overview https://www.huntmilitarycommunities.com/careers/benefits

Benefits

A competitive salary is only one part of your total rewards. We also offer a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, medical, dental, life and disability insurance, HSA/FSA accounts, retirement, rewards programs, and so much more!

EEO/ADA

The Company and its affiliates provide equal employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.