Sr. Paralegal, New Restaurants Real Estate

Chick-fil-A, Inc.•Atlanta, GA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Sr. Paralegal is responsible for providing high-level legal support, project management, issue spotting, and direction on matters associated with the acquisition and development of new restaurant locations. This person will report to a Director in Real Estate Legal supporting New Restaurant Development regions. The right person for this role will have experience in all aspects of commercial real estate transactions, including understanding the typical deal lifecycle, title and survey review, environmental due diligence, real estate acquisition and leasing agreements, closing documents and the closing and lease commencement process. This position also requires judgement and proficiency to serve as the primary day-to-day legal project manager on assigned matters, manage and provide direction to outside counsel, identify issues, and know when matters should be elevated to in-house counsel.

Requirements

Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite
Legal research
Document drafting
Case management technology
Procedural knowledge
Legal writing
Attention to detail
Organization
Time management
Communication
Ethics & confidentiality

Nice To Haves

Real estate transactions
Commercial real estate
TRIRIGA
Proficiency with AI
Affiliation with ICSC or similar industry groups

Responsibilities

Serve as the legal project manager and exercise sound judgment in managing complex, high-volume real estate legal workflows, identifying risks, prioritizing issues, and escalating matters requiring attorney review
Review letters of intent, site plans and other new deal materials, engage and monitor outside counsel, including following up on deliverables, assisting in-house counsel with researching, and responding to requests from outside counsel
Research the scope of real estate interests, including easements, needed to order title commitments on all appropriate parcels and then order and manage receipt of title commitments and updates as needed
Analyze and direct strategy on legal due diligence (title, survey, environmental, etc.)
Engage environmental counsel, review environmental reports and documents, conduct bi-monthly calls with environmental counsel without in-house counsel involvement and serve as environmental counsel’s primary in-house contact.
Review environmental memos from environmental counsel and capture appropriate information, facilitate identification and resolution of environmental issues and notify in-house counsel of any open issues requiring attention
Assist in-house and outside counsel by identifying and facilitating resolution of legal issues as they arise throughout the deal, including title, environmental and all other due diligence
Review contract abstracts and title summaries and ensure legal issues have been identified and resolved by preparing summaries and issues lists prior to the expiration of the inspection period and then again prior to closing or lease commencement to facilitate resolution of any outstanding issues
Foster positive relationships and collaborate with outside counsel, title companies, various Restaurant Development teams at Chick-fil-A as well as other sub-departments within the Legal Department
Draft correspondence and maintain electronic and hardcopy files for each new restaurant deal in the assigned regions
Draft due diligence report waivers, right of entry agreements and, on occasion, routine licenses, easements, and closing or lease commencement documents
Pursue continued education in real estate law within the quick-service restaurant and retail industry