Commercial Real Estate Legal Assistant (Hybrid Birmingham, Alabama)

Key Responsibilities

• Receives and distributes incoming due diligence items for loan closings.  
• Logs in items on checklist as received, reviews and analyzes items for compliance with loan commitment for attorney’s review and notes comments on checklist.  
• Distributes items for review by underwriter, in-house attorney, outside attorney and others. Assists in-house attorneys in compiling data and due diligence items for further analysis by attorneys.  
• Communicates with mortgage bankers, borrowers, outside attorneys and others regarding outstanding items. 
• Coordinates and documents loan closings.
• Coordinates with in-house and outside attorneys, borrower's attorney and title agents, the Company's cash management division and Corporate Accounting to properly document disbursement and receipt of loan proceeds and the proper accounting for the loan (including assignment of loan to the appropriate line of business).  
• Inputs data regarding closed loans into the pipeline database.
• Creates and maintains permanent files.  
• Follows-up on outstanding documentation for closed loans, including review of title insurance policies.  
• Coordinates refund of commitment fee with in-house attorney and loan production staff. 
• Prepares correspondence and handles heavy telephone and e-mail communication.
• Provides data to in-house servicing personnel and outside servicers, as needed.

Knowledge/Experience/Education/Training:

Excellent administrative skills including proficiency with Microsoft Word and Adobe for Windows.  

Knowledge of commercial mortgage loan transactions and/or five or more years of legal assistant or paralegal experience concentrating in commercial real estate.

Abilities:  
Must have exceptional organizational skills and be efficient, detail-oriented, dependable and self-motivated.   Must have excellent written and oral communication skills and strong interpersonal skills.  Must have the ability to perform a variety of tasks simultaneously using independent judgment, discretion and analytical skills. 

Contact with others:
High level of interpersonal skills required (including effective communication skills, courteousness and diplomacy).

Analytical ability required: 
Ability to analyze due diligence items and determine compliance with loan commitment.
Ability to recognize and solve problems independently when appropriate and to ask for help when necessary.
Ability to analyze situations and give priority to most urgent and important projects.