Thursday, 17 December 2009
Ellman Burke Land Use and Real Estate Team Joins SSL Law Firm
Five land use and real estate attorneys from Ellman Burke Hoffman & Johnson, a San Francisco land use and real estate boutique, will join SSL Law Firm LLP, also a San Francisco based real estate firm. Ellman Burke shareholders Michael J. Burke, Jodi B. Fedor, Christine W. Griffith and Diane K. Hanna will join SSL as partners, effective January 1, 2010. Ellman Burke associate Corinne I. Calfee and real estate specialist Betsy Veverka also will make the move to SSL.
“The addition of this talented group will enable us to add sophisticated land use, development, environmental regulation and related litigation to the broad spectrum of transactional and litigation services we already provide to existing clients” said SSL partner Pam Lakey.
“The land use and development experience of these highly regarded professionals is broad and deep,” said SSL partner Sally Shekou, citing as examples “the Ritz-Carlton Resort Hotel in Half Moon Bay (Michael J. Burke), the new Brocade corporate campus in North San Jose (Jodi B. Fedor), wind farm development in Solano County (Christine W. Griffith), the defense of expansion plans for university campuses (Diane K. Hanna), endangered salamander issues in Santa Barbara County (Corinne I. Calfee), and corporate campus assemblage in Cupertino (Betsy Veverka).”
“I was immediately attracted to SSL’s innovative approach. SSL’s vision shatters the traditional law firm model, answering clients’ demands for flexibility, superlative service and creative rate structures, while providing a full panoply of sophisticated real estate services to top-notch clients,” said Griffith.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the SSL attorneys in the past and have always admired their entrepreneurial and client-focused approach to the practice of law. I am delighted to have the opportunity to join them,” added Fedor.
“I think SSL represents the future of the legal industry, and the fact that SSL is an ethnically diverse, women owned business is the icing on the cake,” said Hanna.
SSL’s 15 existing attorneys have extensive, in depth experience in a full range of real estate transactions, including office and retail leasing, acquisitions, dispositions, real estate finance, off balance sheet financing, development and construction work, business entity formation and joint venture structuring, sale-leasebacks, securitized transactions and lease termination workouts, as well as real estate related litigation.
