I am willing to live in one side of the duplex, handle all operations, and put down 50% of the money going toward the deal.

HR people are easy to talk to.Sending a blind email will just get lost in the shuffle.The HR department will probably have someone that is working with the other departments that will handle job transfers and relocations.

Once you get comfortable and feel that you have an handle on things then you can do from there.

Get an attorney or two or a preferred law office to handle all the legal stuff to make sure your golden on any syndication law and making sure the funds are handled correctly. 

How would we handle rent income, taxes, tax benefits?

I do not handle any money for tenant checks).

Do you know any Investor frIendly title companies in this area or attorneys that handle investor friendly transactions?

But having several partners could also cause some challenges too.In the investing world there are 2 main types of loans:  "Conventional, Conforming" and "Portfolio" loans.Conventional, Conforming - these loans are governed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 

Biggest challenge was I tried to do too much myself, failed a lot, but in the end learned a ton to be better for future projects and still made money.

He will have to apply for the permit and install the system to code.You should seek  legal advice as to how to handle the initial code violation.