IERG (Real Estate) Resource Attorney

2778RE Resource Attorney Reston Real Estate (IERG) Tuesday, August 25, 2026 Legal SOPHIE LUMSDEN Cooley is a leading global law firm with offices across the US, Europe and Asia. Our clients, ranging from entrepreneurs to emerging companies to Fortune 50 corporations, partner with us on transformative deals, complex intellectual property and regulatory matters, and high-stakes litigation where innovation meets the law. As a firm, we constantly strive to deliver the highest quality work and superior service on every matter entrusted to us.

Our lawyers are organized into Business and Litigation departments, which are further organized into practice groups. Cooley is seeking a resource attorney to support its Infrastructure, Energy & Real Estate Group (IERG). The resource attorney will help the group remain at the forefront of a rapidly evolving legal, regulatory, commercial and financing landscape, while strengthening the group’s knowledge management, thought leadership, training and business development capabilities. The resource attorney’s overarching responsibility will be to enable practicing attorneys to be more informed, efficient and successful. This attorney will not work directly for firm clients and therefore will not bill time.

Position Responsibilities:

• Legal, Regulatory and Policy Developments. Monitor and synthesize federal, state and local legal, legislative, regulatory and policy developments relevant to infrastructure, energy and real estate, including proposed and enacted restrictions or moratoriums affecting data center and other large-scale development and construction projects.
• Energy and Supply Chain Developments. Track developments affecting conventional and renewable energy generation, transmission, procurement and supply chains, including regulatory initiatives, permitting and interconnection issues, power availability and other constraints that may affect project development and operation.
• Data Center and Infrastructure Market Intelligence. Monitor significant trends affecting data center and other infrastructure projects, including community and stakeholder opposition, project delays or cancellations, geographic shifts in development activity and other market conditions affecting site selection, permitting and buildout.
• Financing and Investment Trends. Track and analyze developments in the financing of large-scale data center, energy, real estate and infrastructure projects, including evolving capital sources, transaction structures, risk allocation and other market considerations relevant to the group’s clients and practice.
• Industry and Competitive Developments. Monitor significant movements within the relevant industries, including strategic partnerships, joint ventures and other collaborations among technology companies, chip manufacturers, developers, utilities, energy providers, investors and financing sources.
• Internal Updates and Issue Spotting. Prepare timely internal briefings, market updates and practical summaries that identify developments of potential significance to the group and help attorneys anticipate client questions and emerging legal or business issues.
• Thought Leadership. Identify topics and assist in preparing client alerts, white papers, blog posts, presentations and similar publications addressing developments relevant to the group and its clients.
• Knowledge Management. Develop, organize, maintain and update practice resources, archives of work product, forms, precedents, checklists and other know-how to promote consistency, efficiency and the exchange of knowledge across the group.
• Education and Training. Coordinate with Legal Education and group attorneys to develop and deliver practice group and firmwide trainings, teach-ins, webinars and other educational programming.
• Marketing and Business Development. Work with Marketing and Business Development to support the group’s market positioning, pitches, RFP responses, client presentations, industry outreach and identification of opportunities arising from legal and market developments.
• Attorney and Cross-Practice Support. Respond to day-to-day requests from attorneys for research, precedents, market intelligence and other resources, and collaborate with attorneys and business professionals across relevant practices and offices.
• Practice Innovation and Technology. Coordinate with Knowledge Management, Practice Innovation and Technology teams to evaluate available tools and develop solutions that improve the creation, organization and delivery of practice resources and market intelligence.
• New Initiatives and Other Duties. Identify and lead new resource, knowledge management and practice support initiatives, and perform other duties as assigned or required.

Skills & Experience:

The IERG resource attorney must be a licensed attorney with a minimum of five years of relevant experience. Experience in one or more of the following areas is strongly preferred: infrastructure development, energy, renewable energy, real estate, project development, project finance, land use, permitting or relevant regulatory matters. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of the legal and commercial considerations affecting large-scale data center, energy and infrastructure projects; excellent research, writing and analytical skills; and the ability to translate complex legal, regulatory and market developments into practical, accessible guidance. Experience supporting knowledge management, thought leadership, training or business development initiatives is a plus.

Success Factors:

A successful resource attorney will possess and demonstrate many, if not all, of the following attributes: Substantive and Commercial Judgment. Strong command of relevant legal concepts and an ability to understand the commercial context in which clients and practicing attorneys operate. Curiosity and Issue Spotting. A sustained interest in emerging legal, regulatory, market and industry developments, with the judgment to distinguish meaningful trends from routine news. Exceptional Communication Skills. Excellent written and verbal communication, drafting and presentation skills, including the ability to make complex developments clear and actionable. Creativity and Entrepreneurialism. The ability to identify unmet needs and take a leading role in developing new resources, programming and practice support initiatives. Collaboration. A team-oriented approach and the ability to build trusted relationships with attorneys, other resource attorneys and business professionals across the firm. Organization and Attention to Detail. The ability to manage multiple ongoing projects, coordinate input from varied stakeholders and deliver accurate, polished work product. Initiative and Flexibility. A self-starting, adaptable approach and willingness to support evolving priorities in a fast-moving practice and industry environment. Technical Fluency. Comfort using legal research, knowledge management, collaboration and emerging technology tools to improve efficiency and the delivery of practice resources.

The expected annual pay range for this position is $220,000 - $315,000. Please note that final offer amount will be dependent on geographic location, applicable experience and skillset of the candidate. We offer a full range of elective benefits including medical, health savings account (with applicable medical plan), dental, vision, health and/or dependent care flexible spending accounts, pre-tax commuter benefits, life insurance, AD&D, long-term care coverage, backup care for children and/or adults and other parental support benefits. In addition to elective benefit options, benefited employees receive firm-paid life insurance, AD&D, LTD, short term medical benefits as well as accruing vacation time at the rate of four weeks per year and sick time at the rate of two weeks per year and 10 paid holidays each year. We provide generous parental leave and fertility benefits. New employees will attend a detailed benefit orientation to learn more about our many benefits and resources.