Jennifer K. Couch

Associate
Jennifer Couch

Jennifer Couch assists her clients through complex real estate matters, bringing a background in business and immigration to her practice. Jennifer works with a variety of clients, including real estate developers, lenders, distributors, educational institutions, and government entities. As a former immigration paralegal based in Harlem in Manhattan, she is comfortable interacting with clients across all cultures and backgrounds. As a Business Law Scholar at Georgetown University Law School, Jennifer has accounting, tax, antitrust, contracting, and merger experience, and comprehensive knowledge of negotiations, multi-party negotiations, and mediations.

As the sole associate on the case, Jennifer has represented clients in all aspects of residential property transactions from inception to closing, including analyzing purchase agreements, coordinating closing logistics, conducting title due diligence, and preparing closing checklists. As a member of teams working on various corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A), she has conducted real estate due diligence and drafted memoranda on key issues of concern for the purchasing entities, such as the right of first refusal. Jennifer has also worked on corporate matters, drafting documents such as bylaws, operating agreements, resolutions, organizational charts, and corporate opinions.

Jennifer has done pro bono work for the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project, which provides legal assistance to migrants seeking asylum, especially in family units. She worked with asylees held in a Texas detention center and spent full days interviewing incarcerated asylum seekers. In the course of this work, Jennifer conducted client intakes, interviewed witnesses, sought review of negative credible fear asylum cases, and provided representation before an immigration judge.

Related Practices

Experience

Representative Matters

  • Assisted with the representation of borrower to a loan closing for a commercial mortgage-backed security loan, including reviewing mortgage documents, drafting ancillary documents, and resolving lender checklist items
  • Drafted commercial leases on behalf of one of the world’s leading real estate investment managers
  • Conducted zoning due diligence in furtherance of land conservation for a nonprofit organization backed by government agencies.
  • Assisted a medical school in obtaining land use approval from the Board of Standards and Appeals for its expansion project
  • Assisted a veterinary clinic and teaching hospital in obtaining land use approval from the Board of Standards and Appeals for its signage project
  • Drafted a firm article on Local Law 97 for building owners focusing on key provisions
  • Drafted a firm article on Local Law 97 for building owners focusing on key deadlines

Insights

Credentials
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Education

  • J.D. Georgetown University Law Center 2022
    • Certificate of Achievement for completing the Business Law Scholars Program
    • Private sector professional chair, Asian Pacific American Law Students Association
    • Senior editor and digital committee member, Georgetown Journal of International Law
    • Fellow and mentor, Resilience, Innovation, and Sustainability through Education Program
    • Office assistant, Office of Equity and Inclusion
    • Opportunity Scholarship
    • Pro Bono Pledge
  • B.A. Political Science and Psychology The City College of New York 2015
    • Minor: English
    • CCNY Psychology Honors Thesis Recognition, The Effect of an Interviewer’s Instruction and Feedback on Eyewitness Memory
    • Skadden, Arps Honors Program Legal Studies Scholar
    • Member, National Science Foundation: Research Experience for Undergraduates

Bar Admissions

  • New York

Professional Memberships and Activities

  • Participant, 2020 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Pathfinder Program, Venable
  • Member, Women Attorneys at Venable
  • Member, Asian Pacific Excellence at Venable

Community
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Volunteerism

  • La Fondita de Jesus – helped cook and distribute food for the underprivileged and indigent in a soup kitchen  
  • Save the Gatos – worked in an animal shelter and bathed stray kittens, cleaned their cages, and fed them
 

Personal Activities

  • Inventing new drinks using her skills as a former barista
  • Baking cakes and pastries while incorporating Asian flavors, such as miso and ube