Deputy City Attorney - Housing
The Portland City Attorney's Office is seeking an experienced attorney to join the legal team advising the Portland Housing Bureau and other City bureaus on complex business and real estate transactions and housing policy. This recruitment may also be used to hire for a separate construction (capital improvements) and procurement position.
The ideal candidate will have expertise in commercial real estate, affordable housing tax credit vehicles, finance, fair housing and landlord-tenant laws, and public law. In addition, the ideal candidate will have in-house or governmental legal experience providing advice to elected officials and other policymakers, as well as drafting and negotiating complex business and real estate transactions.
Examples of job responsibilities include:
• Provide prompt legal advice to the City Council and the Portland Housing Bureau's Director, leadership team and bureau staff on a broad range of subjects, with an emphasis on deployment of general obligation bond funds and other affordable housing financing tools including but not limited to tax increment financing and affordable housing tax credits and exemptions, application of fair housing and landlord tenant laws, and implementation of the City's affordable housing goals and policies;
• Negotiate, draft and review documents necessary to implement complex business finance transactions that may involve one or more tax credits or other state and federal financing tools;
• Analyze and provide advice on and documentation of housing financing and draft documents such as loan and grant agreements, promissory notes, guaranty agreements, trust deeds, security agreements, subordination and inter-creditor agreements, purchase and sale, disposition and development and ground lease agreements. Experience with condominium and land trust ownership law is highly desirable;
• Demonstrate outstanding communication skills and business and legal judgement;
• Judge the relative importance of a document, contract provision, task or assignment and apply the appropriate level of scrutiny, detail or effort to the matter;
• Appropriately prioritize workload and regularly reorder that prioritization to meet frequent changes in client needs; and
• Provide legal advice as necessary on a broader array of subjects on a less frequent basis including: public contracts law, public records, construction and environmental law, corporations and general business law; and state and federal constitutional law.