FIRM PRACTICE AREAS        

- Corporate and General Business

- Real Estate

- Litigation, Arbitration, Mediation

- Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts

- Probate and Trust Administration

BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS

- Reorganized “green” company which provides energy saving information to residential and commercial building owners (2009).

- Represented shareholders in refinancing of a luxury hotel in Arizona (2008).

- Represented university specializing in security services in second and third rounds of financing (2007), fourth round of financing (2009).

- Represented investor relations firm in its sale to national public relations firm (2007).

- Represented second largest shareholder in connection with sale of entertainment complex in Windsor, Canada (2007).

- Represented buyer in a $14,000,000 purchase of an Ohio based manufacturing company’s largest division (2006).

- Represented California company in $3,500,000 mezzanine stage financing (2006).

- Represented buyer of a regional artisan bakery (2006).

- Reorganized a California food distribution business into three separate limited liability companies (2005).

- Represented buyer in a $3,000,000 purchase of a California manufacturer of fireplace accessories (2005).

- Completed wind down of family holding company (2005).

- Prepared proxy statements for the sale of 5 publicly-held equipment leasing companies (2005).

ESTATE PLANNING

- Completed Asset Freeze of $10,000,000 through use of Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts for a couple (2009).

- Created Tenancy-in-Common arrangement for $8,000,000 in real estate between parent and child reducing value of gift to child by nearly 40% (2008).

REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

- Represented buyer in a $28,000,000 purchase of a San Francisco office building (2006-2007).

- Represented seller in an $8,000,000 sale of a San Francisco office building (2006).

- Represented owner of a South Bay regional shopping mall in refinancing a $20,000,000 loan (2006).

- Represented buyer in a $38,000,000 purchase of an East Bay regional shopping mall (375,000 square feet) (2006).

- Represented buyer in a $6,000,000 purchase of a mixed use San Francisco commercial building (2006).

- Represented buyer in $48,000,000 purchase of a mid-Peninsula regional shopping mall (2005).

- Represented owner of a Pleasanton strip mall in a refinancing of a $5,800,000 loan (2005).

RECENT SIGNIFICANT LITIGATION MATTERS

- Appellate - Won appeal in published opinion affirming trial court damage award and awarding attorneys' fees, in Applera v. MP Biomedicals, LLC (2009), 173 Cal.App.4th 769.

- Construction Dispute - Obtained jury trial verdict in dispute between commercial property developer and contractor (2009).

- Trade Secrets - Obtained damage award and permanent injunction after court trial in case where former employee of our client misappropriated trade secrets (2008).

- Will Contest – Negotiated favorable settlement at JAMS mediation in defense of will contest filed against our client (2008).

- Patent Royalties - Obtained 7 figure damage award after court trial in patent license dispute where our client had not been paid the royalties due (2007).

- Construction Dispute - Obtained damage award in arbitration hearing involving construction project on behalf of our client against an architect (2007).

- Appellate - Successfully defended appeal of a preliminary injunction (2007).  For the unpublished opinion, see 2007 WL 2823280 (Cal.App. 1 Dist.).

- Employment – Negotiated a favorable settlement of a claim that our client wrongfully terminated an employee (2007).

- Construction Dispute - Successfully defended a state educational institution against a claim for damages by a contractor (2007)

- Intellectual Property – Negotiated favorable settlement in defense of claim that our client had misappropriated an advertising concept (2007)

- Commercial Dispute - Obtained complete dismissal of creditor claims against our clients who were principals of a failed restaurant (2007)

- Commercial Dispute - Obtained attachment and then negotiated favorable settlement for our client who had sold its accounting firm but had not received all of the purchase price (2006)

Main Office:
220 Montgomery Street, Suite 1850
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415)781-6070 (telephone)
(415)788-6521 (facsimile)