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I achieve results with the same skills used by any other successful professional
-- careful analysis of issues, good listening, creative consideration
of alternatives, reasoned selection of solutions and strategies, well
organized plain English documentation, attention to the psychology underlying
a business transaction, skillful persuasion when necessary, and quick
response and implementation. I work hard and am adept at systems. Plus,
I am lucky. I can be lightning fast when it is needed and I keep my clients
informed and involved. Although I operate in the role of a lawyer, I often
feel more like business consultant. I feel honored to work with a very
talented and dedicated group of lawyers in our real estate and lending
group.
Professional
Highlights
• Rising
from bed and driving downtown at 2:00 a.m., because I saw a way to avoid
a lawsuit that would paralyze a major project for years. A multi-tier
partnership had owned about 1,200 acres of developable property in the
San Francisco Bay Area for more than 10 years, utilizing a convertible
loan from certain sub-tier investors to get through a down cycle. As the
date for conversion of the debt to equity approached, certain investors
who faced dilution filed a motion for a restraining order, jeopardizing
the $30 million refinancing planned to close two days later. I went home
in the evening, almost resigned to years of paralyzing litigation. But
in fitful sleep, I came upon an idea. By 5:00 a.m., my carefully pitched
demand and threat of counterclaim had reached the troublemakers in London,
with a promise that a proposed resolution would follow. By 10:00 a.m.,
they received my detailed proposal for escrow and standstill. By the lunch
hour, we reached agreement and the TRO hearing, scheduled for 1:30 p.m.,
was cancelled. The property subsequently sold for about $150 million.
Having litigated cases for a number of years, I knew how things would
get out of control if I allowed litigation to start with so many parties
involved.
• Representing
a Fortune 500 public company in negotiating and documenting joint venture
and financing terms for a $250 million paper recycling facility in the
Midwest, and then doing it again when a second facility was built. The
facilities have been hugely profitable. The same client formed a different
joint venture this past year to market a new optical scanning technology
for sorting recovered paper and fiber.
• Hearing
from my lender clients the compliments they have received from their borrowers
on our loan documents and their experience with our law firm as we document
and close their loans. Some of their borrowers have called our documents
"easy to work with" and "the best of all they have seen"
and have characterized our services as "helpful" and "efficient."
We understand our client's business goals and attempt to adopt a style
that will advance those goals.
• Being
recognized in years 2000 and 2007 as one of the "Super Lawyers"
in Washington by Washington Law & Politics, a local legal and
professional publication.
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Professional
and Community Activities
Washington State Bar Association; Real Property, Probate & Trust
Section.
King County Bar Association, Real Property, Probate & Trust Section.
Pro Bono Representation for domestic abuse shelter and non-profit schools.
Lower Woodland Soccer League Coach.
Selected
Publications and Presentations
Speaker, "Can't We All Just
Get Along? The Impact of Master Community Developer Covenants on Builder
Financing," Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson, P.S., June 5,
2003.
Speaker, "Boilerplate in Commercial Contracts," Mid-Year
Meeting and Seminar, Business Law Section, Washington State Bar Association,
1995.
Speaker, "Debtor/Creditor Workouts" American Bar Association
Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law, 1994.
Speaker on topics relating to real estate lending at numerous informal
lunch seminars with banks and lenders.
Education
University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 1980. Law Review, Order
of the Coif.
Stanford University, B.A. 1974 cum laude.
Outside
Interests
I am maximizing time with my three kids until they leave the nest. My
entire family plays soccer (lots of soccer, year round) and my wife and
I coach. We ski, swim in the summer, and I kayak whitewater rivers. I
had lots of jobs as a kid, including construction jobs, and I like to
build things. I have some property near Leavenworth, which is our base
for hiking, skiing, kayaking, and rafting. I love to travel and have been
to some exotic places.
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