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What are some of the exit options for a real estate attorney? Do all in-house jobs for corporate attorneys require over three years of experience? I honestly can't fathom doing this for three years.

bumppp

Really depends what you are doing in real estate--acquisitions/dispositions, representing lenders in financing, development work, leasing, etc.

There are jobs at city/state government agencies (more natural switch if you're doing development work or financing), banks (financing), PE shops (acquisitions/dispositions), RE developers (development). As for more standard/strategic in-house, again, will vary from company to company and specialty to specialty, but development, acquisition/disposition work and leasing are going to be the most relevant. Some examples: saw job postings for JetBlue to develop new terminals, Ralph Lauren/Starbucks to negotiate leases, construction and related issues, a telecom company to acquire land for cell towers and other infrastructure projects.

As for your three years question, kind of hard to take that seriously, but obviously no. Job description and pay will vary wildly based on the employer and your experience.

3-5 years is the sweet spot because you really don't get enough experience at a firm until having spent that much time in. If you started at a boutique you might be able to argue that you've obtained more hands-on experience earlier than you would have in biglaw (this is my experience, anyway).