In-House Housing Counsel (Unlawful Detainer Focus)
Own Arboreal’s in-house UD practice: lead cases end-to-end, manage offshore paralegals, and advise on tenant law. High-impact, no billables, and real operational ownership.
Arboreal Management LLC
Location: Washington or Oregon State (Remote / Hybrid OK)
Type: Full-time
Salary: $105,000–$120,000 base, depending on experience
Licensure: Active Washington license required; Oregon license a plus
About Arboreal Management
Arboreal Management is a Seattle-based property management company managing several thousand residential units across Washington and Oregon, with a focus on workforce and affordable housing. We are operationally sophisticated, process-driven, and committed to compliant, fair, and efficient housing operations.
We play an important role in proiding quality property management services for affordable housing, and are growing 20-30% per year.
We have brought the majority of our unlawful detainer and tenant-law work fully in-house and are hiring a full-time attorney to own and scale and lead this function.
The Role
This is a litigation-heavy, operations-oriented role focused primarily on unlawful detainer matters, with additional responsibility for advising on tenant-law issues and supervising offshore legal and paralegal staff. The attorney will work closely with operations, leasing, and leadership to ensure cases move quickly, correctly, and consistently.
Approximately 80% of this role is unlawful detainer work, with the remaining time spent on tenant-law advice, compliance questions, and process oversight.
Key Responsibilities
Handle Washington unlawful detainer matters end-to-end, from notice strategy through writ
Draft and review predicate notices, pleadings, motions, and declarations
Appear in court for hearings and trials as required (remote and in-person)
Advise operations teams on eviction risk, notice strategy, and timing
Supervise one or more full-time paralegals based in the Philippines
Review paralegal work product for accuracy, completeness, and compliance
Develop and maintain standardized templates, workflows, and SOPs
Advise on tenant-law issues, including disputes, lease interpretation, and reasonable accommodation questions
Provide high-level guidance on affordable and regulated housing compliance issues and identify matters requiring escalation to outside counsel
Coordinate with outside counsel as needed for overflow or specialized matters
Qualifications
JD from an accredited law school
Active Washington State Bar license in good standing
2+ years of experience in unlawful detainer, landlord-tenant, or housing litigation
Strong familiarity with Washington eviction procedures and court rules
Comfortable managing a high-volume, repeatable litigation workflow
Experience supervising paralegals or legal support staff (or willingness to do so)
Practical, operations-oriented mindset
Strong writing, organization, and case-management skills
Willingness to travel periodically for court appearances
Nice to Have
Oregon bar admission strong plus, with ability to travel to Portland, OR for in-person hearings (most WA hearings are remote)
Experience representing housing providers or property managers
Exposure to affordable or regulated housing environments
Comfort working with remote or offshore support teams
Interest in building scalable legal processes
Compensation & Growth
$105,000–$120,000 base salary
Full-time, stable in-house role with no billable hour requirements
Opportunity to grow responsibility, scope, and compensation as the function scales
Direct access to leadership and real operational impact
- Department
- Property Management
- Locations
- Seattle Main Office, Portland Main Office
- Remote status
- Hybrid
- Hourly salary
- $105,000 - $120,000
- Employment type
- Full-time
About Arboreal Management
We deliver below market, affordable rents for our residents and above market returns for our investors.