News & Updates: Job Announcement: Corporate & Real Estate Associate

Folger Levin LLP is looking for a junior associate to add to our Corporate & Real Estate practice group. We offer a diverse and intellectually challenging practice that encompasses a broad range of business and transactional matters.  The lawyers in our Corporate & Real Estate group represent for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations, entrepreneurs, and individuals.

Our practice encompasses the full range of legal matters businesses face, including formation, equity and debt financing, commercial real estate acquisition, disposition and leasing, complex commercial transactions, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, commercial contracts, tax planning, and securities.  We serve as outside general counsel for many of our clients because we are able to offer a broad range of business-related legal services.

We find the role of counselor and adviser to be rewarding and compelling, and given the broad range of matters we work on, we are committed to training junior lawyers not just in the technical aspects of being a lawyer, but also in a broad range of substantive legal areas.

We look for candidates who can be part of the long-term future of our firm. Our attorneys have created deep, long-standing relationships with clients across many industries. Many of these client relationships go back decades, allowing us to have unique insights into our clients’ business objectives and cultures. Over the medium-term, we are looking to transition our important client relationships to a new generation of colleagues. We hope that our new colleagues will play active and key roles in this transition, and recognize they are the future of our firm.

About the Position:

For this position, key job responsibilities include the following:

• Providing advice and counseling to clients with respect to a broad range of laws affecting for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations.
• Representing businesses and individuals in mergers, acquisitions, and other business reorganizations.
• Representing issuers and investors in equity issuances.
• Representing buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants in real estate transactions.
• Representing borrowers and lenders in commercial financing transactions.
• Drafting and advising on commercial agreements.
• Providing advice and counseling on corporate governance.

We recognize that expertise in the broad range of substantive areas described above will need to be developed over time. We seek candidates who have a minimum of one year of experience in one or more of the areas described above, and excellent legal research, analytical, and writing skills. We also value experience outside the practice of law that shows leadership and problem-solving skills, and a commitment to community service.

In addition, we seek candidates who are members of the California bar and who:

• Enjoy Collaboration. We believe that the highest quality legal work results from collaboration among talented lawyers. We seek candidates who enjoy working as part of a team with smart, supportive, and enthusiastic colleagues.
• Lead with Curiosity, and Analyze with Care. No one has all the answers. Our most successful colleagues actively participate in mentorship opportunities, and demonstrate vulnerability in asking questions and learning new things. They love to brainstorm with their colleagues, and comfortably admit when they don’t have all the answers. And when confronted with new issues, they are willing to dive into primary and secondary sources in order to analyze those issues thoroughly.
• Desire to be of Service to Others. We are passionate about solving problems for our clients, and seek candidates who find professional fulfillment in helping clients and colleagues address difficult legal issues.
• Exhibit an Empathetic Mindset. The ability to hear and understand the needs and worries of clients is critical to effective representation. We particularly value colleagues who are able to see things from multiple points of view.
• Demonstrate Effective Communication Skills. Our attorneys are constantly explaining difficult legal issues to client representatives, many of whom are not lawyers. Clear oral and written communications regarding goals, strategies, and risks are essential to effective representation and to developing meaningful relationships with clients and colleagues.

Mentorship

We provide active mentoring to help develop talented professionals into superb attorneys and advisors. Our associates work closely with partners in small teams. This team approach integrates associates into planning, developing strategy, and decision-making, and our junior lawyers receive regular real time feedback from experienced attorneys. That mentoring develops a robust understanding of the myriad laws that impact businesses and how to counsel clients. Equally important, that feedback helps associates develop their own authentic, effective approach to advising clients and representing them on business matters. Associates can expect to receive detailed and constructive feedback on their legal research and analysis, strategic decision-making, and oral and written communication skills.

Our firm also believes in the value of learning from colleagues in different practice groups. So, in addition to working with partners in our Corporate & Real Estate practice group, associates can expect to work with and learn from partners in our other departments. For example, employment issues often arise while advising on corporate matters, creating opportunities to work with partners in our Labor & Employment practice group.  Associates can always find a partner happy to brainstorm on solving client problems.

Salary + Benefits

In addition to our mentorship program, Folger Levin offers full-time employees the following benefits:  Paid time off at a rate of twenty-six days per year; participation in group health insurance plan (including medical, dental and vision) at no cost to employee; employee life, accident and long term disability insurance; up to twelve weeks of paid medical and family leave after one year of employment; and, after one year of employment participation in the firm’s Profit Sharing and Savings Plan, under which a portion of compensation is automatically contributed on a pre-tax basis to a retirement plan.

ABOUT FOLGER LEVIN

Located in San Francisco, Folger Levin is a boutique, full-service firm that is majority-owned by women. We are known for delivering sophisticated legal services of the highest quality in an environment marked by a commitment to enhancing the personal and professional fulfillment of our colleagues.

When this firm was founded, we agreed to serve as stewards of the firm for future generations and aspired to create relationships “marked by trust, collaboration, open communication, respect, and an understanding that our joint responsibility for the firm is a source of excitement and pride.” That goal continues to shape our approach to client relationships, hiring, and professional development.

We have structured our firm in a manner designed to align our interests with those of our clients, and to create an environment in which attorneys and staff can establish satisfying, and fulfilling careers. By way of example, we recognize that the common law firm practice of imposing minimum billable hour requirements can create incentives that do not serve the interests of our attorneys, or of our clients. Because service is about quality, not quantity, we do not impose a billable-hour target. We have created a community of individuals who devote as much time as is necessary – no more, no less – to deliver excellent client service, while having the capacity to devote time to learning and growth (professional development) and community service.

We also know that we develop deeper relationships with each other and with clients when we have limited turnover. Every time we hire a new attorney, it is with the hope that this new member of our team will become a partner in the firm. This sets us apart from some firms whose business model depends on a large number of associates and fewer partners. Our focus on long-term relationships directly impacts the quality of the associate experience, as we are motivated to assign interesting work, provide hands-on mentoring, help associates develop direct client relationships, offer a realistic path to partnership, and avoid associate burnout.

TO APPLY

If interested, please provide a cover letter, resume, law school transcript, and a writing sample that exhibits your analytical skills.  Substantive client emails will suffice for the writing sample.  Submit your materials to our Office Administrator, Sina Cross, at recruiting@folgerlevin.com.

For more information about our firm, visit www.folgerlevin.com.

EEO STATEMENT

At Folger Levin, we are committed to a policy of equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees. As part of our commitment to a diverse workplace, we encourage applicants with experience outside of the law that shows their commitment to community service. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.