Infrastructure, Energy & Real Estate Resource Attorney

Direct Counsel is seeking a licensed attorney with 5+ years of relevant experience to serve as a Resource Attorney supporting an Infrastructure, Energy & Real Estate Group in New York or Reston. This is a non-billable, internal-facing role focused on knowledge management, legal and market intelligence, thought leadership, training, business development, and practice innovation.

The Resource Attorney will help attorneys stay ahead of rapidly evolving legal, regulatory, commercial, financing, and industry developments affecting infrastructure, energy, and real estate projects, with a particular focus on large-scale data center and infrastructure development.

Responsibilities

• Monitor and synthesize federal, state, and local legal, legislative, regulatory, and policy developments affecting infrastructure, energy, and real estate

• Track restrictions, moratoriums, permitting developments, and other issues affecting data center and large-scale development and construction projects

• Monitor energy generation, transmission, procurement, supply chain, permitting, interconnection, and power availability developments

• Analyze data center and infrastructure market trends, including project delays, cancellations, geographic shifts, community opposition, and site-selection considerations

• Track financing and investment trends affecting large-scale data center, energy, real estate, and infrastructure projects

• Monitor industry developments, including strategic partnerships, joint ventures, and collaborations among technology companies, chip manufacturers, developers, utilities, energy providers, investors, and financing sources

• Prepare internal briefings, market updates, and practical summaries highlighting significant legal and business developments

• Develop client alerts, white papers, blog posts, presentations, and other thought leadership materials

• Develop and maintain practice resources, forms, precedents, checklists, work product archives, and other knowledge-management materials

• Coordinate practice group and firmwide trainings, teach-ins, webinars, and educational programming

• Support marketing and business development efforts, including pitches, RFP responses, client presentations, and industry outreach

• Respond to attorney requests for research, precedents, market intelligence, and other practice resources

• Collaborate with Knowledge Management, Practice Innovation, and Technology teams to develop tools and solutions that improve efficiency

• Lead new knowledge management, practice support, and innovation initiatives

Requirements

• Licensed attorney with 5+ years of relevant experience

• Experience in one or more of the following areas strongly preferred:

  • Infrastructure development

  • Energy or renewable energy

  • Real estate

  • Project development or project finance

  • Land use and permitting

  • Relevant regulatory matters

• Strong understanding of the legal and commercial considerations affecting large-scale data center, energy, and infrastructure projects

• Excellent research, writing, analytical, and presentation skills

• Ability to translate complex legal, regulatory, and market developments into practical guidance

• Experience with knowledge management, thought leadership, training, or business development initiatives is a plus

Ideal Candidate

• Strong substantive and commercial judgment

• Curious and skilled at identifying meaningful emerging issues and trends

• Excellent written, verbal, drafting, and presentation abilities

• Creative and entrepreneurial approach to developing new resources and initiatives

• Collaborative and effective at building relationships across practices and offices

• Highly organized with exceptional attention to detail

• Self-directed, adaptable, and comfortable working in a rapidly evolving environment

• Technologically fluent and comfortable using legal research, knowledge management, collaboration, and emerging technology tools

Compensation & Benefits

The expected annual salary range is $220,000–$315,000, with the final offer based on geographic location, experience, and skillset.

The position includes comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, vision, HSA and FSA options, commuter benefits, life and disability insurance, backup care and parental support benefits, four weeks of vacation, two weeks of sick time, 10 paid holidays, generous parental leave, and fertility benefits.

Locations: New York and Reston.