Job Description
Job Description
Contract-to-Hire Probate Litigation Counsel / Future General Counsel
Greater House – A Chris Adams Company is seeking an experienced, highly strategic attorney to serve initially as contract litigation counsel, with the opportunity to transition into a long-term General Counsel role.
We are looking for a probate and trust-litigation shark—an attorney who is comfortable handling contested estates, fiduciary misconduct, accounting disputes, beneficiary rights, emergency applications, discovery, appeals, and related civil litigation.
The ideal candidate will have training or meaningful experience at a top-tier, white-shoe, Am Law, or sophisticated litigation firm, but may be looking for a role with greater autonomy, direct client access, and long-term upside.
This opportunity may be especially attractive to a mid-career attorney who genuinely enjoys practicing law, researching difficult issues, writing strong briefs, taking depositions, negotiating from strength, and appearing in court—but does not want the administrative burden of operating and marketing an independent law firm.
What We Are Looking For:
We want more than a courtroom killer. We want an attorney who is formidable in litigation but also personable, emotionally intelligent, and capable of building genuine professional relationships.
The right candidate should treat judicial clerks, courtroom staff, administrative personnel, opposing counsel, witnesses, and clients with respect. We value an attorney whose preparation and advocacy are strong enough to win arguments, but whose character and professionalism are strong enough that court personnel would also vouch for their credibility.
A background or interest in comedy, performance, public speaking, storytelling, or entertainment is a plus. A lawyer who understands humor often understands timing, audiences, tension, and human behavior—all of which matter in negotiations and litigation.
This does not mean treating serious proceedings like a comedy routine. It means knowing how to connect with people, read a room, relieve unnecessary tension, communicate difficult ideas clearly, and remain likable without becoming weak or ineffective.
Company is committed to a budget of $1000/mo in a retainer like arrangement.
Responsibilities:
- Advise and represent the principal in contested probate, estate, trust, fiduciary, and related civil matters.
- Evaluate existing lawsuits, claims, defenses, counterclaims, and appellate options.
- Develop aggressive but disciplined litigation strategies.
- Draft pleadings, motions, discovery demands, subpoenas, briefs, settlement proposals, and appellate submissions.
- Defend the principal and affiliated businesses against legal claims and regulatory risks.
- Identify and pursue affirmative claims when litigation is commercially or strategically justified.
- Coordinate with specialized outside counsel, experts, accountants, investigators, and local counsel when necessary.
- Establish litigation-management, document-retention, contracting, compliance, and risk-management systems for a growing construction and real-estate organization.
- Gradually assume broader General Counsel responsibilities across real estate, construction, employment, contracts, business disputes, and corporate governance.
- Build respectful, productive relationships with clerks, court staff, opposing counsel, government personnel, and other professionals involved in the legal process.
- Help the client distinguish between battles that should be fought aggressively and disputes that should be resolved efficiently.
Ideal Background
- Approximately 7–20 years of sophisticated litigation experience.
- Significant probate, trust, estate, fiduciary, chancery, or commercial-litigation experience.
- Strong legal research, writing, negotiation, deposition, and courtroom skills.
- Experience handling contentious, high-conflict, document-intensive disputes.
- Former or current experience at a nationally recognized, white-shoe, Am Law, boutique litigation, or highly respected regional firm preferred.
- Judicial clerkship experience is a plus.
- Appellate experience is strongly preferred.
- Admission in New Jersey and/or Pennsylvania is preferred. Additional admissions are valuable.
- Comfortable representing a demanding, entrepreneurial client who expects direct communication, intellectual honesty, responsiveness, and strategic initiative.
- Strong interpersonal instincts and the ability to communicate effectively with people at every level of the court system.
- A reputation for treating court staff professionally and maintaining credibility even during aggressive litigation.
- Experience in comedy, performance, public speaking, media, or storytelling is a plus, but not required.
- A genuine sense of humor is strongly preferred. Litigation is serious enough already.
Engagement Structure
This position will begin as a paid contract engagement so both sides can evaluate compatibility, judgment, work quality, communication style, and litigation strategy.
For the right attorney, the role may develop into:
- Part-time or full-time General Counsel;
- A recurring monthly retainer;
- Oversight of outside litigation counsel;
- Long-term participation in the company’s growth; and
- Performance-based compensation where ethically permissible and appropriate.
Compensation will be negotiated based on experience, availability, bar admissions, and the scope of the initial matters.
To Apply
Please submit:
1. A résumé or professional biography;
2. A brief description of your probate, trust, fiduciary, and commercial-litigation experience;
3. One or two representative writing samples, with confidential information removed;
4. Your bar admissions;
5. Your hourly, project-based, or monthly-retainer expectations;
6. A short explanation of why a contract-to-hire General Counsel role appeals to you; and
7. A brief example of how you have built credibility with court staff, opposing counsel, or other professionals during a difficult matter.
We are not seeking a passive file manager or an attorney who mistakes hostility for strength. We want a thoughtful, formidable advocate who knows when to negotiate, when to attack, when to conserve resources, and how to turn complicated litigation into a coherent strategy.
The ideal lawyer can command a courtroom without alienating everyone who works inside it.