Education

Law School/Year: J.D., University of Southern California, 1982

Other Graduate School/Year: M.Ed., Smith College, 1973

College/Year: B.A., Trinity College, 1970

Bar Admissions

California

Practice Areas

Real Estate

Major Cases 

I have represented various national and international lenders and receivers in acquiring and disposing of broken condominiums and other subdivision projects. These properties have included a high-rise building with more than 600 condominium units and a mixed-use project with residential, office and hospitality uses. I am lead counsel in establishing the governance structure for a mixed-use urban community in San Diego planned to consist of more than 4,000 residences and 900,000 square feet of rental, office and other commercial users. This project will be developed over many years and I have addressed the challenges of establishing a governance structure that will be flexible enough to respond to changes in development and the community over time. I also have continued to represent residential developers throughout the state of California in acquiring residential subdivisions and entitlements and commercial developers with the acquisition and development of various projects.

Professional Background

My focus is on the representation of lenders and commercial, industrial, retail and residential developers in all aspects of real estate. I have assisted lenders and receivers in acquiring and disposing of distressed residential, commercial and mixed-use projects. Having developed a special expertise in Department of Real Estate regulatory matters, I represent numerous publicly held companies, urban high-rise, mixed-use and master-planned community developers, lenders and purchasers of distress assets. I specialize in creating governing documents for major residential, retail and mixed-use centers in California and in implementing programs to minimize risk and liability in the development process. I also handle distressed real estate and work to develop viable alternatives and exit strategies for troubled assets.

Professional Affiliations

I serve on the Urban Council for the Building Industry Association. I am currently an executive committee member of the Downtown San Diego Partnership and was formerly a chairperson. I am a member of the CCDC Educational Taskforce Committee and a chairperson of the Community Outreach Committee. I am serving (for the fourth term) as a member of Luce Forward’s Executive Committee and I am one of the members of the law firm’s Strategic Growth Committee.

Personal Affiliations

I remain committed to establishing viable educational opportunities in downtown San Diego. I serve on the Board of Urban Discovery Academy, a charter school formed to respond to the needs for quality education in San Diego.

Personal Background

I have been married for 40 years and I have three children and three grandchildren. My daughter Anna is an attorney at Luce Forward. Andrew works in the energy area at Shell and our son Alex is majoring in chemistry at Northeastern University. I am a New Yorker who was raised by a father who immigrated from Argentina and a mother who was a first generation Italian-American. My hobbies include cooking, gardening and traveling.