Tax Attorney & Contracts Counsel
About The Position
We are partnered with a private, ultra-high-net-worth family office on the search for its next Tax Attorney & Contracts Counsel. This is a high-trust, high-visibility in-house counsel role with direct exposure to family principals and senior advisors, reporting to the General Counsel / Chief Operating Officer and serving as a core member of the legal and advisory team. The family office is at a pivotal moment — consolidating a sophisticated, diversified portfolio and formalizing how tax strategy, transactional execution, and long-term wealth planning come together across real estate, REITs, private investments, and multi-generational trust structures. This attorney will be responsible for shaping tax-efficient structures end-to-end while ensuring disciplined contract execution, transactional precision, and the discretion this family's affairs require.
Requirements
- JD from an accredited law school; active member in good standing of the California State Bar (or ability to obtain California admission promptly).
- 7+ years of relevant legal experience, ideally combining tax law with transactional/contracts work, ideally in a law firm, family office, or private investment setting.
- Substantive experience with REITs, commercial real estate transactions, and complex property ownership structures.
- Demonstrated experience with M&A and private investment transactions.
- Working knowledge of trusts, estates, and wealth transfer planning concepts.
- Excellent contract drafting and negotiation skills.
- Ability to work directly and discreetly with high-net-worth principals and family members, with sound judgment and unquestioned integrity.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to translate complex tax and legal concepts for non-legal stakeholders.
- Highly organized, self-directed, and comfortable operating as a hands-on in-house counsel in a lean team environment.
Nice To Haves
- LLM in Taxation preferred, but not required with sufficiently strong practice experience.
Responsibilities
- Advise on federal, state, and local tax matters affecting the family's holding structures, investment vehicles, and real estate portfolio, including REITs and other tax-advantaged ownership structures.
- Structure, review, and negotiate contracts and transaction documents for real property acquisitions, dispositions, financings, and joint ventures.
- Provide legal and tax guidance on mergers, acquisitions, and direct and fund-level investments, including due diligence and deal structuring.
- Design and execute complex transfers of real and personal property ownership, including entity restructurings, 1031 exchanges, and intra-family transfers.
- Support the creation, administration, and ongoing maintenance of trusts and estate planning structures in coordination with outside estate counsel.
- Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements, including purchase and sale agreements, operating agreements, service agreements, and NDAs.
- Monitor changes in tax law and regulations and proactively advise the family office on planning opportunities and compliance risk.
- Coordinate with outside counsel, accountants, and other advisors on complex transactions and specialized tax matters.
- Maintain corporate records, entity filings, and governance documentation for the family's various holding entities.
Benefits
- Discretionary annual bonus
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
