Corporate and Transactional Paralegal

Farmer Mac (Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation) was established by Congress as a secondary market for American agricultural and rural infrastructure credit. We are a for-profit, public company (NYSE: AGM) and a mission-driven organization committed to building a strong and vital rural America by increasing the accessibility of financing to benefit American agriculture and rural communities. Farmer Mac has approximately $30 billion in assets and 200 full-time employees. 

Position Summary

Farmer Mac is seeking a Corporate and Transactional Paralegal who will assist the Legal team with corporate and transactional matters, as well as other day-to-day corporate functions. 

This position offers an opportunity to support a wide range of sophisticated transactions across Farmer Mac, including commercial contracts, loan purchases and participations, secured funding transactions, securitizations, capital markets issuances, and other structured finance activities.

The role will primarily focus on Legal's transaction management function, working closely with attorneys to coordinate due diligence, manage transaction documentation, facilitate closings, and support the execution of complex commercial, financing, and capital markets transactions that advance Farmer Mac's mission and funding platform.

The People You Will Work With

The position will report directly to the Senior Corporate Paralegal but will work closely and directly with the Chief Legal Officer and other attorneys on the Legal team. The position also involves interaction with executive officers, outside counterparties and customers, and employees from all organizational departments within Farmer Mac and may interact at times with members of Farmer Mac’s Board of Directors.

Where and When You Will Work

The position will be based in our headquarters located at 2100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC and is subject to a hybrid work arrangement. Work outside of core hours may be required for planned and unplanned activities to complete time sensitive projects or to attend off-site meetings or events. Travel outside of Washington, DC, is generally not expected for this position.

Primary Responsibilities and Duties

Commercial Transactions. Manage transaction mechanics to enable attorneys to focus on legal strategy, negotiations, and business development.

• Document Preparation: Draft and prepare transaction documents under attorney supervision, including assignments, participation certificates, non-disclosure agreements, officer certificates, closing deliverables, and other ancillary transaction documents. Prepare, review, and maintain consistency in transaction documents, including initial drafts, third-party documents, due diligence materials, and key structuring components (such as defined terms, authorized signatories, formatting, and styles).
• Due Diligence: Conduct and coordinate due diligence reviews, including gathering, organizing (e.g., preparing and maintaining diligence and closing checklists), and summarizing information related to commercial contracts and other transaction documents. Organize and maintain data rooms for transactions, ensuring all parties have access to current and accurate documentation.
• Corporate Filings: Prepare and file corporate documents with the relevant state and federal agencies.
• Transaction Management: Manage the coordination of Legal’s role in transaction closings, including preparing and maintaining closing checklists, tracking deliverables, coordinating signatures, and compiling final transaction documents. Coordinate with internal stakeholders, counterparties, outside counsel, financial advisors, accountants, trustees, and other transaction participants to facilitate timely execution and closing.
• Client Interaction: Communicate with customers, counterparties and other professionals (e.g., accountants, financial advisors, and outside counsel) to collect necessary information and facilitate the transaction process.
• Post-Closing Activities: Assist in post-closing activities, including preparing final versions of documents, ensuring proper record-keeping, and handling any necessary administrative tasks.
• Performing other tasks as required and other related duties as assigned.

Legal Operations and Governance Support. Maintain organized and auditable records. 

• Manage organization and retention of corporate documents, including tracking corporate contracts, monitoring contract execution, and migrating documents from Legal’s files to contract management system (Ironclad).
• Serve as primary administrator for maintaining and reconciling internal spreadsheets to track outstanding shares of company stock and employee stock holdings, equity awards, and exercises. Coordinate and manage communications regarding common and preferred stock dividends.
• When necessary, assist the Senior Corporate Paralegal with regulatory correspondence and reporting with the Securities and Exchange Commission, New York Stock Exchange and Farm Credit Administration and matters relating to the Board of Directors. 
• Perform other related duties as required, including liaising with other departments as needed.

Desired Skills and Qualifications

• Strong understanding of commercial transaction management and demonstrated ability to take ownership of transaction related workstreams and deliverables.
• Experience supporting structured finance, securitization, capital markets, banking, lending, project finance, asset-based finance, or other complex financing transactions strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with transaction closing processes, closing checklists, legal opinions, corporate authorities, organizational documents, financing agreements, and post-closing deliverables.
• Experience coordinating large, document-intensive transactions involving multiple parties and deadlines.
• Ability to read and navigate complex transaction documents and identify key terms, conditions, deliverables, and obligations.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated attention to detail with an ability to take direction, prioritize assignments, and execute tasks accurately.
• Proven organizational skills with a focus on transaction and document management.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and experience working collaboratively with cross-functional partners at all levels of the organization.
• Effective self-starter with a proactive attitude and the ability to work under tight deadlines while managing multiple competing priorities with limited supervision.
• Excellent work ethic and high degree of professionalism, and a proven ability to work both independently and within a team.
• Exercise discretion/confidentiality and demonstrate sound business judgment when performing assigned duties.
• Strong working knowledge and capability in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Familiarity with document management software (e.g., Ironclad). Familiarity with EDGAR and corporate governance software (e.g., Diligent Boards) a plus.

Education and Experience

• A Bachelor’s degree with strong academic credentials.
• Minimum of seven years of experience as a corporate, transactional, finance, banking, capital markets, or structured finance paralegal in a law firm, financial institution, government-sponsored enterprise, corporate legal department or similar environment.

Our compensation philosophy centers on targeted pay positioning relative to peers, our industry, and the broader market, reflecting Farmer Mac’s commitment to attracting, motivating, rewarding, and retaining highly skilled and creative talent needed for sustained long-term performance and achievement of strategic business objectives. In addition to a competitive base salary, employees in this role receive a comprehensive benefits package and are eligible for both short-term and long-term incentive compensation that rewards individual and company performance, aligning employee success with the organization’s long-term goals. The typical base pay range for this position is $90,000-105,000 per year.