National Jurist - March 2009 - (Page 20) In-house counsel A recent New York Law School graduate finds balance working in real estate law and within his community ustin Xenitelis clearly loves his job, his law school and his involvement in the community. A 2006 graduate of New York Law School and now associate counsel at Thor Equities, LLC in New York City, Xenitelis works inhouse as part of a three-attorney corporate law department. On a typical day, one of his primary responsibilities is to draft and negotiate legal documents, By Ursula Furi-Perry, Esq. such as commercial leases with new tenants at the many retail, office and hotel properties that Thor Equities owns and manages. “I have a very unique job,” Xenitelis said. “I represent one client and I work for that client.” As in-house counsel, he responds to general legal matters affecting the company. Because the job requires a lot of contact with various departments, Xenitelis said communication skills are essential to his position. In addition to working with employees at his company, Xenitelis works closely with lending institutions on major deals where the lenders need to approve a lease. Since some work is outsourced — like litigation and collections — he still maintains contact and interacts with outside lawyers on those cases. He even fields calls from management at the malls and other properties that his employer owns and manages. Having a client and employer in the same building requires him to address legal issues and questions quickly and efficiently. 20 THE NATIONAL JURIST March 2009 Xenitelis said he enjoys working on real estate deals from beginning to end and helping the business team with decisionmaking and being involved with the bigger business picture. “It’s a great experience working for a growing company,” Xenitelis said. “You get to grow with the company and you get to help form the company.” His interest in business and real estate started in college as a pre-law and business administration double major. As a law student, Xenitelis chose to take several drafting classes, which are relevant to his real estate work every day, particularly a contract drafting course and a course on commercial leasing. In addition, he worked for a sole practitioner while in law school, assisting with real estate transactions and leases.
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.