Managing Director, Legal - Real Estate

Charles Schwab Inc.•Westlake, TX

1d•$300,000 - $350,000

About The Position

Charles Schwab Corporation is seeking an experienced real estate attorney to lead its enterprise real estate legal function. This role serves as the senior legal advisor to Schwab's Corporate Real Estate team and provides strategic legal support across the firm's real estate portfolio. The Managing Director & Deputy Chief Counsel – Real Estate will establish and oversee contracting strategy, governance, and legal risk management for a diverse and complex real estate portfolio. This individual will advise senior business leaders on high-impact transactions, dispute resolution, portfolio strategy, acquisitions, dispositions, and real estate matters arising from broader corporate initiatives. Additionally, this role will provide people leadership and talent development within the real estate legal function while driving continuous improvement, consistency, and scalability across the practice.

Requirements

JD from an accredited U.S. law school.
Admission to and good standing with the bar of at least one U.S. state.
12+ years of sophisticated commercial real estate legal experience at a leading law firm, in-house legal department, or a combination thereof.
Deep expertise negotiating and advising on complex commercial real estate transactions involving multiple stakeholders, including leases, subleases, acquisitions, dispositions, construction agreements, development matters, and portfolio management issues.
Demonstrated ability to serve as a trusted advisor to senior executives and business leaders on strategic initiatives and high-risk legal matters.
Strong business judgment and the ability to balance legal, regulatory, operational, and commercial considerations in a pragmatic and solutions-oriented manner.
Demonstrated experience managing outside counsel and legal spend while achieving favorable business outcomes.
Strong relationship-management skills with a proven ability to build credibility and influence across legal, business, risk, finance, and operational functions.
Experience developing and implementing legal operating models.
Proven ability to manage a high-volume legal practice through strategic use of technology, standardized processes, and data-driven workflows, enabling effective legal support at scale while maintaining appropriate risk oversight.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, superior drafting and negotiation abilities, and exceptional attention to detail.
Experience recruiting, leading, mentoring, and developing legal talent.
Ability to manage numerous priorities simultaneously in a fast-paced environment while maintaining sound judgment and professionalism.
A strategic, collaborative, and business-focused approach, combined with impeccable integrity and ethical standards.
Demonstrated ability to work independently while effectively collaborating across cross-functional teams and organizational levels.

Responsibilities

Serve as Schwab's lead legal advisor for enterprise real estate matters.
Establish and maintain legal strategy, governance frameworks, templates, standards, and playbooks for real estate transactions across the enterprise.
Advise Corporate Real Estate leadership and other senior stakeholders on legal, regulatory, operational, financial, and reputational risks related to real estate transactions and portfolio management.
Negotiate, draft, and advise on a broad range of real estate agreements, including leases, subleases, lease amendments, purchase and sale agreements, construction and design agreements, easements, licenses, and other portfolio-critical arrangements.
Lead legal support for complex, strategic, high-value, and escalated real estate transactions involving office locations, branches, data centers, and other facilities.
Provide legal guidance on real estate aspects of acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, and other strategic corporate initiatives.
Advise on dispute resolution, pre-litigation matters, landlord-tenant disputes, contractor claims, governmental matters, tax issues, permitting matters, ADA-related issues, and other real estate-related controversies.
Manage outside counsel and other external advisors to ensure high-quality, timely, and cost-effective legal support aligned with Schwab's business objectives.
Partner with Risk Management, Finance, Accounting, Corporate Governance, Litigation, Construction, Property Management, Lease Administration, Procurement, and other stakeholders to facilitate business objectives while managing risk.
Provide leadership, coaching, and professional development for attorneys and legal professionals supporting the real estate practice, including direct supervisory responsibility within the function.
Drive operational excellence through process improvements, knowledge management, technology-enabled solutions, training programs, and enhancements to legal tools, forms, policies, and procedures.