Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps partner Robert Bell has been recognized by Best Lawyers of America as the "2010 San Diego Real Estate Lawyer of the Year." Bell specializes in real estate development, leasing, workouts and brokerage matters.
Best Lawyers selects each Lawyer of the Year by conducting extensive peer-reviewed surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers.
Bell's practice covers a wide range of transactions focused primarily on real estate development and workouts in commercial, industrial, office and residential projects. With more than 30 years of experience in residential and commercial real estate development, Bell has worked on major projects throughout California, including the transfer of the Olympic Training Center site in Chula Vista to the USOC; the San Diego Spectrum master plan urban in-fill industrial park; and the urban/mixed use redevelopment project for San Diego's New Children's Museum in downtown San Diego.
Bell served as Luce Forward's managing partner from 2004-09. He currently serves on the legal affairs committee for the California Association of Realtors and is a member of National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, Lambda Alpha International Honorary Society for the Advancement of Land Economics, and the Policy Advisory Board for Commercial Real Estate of the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate.
Michael Barone, a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner and Fox News Channel contributor, will deliver the keynote address at the University of San Diego School of Law's sixth annual Joan E. Bowes-James Madison Distinguished Speaker Series.
The lecture, titled "American Politics: Are We in a New Era?" will be given Monday, Nov. 9 at 5:30 p.m. at the school's Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice. Admission is free of charge but reservations are required by Wednesday, Nov. 4. They can be made by calling 619-260-6848 or e-mailing usdlawevent@sandiego.edu.
Barone, who's also a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, will discuss how politics have changed in Washington since the Democratic Party's recent majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and the election of President Barack Obama.
Doug Farry, managing director of McKenna Long & Aldridge, will share his cyberspace, e-commerce and technology knowledge with business and government leaders gathering to discuss cyber threats, defense approaches and future challenges as part of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
October is dedicated to raising the profile of computer security in the United States, "making it a perfect time for companies to consider current security practices, procedures and solutions," said Farry who is based in MLA's San Diego office. He is co-chair of the firm's cybersecurity working group and chair of its radio frequency identification division.
At the National Defense Industrial Association's San Diego Cybersecurity Symposium this week, Farry joins other noted authorities to provide an unclassified, high-level picture of cybersecurity threats and the most current counter cyber-espionage solutions.
Companies such as San Diego-based ESET -- an industry pioneer in the development of proactive threat protection software -- are also working to educate and protect consumers and businesses from the growing threat of cybercrime.
At the Cybersecurity West Conference in Sacramento held earlier this month, Farry said commercial as well as government networks are increasingly under attack from hackers, corporate spies, identity thieves and even global terrorists.
Wilson Turner Kosmo LLP will host its annual employment seminar from 8:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4 at The Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla.
The seminar, which is approved for 2.5 hours of MCLE and SPHR/PHR credit, will include the latest developments affecting the California workplace. Attendees can obtain practical tools necessary to ensure continued compliance with the myriad of statues and court rulings affecting day-to-day employment practices in 2010.
Seminar topics include "Recent Developments in Wage & Hour Law and How to Reduce Exposure to Class Action Lawsuits," "New Law Taking Affect on January 1, 2010 at the State and Federal Level," "Managing the Interplay of new ADA, FMLA and CFRA Rules and Regulations," and "New Cases and Latest Developments Affecting the Workplace in 2010."
Attendees pay $75, which includes admission, breakfast, lunch, valet parking and all seminar materials. To RSVP, please call 619-236-9600 or e-mail seminars@wilsonturnerkosmo.com. Advance registration is strongly suggested due to limited seating.
Thomas D. Penfield, a partner with San Diego-based law firm Casey, Gerry, Schenk, Francavilla, Blatt & Penfield, was recently named a member of The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation.
It is an honorary organization of attorneys, judges and law professors whose professional, public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the welfare of their communities and to the highest principles of the legal profession.
"We are honored that Tom has been named a Fellow of this prestigious organization, and that he will continue to represent our firm on a national level," said Casey Gerry's senior partner David S. Casey Jr.
Penfield also was recently appointed chair of the task force on Plaintiff's Involvement of the Tort, Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) of the American Bar Association (ABA). He concentrates his practice on personal injury, products liability and class actions and has been an attorney with Casey Gerry since 1988.
Active in both community and professional organizations, he is also president of the Bar Association of North San Diego County, a Fellow in the National College of Advocacy of the American Association for Justice and a past recipient of the Environmental Lawyer of the Year Award from the Sierra Club's San Diego Chapter.
The San Diego City Attorney's Office is moving its domestic violence unit from the San Diego Family Justice Center to its Civic Center Plaza offices, saving the city $217,000 annually. The domestic violence unit consists of attorneys, investigators, victim advocates and other support staff. The move will occur in December.
"We've concluded that we can save the city money and improve efficiency of domestic violence prosecutions," City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said in announcing the move. "We will not reduce our commitment to the SDFJC one bit. We will be there for victims and hold perpetrators accountable. We'll just be more efficient."
Similar to how the district attorney's office is structured, the city attorney's office will continue to maintain desk space at the SDFJC. The lawyers, investigators and victim advocates will continue to meet with witnesses, police and victims, helping the victims understand the court process, keeping them on board for trial and provide them with information about resources.
Chief Deputy City Attorney Kathleen McManus, head of the unit, said the move will have a positive impact on the work of the attorneys.
"We will have access to the full legal library, to lawyers that work in our appellate unit whose expert advice on procedural matters is invaluable, and to former domestic violence prosecutors who can provide advice and ideas on how to successfully prosecute these difficult cases," she said. "We will also be closer to the courthouse."
