Rachel D. Jaffe’s practice largely consists of developer representation in affordable housing and community development transactions, not-for-profit law, real estate finance, and housing development fund corporations (HDFCs). Rachel is the HDFC practice group coordinator at Goldstein Hall, which group practice includes corporate governance matters, contract negotiations, share transfers, matters related to capital improvements, estate law, rental sub-tenancy issues and client advocacy with various City and state agencies.

During Rachel’s second and third years of law school, she worked in the corporate real estate practice group of a mid-sized law firm in Philadelphia. Since graduation, Rachel has also worked as an in-house counsel for a private real estate developer, as a staff attorney in a legal services not-for-profit organization and for a title insurance underwriter.

Rachel earned her J.D. from Temple University. Rachel was the Executive Editor of the Temple Journal of Science, Technology, and Environmental Law and published an article about urban growth boundaries entitled “Stopping Sprawl in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania” (24 TEMP. J. SCI. TECH. & ENVTL. L. 143 (2005)).  Rachel also wrote an award-winning paper on individual property rights entitled “Balancing Community Needs and Individual Property Rights Post- Kelo: A State Legislature’s Guide to Drafting Urban Planning-Based Statutes” (Kranzel Award recipient for best law school paper about government regulation. Second Place Award recipient of the American Planning Association, Planning & Law Division 23rd Annual Smith-Babcock-Williams Writing Competition). At graduation, Rachel received the Lena L. Hale Memorial Prize for outstanding contributions to the law school. Rachel has a Master in Urban Planning degree from Harvard University and a B.A. in Growth & Structure of Cities from Haverford College. 

Rachel is the Co-Chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Housing and Urban Development Committee and a member of the Urban Land Institute and Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW). She is a Board Member of Open House New York, a not-for-profit organization that promotes broad, unparalleled access to New York City. She currently resides in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.