Legal Counsel (Real Estate Land/Lease)

Job Description

Overview

We are looking for a dynamic, highly motivated, and experienced commercial and real estate attorney to support Microsoft’s global cloud expansion.

The legal team supporting the Cloud Operations + Innovation division has an immediate opening for an attorney to support land acquisition, leasing, and strategic partnerships in support of Microsoft’s datacenters. This is a unique opportunity for an attorney to help Microsoft build hyperscale infrastructure for its rapidly expanding global cloud.

Cloud Operations + Innovation is the team behind one of the world’s largest cloud infrastructures, responsible for operating all Microsoft online products and services, including AI tools such as Copilot. Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering a trusted experience to customers and partners worldwide. This is a fast-growing division that is investing in datacenter capabilities and innovative projects around the world that can truly make a difference.

Responsibilities

The main responsibilities for this role will include:

• Drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements in support of cloud and datacenter infrastructure, including real estate acquisitions and property development agreements, colocation leases, and related transactions.
• Managing outside counsel in colocation leasing and land acquisition, including due diligence, purchase agreements, and post-acquisition development issues.
• Supporting the creation of new partnerships and business models to support datacenter projects.
• Supporting the delivery of Microsoft’s datacenter projects, including engagement with local government and community groups on environmental permitting across multi-site and multi-country projects.
• Supporting the Microsoft zoning and permitting team on review and applications for entitlements.
• Creating new contract models, templates, and process improvements to improve quality and reduce contract cycle time for datacenter infrastructure expansion.
• Collaborating with team members within and across organizational boundaries, including engineering finance, marketing, government affairs and communications teams.
• Developing strong, trusted advisor relationships with business clients and executives.

Qualifications

We are looking for an experienced attorney who has the following qualifications and experiences:

Required Qualifications

• An attorney with a valid practicing certificate to practice in Great Britain.
• Extensive experience as a practicing attorney.
• Background in real estate and other complex commercial transactions, ideally with experience in large infrastructure projects, real estate lease, purchase and development agreements, and/or international transactions.
• Experience working with municipal authorities, regional and national governments, and local communities.
• Experience developing, negotiating, and documenting complex, multi-party transactions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Desire and ability to work as part of a diverse and inclusive team.
• Keen business sense, ability to think creatively and strategically, and a sense of humor.
• The ability to deliver impact through superior collaboration. You must be a flexible and analytical thinker able to quickly, and accurately identify legal issues in a complex environment and to develop solutions by exercising confident judgment in ambiguous situations.
• Strong results orientation, customer focus, a commitment to providing the highest quality client service, and a desire to develop trusted advisor relationships with business clients.
• Capability to work efficiently, meet demanding deadlines in a fast-paced environment, prioritize workflow, and adjust to frequent fluctuations in workload and business imperatives.
• A passion for working in the technology sector and including a keen interest in applying technology, including AI, to improve legal work and efficiency.
• Fluency in either French, German, Spanish, or other European languages is not mandatory but may be beneficial.

Location

This role is based in Great Britain at the Microsoft campus in London, England and will require 0-25% travel.

Microsoft is widely recognized as a leading company for offering one of the strongest and most comprehensive compensation and benefits packages in the country. Check out https://careers.microsoft.com/benefits/usbenefits for more information.

This description is designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by an employee in this position. The actual duties, responsibilities, and qualifications may vary.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

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