Sanford Holshouser LLP, a small law firm with big plans, seeks an associate attorney to join our team of friendly public finance and community economic development attorneys. We are offering a starting salary of $60,000 with limited benefits (which do not include health insurance).

At Sanford Holshouser we work with local governments and their allies across North Carolina. We bring diverse backgrounds and talents to work for our clients and build our business. We approach our work with humility and with respect for our clients and their projects. You can read more about us and our work on our website, SHLawGroup.com.

What we’re looking for:

Our new attorney will work primarily on our local government finance projects. In this practice, we represent cities, counties and towns around North Carolina who want to borrow money to build things like schools, courthouses, and water and sewer projects. We are pleased to say our client demand for these services has remained strong through pandemic. Most of our clients are small and medium-sized, but geographically they range across North Carolina.

You will provide legal advice to local government officials, lenders and others to help them complete their projects and run their organizations. You will draft contracts, agreements between governments and project partners (such as developers), governing board resolutions, and documents required for loan closings. Some transactions will be complex, some will be simple, but all will require a helpful, gracious attitude toward our clients and the other parties.

This is document-heavy, detail-oriented work. There’s only a small amount of math and tax involved – nothing you can’t handle! The job requires attendance at evening meetings and occasional overnight travel within North Carolina.

At the same time, we’re a small Firm, so you will also contribute to our work in affordable housing and community economic development.

What’s in it for you:

You will have immediate interaction with clients, and your work will be directly responsive to client needs from the first day. We are committed to providing training for our attorneys, both on the substantive work and in developing your own clients. You will be an active part of our marketing and sales efforts from the start, so you can immediately begin to develop and expand your own professional network and business development skills.

A casual and collaborative work environment.

A chance to work in the middle of Carrboro, to be affiliated with an organization you can be proud of, and to help make North Carolina a better place. Free parking!

A flexible work schedule. We all work from home at least part time, and when we say “full time” we mean 2000 annual hours of total effort toward the Firm’s work (so we count time in business development, training and seminars, and internal office projects). If you’re an experienced attorney who would be more interested in a different arrangement, including a part-time arrangement, we are happy to talk about that as well.

You might be great for this spot if you:

Are committed to helping make North Carolina a better place.

Are someone who can bring different people together to help solve problems.

Can handle your own typing and other computer work (this isn’t an IT job, but you need to be able to get around Office 365® on your own).

Have a helpful, friendly attitude, an entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm for the mission.

We’re committed to diversity, in all its expressions. Local government experience, an MPA, or experience otherwise related to our practice will be a plus. Brand new lawyers are welcome to apply. We will, however, want you to have a North Carolina bar license or be eligible to waive in or take the next exam.

Finally – there is no single perfect candidate who will be everything we could possibly hope for (even those of us who already work here aren’t that). Don’t put us aside just because you can’t check every box. If you’re interested, please give us a chance to see what you can offer (instead of focusing on what you can’t).

If you think you might be interested, send an email to jobs@SHLawGroup.com. Please include a resume, a brief statement (in the email or as a separate attachment) about why you’d be a good choice, and a writing sample of not more than two pages (can be an excerpt and can be something you prepare just for this) showing your ability to write clearly for people who are not lawyers.

We will acknowledge all the indications of interest. We will make an initial screening of resumes and other materials on November 15, 2020, and then we will contact you again if we want to speak with you further. We hope to have someone start in January, but our schedule is flexible (both for us and for you).