How To Write A Real Estate Attorney Resume

Earning a real estate attorney degree is a complicated feat. Perhaps your career has already begun, or maybe you are investigating other options.

As a real estate attorney, you must know that your field is broad and deep. It has plenty of complications and covers various aspects of life, allowing you to discover your passion while remaining within your boundaries.

There has been an increasing demand for real estate lawyers recently. More and more people are pursuing this field because of how interesting and lucrative it is.

However, where and how do you begin? You must have an excellent real estate lawyer resume to win people’s trust. Unfortunately, despite their superb qualifications, many people do not know how to make an impressive resume.

Are you one of those people too? Don’t worry, as this piece will discuss everything you need to know to create an outstanding real estate lawyer’s resume.

Continue reading this guide to learn how to:

  • Target the attributes and skills firms and recruiters seek
  • Make a professional resume
  • Design a legible and clean layout
  • Real estate lawyer/attorney samples

Word of Advice

Your real estate attorney resume is much more than an ordinary and static document. Instead, it is an application for a job and will change with new opportunities. Therefore, you must custom-tailor your C.V for every potential employer.

The top 3% and highest paid real estate attorneys use a custom designed resume template.

Want in on the 3% of the top jobs? Download our most popular real estate attorney resume template today.

The Layout – Designing for Success

Your resume’s layout is as important as what you mention in it. It is your chance to make a lasting first impression on the firms that view your application. As a real estate lawyer, you must convince your clients about your professional conduct.

Individuals who practice real estate law have to appear in front of judges and juries quite often.

Make your appearance count. Don’t give busy recruiters a chance to eliminate your resume with a buggy, cluttered, and bad design.

Avoid using bright colors, distracting design, and fancy fonts. Hiring managers and recruiters skim through resumes and look for pertinent information.

If you are fresh out of school or studying in a university, hiring managers will first search for your internships, contact information, and the place where you received your law degree.

If you have sufficient experience, the firm’s recruiters will scan for responsibilities, title, and current position. Get a friend or family member to check your work for formatting errors and typos.

Design a resume that highlights the information employers seek. Real estate lawyers must focus on maintaining a professional look.

The Profile – Making a Noteworthy Opening Statement

Lawyers, whether in real estate or other fields, must have an excellent command of words. In particular, real estate lawyers must master this art as they encounter complicated cases concerning contract laws and land-related lawsuits.

Sure, your achievements matter, but recruiters get plenty of resumes for people with similar accolades. You must stand out from your competition by wowing the hiring managers with your perfect choice of words in three to four sentences.

Firms want to see what you will add to their attorney roster and how hard you can work. Utilize your resume to tell them you are up for the challenge and convincingly sell your experience and professional image.

Sure, modesty is appreciated, but showing excessive humility can work against you. Do not be overly braggadocios either and maintain a perfect balance to showcase your achievement while being personable.

Tailor your profile for the job you want. If you are searching for a real estate gig, do not mention anything concerning public policy. Personalizing your resume is especially critical in the modern age.

Why? Because most recruiters use applicant tracking systems that filter many resumes and only send the pertinent applications to the recruiter.

Keywords Make a Difference

You’d be surprised to see the influence of algorithms on the recruiting process. As discussed earlier, many employers are using applicant tracking systems that rank and scan your profile.

The software will reject your resume if it doesn’t fulfill the system’s criteria. It would be best to mine for phrases and keywords to make your resume favorable for ATS.

Numerous applicant tracking systems accommodate law firms. Over three hundred of the world’s best firms utilize ATS.

A straightforward Google search can help you find the ATS’ name on the firm’s hiring page. Try digging deeper to discover the algorithm that particular system favors.

Make Your Real Estate Attorney Skills Count

Besides being excellent communicators, real estate lawyers need various interpersonal skills to succeed. Clients are under pressure for several reasons, such as property fraud, mortgages, and other land-related problems.

You must remain calm and understand their needs while explaining complex elements of the law understandably and concisely.

Here is a list of some essential skills every real estate lawyer must highlight in their resume. Recruiters can quickly scan your skills section to see if you meet their requirements.

  • Calm under pressure
  • Research and investigation
  • Versatility in communication style and tone
  • Clear and persuasive writing
  • Critical reading
  • Problem-solving

Also, mention some industry-specific knowledge to increase your chances of getting hired.

Employment History – Details Matter

Get into the specifics after impressing the recruiters with your personality. You must prioritize precision to tell your career’s story. List your jobs in non-chronological order and make sure you use bullet points.

Your most recent jobs will be on top, and every post must have a list of your accolades and accomplishments based on your cases and duties.

Use impressive adjectives, nouns, action verbs, and steer clear from overly complicated grammatical structures. Provide details but don’t be excessively wordy.

Education Section

Attending a top fourteen school can significantly improve your chances of getting hired, especially if you want to work at a well-recognized law firm. Don’t be discouraged if you did not attend a prestigious school as you can take advantage of your resume to get the edge over other applicants.

List your GPA and ranking (only if they are noteworthy.) Real estate law is an utterly competitive field, so you must take advantage of every opportunity.

If you have been in the real estate game for an extended period, recruiters will focus on your experience rather than your law school. They will also consider your employment history more than your degree.

Also, remember to list any memberships, accolades, certificates, or other achievements in this section.

Nothing can stop you from getting hired as long as you have ample knowledge, skills, and academics. Make these features known to your hiring managers, and they will most likely consider you for an interview.

Real Estate Attorney Resume Samples

1. Director, Real Estate Attorney Resume Sample

  • Provide support to General Counsel, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Development Officer, Vice President of Construction on legal matters related to the Company’s US business interests in real estate through the structuring, drafting and negotiating various types of real estate agreements.
  • Provide legal counsel on all types of real estate transactions and contractual relationships including real estate leasing, acquisitions, divestitures, and financing.
  • Provide legal counsel and support to General Counsel on matters related to the real estate portfolio.
  • Provide strategic legal support to Chief Development Officer to facilitate new company store openings via the structuring, drafting and negotiation of build-to-suit lease transactions.
  • Provide strategic legal support to Vice President of Construction on construction matters with regard to build-to-suits, reimages, scrapes/re-builds, deferred maintenance and repairs.
  • Provide legal support to Director, Risk Management on legal matters related to insurance claims and coverage issues.
  • Provide legal support on various matters related to franchised and company owned/leased real estate including, lease/sublease negotiations, access agreements, reciprocal easement agreements, cross easement issues, right-of-way agreements, common area maintenance issues, tax assessment appeals, landlord/tenant related issues, environmental, survey/title matters, eminent domain, franchisee lease issues, utility and department of transportation matters, building permit/variance issues, repair/maintenance issues, and tenant/landlord default matters.
  • Participates in the development, implementation and enforcement of corporate policies, procedures and programs relating to the real estate portfolio.
  • Selection, retention and management of external counsel.
  • Provides asset management services to the finance department for financial planning and reporting.
  • Supply chain, distribution and vendor contracts.

2. Associate Real Estate Attorney Resume Sample

  • Advise clients on various transactional matters involving real estate, commercial lending, tax, estate and asset protection, employment, and corporate law, as well as complex commercial litigation.
  • Collaborate seamlessly across practice groups and offices to provide clients with exceptional service, sophisticated advice and creative and practical solutions that reflect a deep understanding of the legal landscape, market trends and the clients’ businesses and objectives.
  • Provide innovative and practical solutions to clients that require attention and commitment to client service in order to empower clients to realize their goals.
  • Work closely with clients to provide effective legal advice and business solutions while holding the bottom line.
  • Responsible for managing the office’s e-Discovery related to litigation.

3. Commercial Real Estate Lawyer Resume Sample

  • Representation of clients in the areas of acquisitions, dispositions, development, financing and leasing transactions with a particular emphasis on retail development and retail leasing.
  • Negotiation and drafting of commercial transaction documentation, including financing documents, ground leases, build-to-suit leases, site development agreements and reciprocal easement agreements for the development of regional and power centers, enclosed malls, mixed-use developments, office buildings and freestanding facilities.
  • Real Estate Finance (Debt and Equity)
  • Commercial office and retail leasing
  • Real Estate Ownership Structures
  • Extensive experience representing: (1) purchasers and sellers of industrial, office, assisted living, multi-family, and retail assets, (2) landlords and tenants in the negotiation of retail and office leases, (3) joint venture partners in connection with the development of multi-family, student housing, retail, office, and industrial projects, (4) borrowers and lenders on financings ranging from construction loans, acquisition loans, interim, and permanent loans, and (5) lenders, in connection with workout negotiations, modifications, and management of ownership of REO properties.
  • Represent buyers and sellers in commercial real estate acquisitions and dispositions.
  • Counsel landlords and tenants in commercial leasing and all aspects of owning and operating commercial office buildings and retail shopping centers.
  • Advise lenders and borrowers in secured lending transactions.
  • Advise in the real estate aspects of business acquisitions, dispositions, mergers, and reorganizations.
  • Experience in a wide variety of commercial real estate matters.

Related Resume Samples

Marissa Letendre, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Marissa Letendre is a senior HR leader and resume expert with over 12 years of experience. She has worked for both startups and Fortune 50 corporations and has helped thousands land jobs at top companies. Marissa has written on a wide range of topics, including employee engagement, career development, resumes, job searching, recruiting, and organizational effectiveness and has been featured on sites such as Slack and The Undercover Recruiter.

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