How to hire a real estate attorney

Real estate attorney hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring real estate attorneys in the United States:

HR departments typically spend 15% of their expenses on recruitment.
It usually takes about 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
It typically takes 36-42 days to fill a job opening.
The median cost to hire a real estate attorney is $1,633.
Small businesses spend an average of $1,105 per real estate attorney on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
There are currently 7,165 real estate attorneys in the US and 22,444 job openings.
New York, NY, has the highest demand for real estate attorneys, with 33 job openings.
New York, NY has the highest concentration of real estate attorneys.

How to hire a real estate attorney, step by step

To hire a real estate attorney, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a real estate attorney:

Here's a step-by-step real estate attorney hiring guide:

Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
Step 3: Make a budget
Step 4: Write a real estate attorney job description
Step 5: Post your job
Step 6: Interview candidates
Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new real estate attorney
Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a real estate attorney do?

Real estate account executives manage the logistics of commercial or residential real estate accounts. Responsibilities include understanding prospective deals, as well as presenting them to the investment committee, and negotiating and closing transactions. They typically have a solid background in math and computer skills and a good sense of integrity.

Learn more about the specifics of what a real estate attorney does

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Identify your hiring needs

First, determine the employments status of the real estate attorney you need to hire. Certain real estate attorney roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

Determine employee vs contractor status

Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

A real estate attorney's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, real estate attorneys from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

The following list breaks down different types of real estate attorneys and their corresponding salaries.

Type of Real Estate Attorney	Description	Hourly rate
Real Estate Attorney	Appraisers and assessors of real estate provide an estimate of the value of land and the buildings on the land usually before it is sold, mortgaged, taxed, insured, or developed.	$32-68
Real Estate Paralegal	A Real Estate Paralegal helps real estate lawyers with a variety of tasks, such as offering advice to clients, doing research, and preparing documents. They collaborate with landlords, housing managers, or other real estate personnel.	$23-45
Real Estate Analyst	A Real Estate Analyst provides financial analysis in support of the financing, acquisition, marketing, and leasing of a certain property. They also research and analyze new business opportunities.	$21-54

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- Law Firm
- Litigation
- Legal Advice
- Due Diligence
- Legal Research
- Sale Agreements
- Property Management
- Legal Services
- Real Estate Transactions
- Legal Issues
- Legal Support
- Real Estate Law
- Estoppel
- Foreclosure
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Manage sales staff inside of the branch to proper real estate loanorigination, servicing, cross-selling and follow-ups.
- Manage outside counsel for representation and litigation on various matters including leasehold disputes.
- Prepare probate documents including filing necessary appointments, notice and assents, and powers of sale.
- Prepare construction loan status reports, develop new business opportunities, and engage in cross-selling of products.
- Present at seminars to local professionals on foreclosure and short sale topics
- Negotiate alternatives to foreclosure with bank lenders on behalf of low-income persons facing foreclosure.
More real estate attorney duties

Make a budget

Including a salary range in your real estate attorney job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A real estate attorney salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

For example, the average salary for a real estate attorney in Wyoming may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level real estate attorney usually earns less than a senior-level real estate attorney. Additionally, a real estate attorney with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

Average real estate attorney salary

$98,016yearly

$47.12 hourly rate

Entry-level real estate attorney salary

$67,000 yearly salary

Updated January 23, 2026

Average real estate attorney salary by state

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Washington	$123,121	$59
2	Massachusetts	$116,632	$56
3	Delaware	$114,371	$55
4	California	$114,292	$55
5	Maryland	$113,659	$55
6	District of Columbia	$113,254	$54
7	Maine	$112,147	$54
8	New York	$105,464	$51
9	Colorado	$104,152	$50
10	Oregon	$98,731	$47
11	New Jersey	$90,478	$44
12	Pennsylvania	$89,776	$43
13	Virginia	$88,581	$43
14	Texas	$87,385	$42
15	Georgia	$86,747	$42
16	Arizona	$86,662	$42
17	Illinois	$85,878	$41
18	North Carolina	$85,008	$41
19	Minnesota	$84,581	$41
20	Florida	$74,422	$36

Average real estate attorney salary by company

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	Sullivan & Worcester	$162,290	$78.02
2	Kane Russell Coleman Logan	$141,441	$68.00
3	Kimco Realty	$133,105	$63.99
4	DLA Piper	$126,347	$60.74	94
5	Deloitte	$122,119	$58.71	110
6	Stokes Lawrence	$121,151	$58.25
7	Citi	$113,927	$54.77	1
8	Charles Schwab	$113,068	$54.36
9	RSM US	$111,007	$53.37	13
10	Ross Stores	$105,258	$50.60	1
11	Acadia Realty Trust	$101,221	$48.66
12	Davis Graham & Stubbs	$101,092	$48.60
13	JBA International	$99,351	$47.76	214
14	Latham & Watkins	$98,311	$47.26	2
15	Bank of America	$98,162	$47.19	2
16	Estate	$97,434	$46.84
17	Eversheds Sutherland	$96,981	$46.63
18	GPAC	$96,740	$46.51
19	Catapult Systems	$94,748	$45.55
20	Crowe	$94,686	$45.52

Writing a real estate attorney job description
A real estate attorney job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a real estate attorney job description:
Real estate attorney job description example
Shulman Rogers is a full-service, 80+ attorney law firm with its principal office located in Potomac, Maryland and branch offices in Tysons Corner, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The firm supports national, regional and local clients and works collaboratively, across practice groups, to respond to all of their legal needs.

Shulman Rogers' growing and vibrant Real Estate Department seeks a commercial real estate leasing associate. The successful candidate will have at least 5 years' experience as a commercial leasing attorney. Demonstrable analytical and problem solving skills, strong written and verbal communication skills and proficiency in Microsoft Word is required. This is an exciting and challenging position that will allow you to grow as a professional.

Responsibilities:
- Draft and negotiate office, retail, and industrial leases.
- Draft and negotiate lease related documents, including amendments, subleases, assignment of leases, and non-disturbance agreements.
- Draft and review reciprocal easement agreements and declaration of easements.
- Draft correspondence on behalf of landlords to commercial tenants' management and counsel relating to claims, defenses, and other disputes arising under lease agreements.
- Effectively organize and maintain case and client files.
Required Skills:
- Minimum 5+ year's job experience as an attorney with commercial leasing experience.
- Willing to pitch in and support growing legal department in a fast-paced growing environment.
- Able to problem solve, resolve, and close open issues and assist staff and colleagues with resolving issues that arise.
- Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously with a high degree of professionalism and client orientation
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills to effectively work with various types of clients
- Fast thinker/quick learner
- Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail and ability to prioritize and work independently.
- Ability to manage time and resources effectively and independently, and balance conflicting priorities.
Shulman Rogers offers a hybrid working environment, exceptional long term career opportunities with partnership potential, in addition to a competitive compensation package with excellent benefits.

For more information about Shulman Rogers, please visit www.shulmanrogers.com.

Shulman Rogers is an EO/AA/VEV/Disabled employer.

Job Posted by ApplicantPro
Post your job
There are a few common ways to find real estate attorneys for your business:
- Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
- Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
- Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
- Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.
To find real estate attorney candidates, you can consider the following options:
- Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
- Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
- Post your job on free job posting websites.
Interview candidates
During your first interview to recruit real estate attorneys, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.
You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new real estate attorney
Once you have selected a candidate for the real estate attorney position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.
It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.
Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new real estate attorney. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.
Go through the hiring process checklist
- Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
- Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
- Define job responsibilities and requirements
- Establish budget and timeline
- Determine hiring decision makers for the role
- Write job description
- Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
- Promote the job internally
- Process applications through applicant tracking system
- Review resumes and cover letters
- Shortlist candidates for screening
- Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
- Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
- Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
- Conduct background checks on top candidates
- Check references of top candidates
- Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
- Extend offer to top candidate(s)
- Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
- Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
- Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
- Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a real estate attorney?

Hiring a real estate attorney comes with both the one-time cost per hire and ongoing costs. The cost of recruiting real estate attorneys involves promoting the job and spending time conducting interviews. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider the cost of real estate attorney recruiting as well the ongoing costs of maintaining the new employee.

You can expect to pay around $98,016 per year for a real estate attorney, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for real estate attorneys in the US typically range between $32 and $68 an hour.

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Updated January 23, 2026

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How to hire a real estate attorney