Back to jobs

Director - Legal Operations, Senior Paralegal

Encino, CA

About Ascent

Ascent Developer Solutions is a leading private lending platform, serving real estate developers nationwide in the acquisition, renovation, and construction of residential real estate. Founded by a leadership team with a deep understanding and personal experience in virtually every facet of real estate development, Ascent is uniquely positioned to create custom, innovative lending solutions for a variety of real estate development business strategies.

 

The Role

We are seeking a self-starting, entrepreneurial senior paralegal to join our growing legal team with Ascent Developer Solutions as our Director – Legal Operations, Senior Paralegal. Working with the General Counsel and our small and mighty legal/compliance team, this role involves closely with our loan operations and leadership teams to help us grow and scale the company and our lending operations.  Ascent Developer Solutions has a nation-wide footprint and this role will focus strategically on the soup-to-nuts process of loan originations and documentation, including building out loan documentation workflows and controls, a QC function to ensure accurate loan documentation, technology integration with regard to loan documentation, and special assets functionality. Ascent Developer Solutions provides short-term, real estate secured business-purpose loans to best-in class developers for the purchase, renovation, construction, and bridge of single family and multi-family assets.  The ideal candidate has strong experience with real estate secured lending, proven leadership with regard to legal and loan documentation operations, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.

 

The Work 

This role is suited for someone not afraid to roll up their sleeves and dive into complex and nuanced issues and deals that come part and parcel with a growing company.  Working hand-in-hand with the General Counsel and operations team, you will have a proactive and influential role in shaping the company’s trajectory – it is an exciting space and this role will be exciting for someone who loves to create and loves the thrill of new and novel deals.  It also necessitates a proactive and risk-oriented individual who has experience with a growing company, as the compliance needs will adapt as the company continues to grow. 

 

Responsibilities

  • Review the entire end-to-end loan documentation process and help shape, refine, and build for scale an effective and efficient loan documentation process including, without limitation:
    • Building a legal QC function to ensure loan documentation is accurate prior to closing;
    • Building a joint function with operations to provide effective legal review and QC regarding operational and trust documentation;
    • Collaborate on the utilization and implementation of technology to gain efficiencies regarding the loan documentation process.
  • Draft, review, and negotiate NDAs as needed and build and maintain NDA repository.
  • Create and monitor legal department matter tacking and ensure deadlines being achieved.
  • Advise internal stakeholders on process flow efficiencies regarding title work and interaction with title companies.
  • Coordinate with operational colleagues, external counsel and title/escrow agents on closing logistics and creating a robust closing framework.
  • Review and analyze borrower entity documents, organizational charts, and SPE/separateness compliance and assist with processes for accurate signature blocks.
  • Analyze and maintain compliant special asset workflow; collaborate with leadership on default scenarios and workouts.
  • Develop and maintain a loan modification workflow with associated documents.
  • Provide guidance on state-specific legal requirements, lien priorities, and enforceability, including as it relates to enforcement matters.
  • Create and maintain legal documentation templates, checklists, and best practices (including proactive creation of job aids and guidance for the front line).
  • Collaborate and help maintain a team-oriented environment within the legal compliance team and in the company overall!

 

Your Skills and Experience

  • Paralegal Certificate.
  • 10+ years of relevant experience in in real estate finance law, preferably with a lender, law firm, bank, debt fund, or institutional investor. 5+ years of leadership experience in legal operations.
  • Demonstrated track record with legal operation and building strong and effective programs for companies in a growth trajectory.
    • Experience with Construction a bonus!
  • Effective communicator with the ability to engage stakeholders across departments and management levels.
  • Comfort liaising with multiple departments and leading cross-functional teams on projects.
  • Experience in a highly collaborative environment, fostering an entrepreneurial culture, driving growth, and demonstrating leadership in problem-solving and innovation.
  • Comfort managing a wide range of tasks across multiple product and business lines, with multiple concurrent transactions, and within a nation-wide footprint.
  • Proactive, growth- and risk-oriented mindset with a focus on results.
  • Strong understanding of real estate finance.
  • Ability to understand and leverage technology to drive efficiency in the legal department and beyond.
  • Team player!

 

The Pay

Salary range is $125,000-$150,000 per year with a discretionary bonus of up to 20% per year

 

The Work Environment

  • Flexible.  The team is based in Encino, CA but we are open to other geographies! For candidates outside of Southern California, occasional travel to Headquarters will be required.

  • Full-time, 40 hours per week; must be available for occasional overtime.

  • Some nights and weekends required.

Our Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, well-being, and work-life balance. Our benefits include five health plans, two dental plans, health savings and flexible spending accounts, vision coverage, a 401(k) plan, and other optional benefits from which to choose.

Our Pledge

We pledge to be fair and considerate in hiring and promoting individuals, ensuring everyone can contribute their fullest potential regardless of background, identity, or personal circumstances. By promoting equal opportunity, we not only enhance our workplace but also contribute to a more just and equitable society. At Ascent, we stand united in building a community where everyone is empowered to succeed. Thank you for joining us on our journey towards a more inclusive future.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Ascent Developer Solutions? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Ascent Developer Solutions’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.