Michele Kirrane is a Partner at Wendel Rosen. She is an experienced litigator who has handled large exposure matters in both state and federal courts, from intake to trial. Michele has a diverse litigation practice that includes commercial, products liability, premises liability and catastrophic loss actions. She is trusted by a wide range of clients including product manufacturers and suppliers, business owners, municipalities, schools, individuals, community organizations, and retailers.

Michele understands the high stakes of litigation and takes a tailored approach to each matter she handles. She is tenacious in her investigation and development of strategies carefully designed to protect her clients’ interests.

Richard Sipos is a partner at Wendel Rosen and has over three decades of experience in complex litigation and real estate business transactions. Richard has successfully tried numerous jury and bench construction cases involving hotels, schools and prisons; and other business litigation matters including legal malpractice, securities fraud and partnership disputes. He has expertise in high-stakes transactional real estate and business matters including leasing, sales, disability access and hazardous materials contamination. Richard has facilitated clients’ business purchases and sales of wineries, a waste transfer station, a fire suppression company and a trucking brokerage.

Richard’s ability to advise businesses and to understand all facets of commercial real estate was enhanced by his 20 years of service as a Director and Chairman of the Board for Beard Land & Improvement (an industrial developer) and Modesto and Empire Traction (a short line railroad). After retiring from those Boards, Richard’s most recent Director role is for Axonis Therapeutics which is developing some of the most promising treatments for spinal cord injuries and other neurological diseases.

Experience

Since his graduation from Boston College Law School, Miguel has honed his interests in a broad range of litigation — from bankruptcy law to real estate, product liability to commercial disputes – while working as an associate at two California law firms and as a law clerk to a bankruptcy court judge. This blend of practice and judicial perspectives has helped develop his skills in research and writing, client interaction and negotiation, and settlement of cases.

Litigation

As an associate in the San Francisco law firm of Gordon & Rees, Miguel was involved in complex litigation, including high-stakes consumer class action cases. He also has worked in drug and medical product liability cases. These cases involved extensive levels of discovery disputes where Miguel drove cases toward mediation and settlement whenever possible.

Bankruptcy

He served as a law clerk for the Honorable William J. Lafferty III in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California and as an extern for Judge Maureen Tighe with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. Miguel has been involved in hearings, trials, and settlement conferences dealing with complex legal issues such as U.C.C. Article 9 title disputes, fraudulent conveyances, and real estate transactions. He has extensive experience with sale motions, non-dischargeability actions, requests for relief from the automatic stay, claim objections and attorney’s fees.

Todd, chair of the firm’s Land Use and Environmental Practice Group, represents clients in the broad spectrum of land use, real estate and environmental issues in both litigation and administrative proceedings.

He works with private clients and public entities, including landowners and developers of residential, infill, commercial and industrial property, as well as local agencies, providing property entitlement processing and local government land use approvals; CEQA compliance and litigation; planning and zoning law advice; and real property litigation. He also has experience with infill project streamlining, density bonus and housing laws, affordable housing and historic preservation regulations, as well as advising clients on public-private partnerships, the Subdivision Map Act, the Williamson Act, and cannabis land use regulations, along with easement and boundary dispute matters.

A contributing editor on the 2010 – 2011 edition of State and Local Government Land Use Liability, and a reviewer of the 2012 and 2013 editions of the Municipal Law Handbook, Todd also has spoken throughout the state on land use law, with particular emphasis on CEQA.

Zack works with private businesses and public agencies to negotiate and draft complex real estate and financial structures. Working frequently with state and local regulatory and permitting agencies, he represents clients before a variety of administrative bodies to enable clients to complete some of the region’s most intriguing projects, including: development of a mixed-use project in San Francisco’s Fillmore District featuring Yoshi’s Jazz Club and Restaurant and 80 condominiums; entitling a 14-story, 220-unit residential building in Jack London Square; and the creative vertical subdivision of the Oakland YWCA, rescuing the Y from bankruptcy and saving a Julia Morgan building. He is currently representing the Oakland A’s in negotiations with the City of Oakland and County of Alameda acquisition of the Coliseum for a large mixed use development. 

Zack has served as lead general counsel for the Alameda County Transportation Commission and its predecessors for over 30 years, assisting it with a wide variety of matters including funding, legislation, compliance with public laws, environmental and personnel issues, and reauthorizaation. 

In 2012, Zack was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown as Chair of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). As General Counsel to the East Bay Economic Development Alliance, Zack played an integral role negotiating with BCDC on the Bay Plan Amendment to address rising sea levels. In addition, Zack serves as a member of the Bay Area Regional Collaborative, which coordinates regional policies of MTC, ABAG, BAAQMD and BCDC. 

He serves as the current Chair of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. For many years he has served as general counsel to the Chamber, as well as to the East Bay Economic Development Alliance and to several non-profit corporations and foundations engaged in technology transfer and scientific development. 

An active member of the East Bay community, Zack has donated hundreds of hours of his time to committees and programs designed to enhance the economic development of Oakland and surrounding communities. 

Timothy Williams is a partner in Wendel Rosen’s real estate practice group. With more than 30 years of experience, Tim has represented clients in numerous and varied transactions, including sales, leases, secured loans, exchanges, property tax matters and construction industry contract matters. Clients include owners, developers, borrowers, landlords, tenants and others.

He has been a contributing author for several California Continuing Education of the Bar publications on topics including secured financing, office leasing and retail leasing. Additionally, Tim is an active member of the California and Alameda County bar associations’ real property sections.

Steve, an experienced business litigator, represents clients involved in real estate and complex business disputes. He has particular expertise in the areas of mortgages, deeds of trust, foreclosure and antideficiency issues, as well as guarantees and U.C.C. personal property-secured transactions. He has also taught at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and has provided expert testimony involving real estate secured transactions and guarantees as well as title insurance, escrow and related disputes. He works with all aspects of civil litigation and discovery through trial and appeal.

Mr. Morger has counseled cannabis industry clients on lease and financing transactions and defended property owners in claims brought by federally-chartered banks based on medical dispensary uses.

Amara understands municipal law, land use, and real estate from just about every angle. With more than 25 years of experience as an assistant city attorney, she’s worked closely with public officials and agencies, businesses and developers, and individuals and community groups on everything from approvals to zoning. Valued by clients for her responsive, determined, pragmatic style, she was named “Woman of Influence” by Globe Street Real Estate in 2019.

Real Estate, Land Use and Environmental Law

Amara has obtained land use entitlements for mixed use, residential, commercial, industrial and hotel development projects. She has extensive experience in all aspects of land use law, including compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Permit Streamlining Act, planning and zoning law, the Subdivision Map Act and affordable housing laws, including density bonus and SB 35. Her work involves negotiation with state and federal agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Delta Protection Commission.

Public Agencies

Amara assists Contra Costa County and Alameda County public sector clients, including special districts, with land use, zoning, development and redevelopment, environmental law, and resource protection and conservation, transportation, and aviation expertise. She is general counsel to various transportation agencies and various Geologic Hazard Abatement Districts (GHADs). She has been lead counsel on the development, implementation, and defense of general plans, specific plans, and neighborhood plans and related development project approvals.

Municipal Experience

Prior to private practice, Morrison served as assistant city attorney for Livermore and Walnut Creek, where she advised officials and staff on matters including the California Public Records Act, the Ralph M. Brown Act, public finance and contracts, solid waste, risk management and conflicts of interest, First Amendment, and redevelopment. She drafted the state’s first comprehensive no-smoking ordinance, which banned smoking in the workplace (including bars and restaurants), cigarette vending machines, and smoking in multi-family housing units, an action followed by jurisdictions around the country.

Dan leads Wendel Rosen’s real estate practice group and is also a partner in the firm’s land use group. He provides strategic counsel to clients on real estate transactions and guidance on optimizing real estate holdings.  He also assists clients with land use approvals and permitting matters. A skilled negotiator and dealmaker, he regularly writes and speaks on real estate topics. His clients include developers, commercial landlords and tenants, retail and service companies, governmental entities, small businesses, and individuals. Dan also advises clients on advertising and promotional matters.

Real Estate

With more than 20 years of experience, Dan represents real estate clients in all aspects of real property transactions. He negotiates and prepares transactional documents, including purchase and sale agreements, leases, and financing documents, assists clients in negotiating and resolving disputes, and counsels clients on land use and due diligence issues. He has experience representing clients on green leases and drafting green lease provisions. Dan also advises clients on the most effective strategies for disposal of surplus real property.

Land Use

Experienced in diverse areas of land use law, Dan works with clients to obtain land use approvals and conducts due diligence reviews for real estate and corporate transactions. He has represented clients before federal, state, and local agencies in land use, wetlands, air, water and hazardous waste/substances permitting matters.

Advertising, Sweepstakes and Promotions

Dan counsels companies regarding advertising and promotional matters, including in the fitness, food, entertainment, and retail industries. He reviews online, social media, electronic, print, radio, and television advertisements and promotions and contests/sweepstakes materials and advises on compliance with state and federal advertising, pricing, disclosure and substantiation laws and regulations.

Neal is a partner and part of the firm’s Real Estate, Land Use, and Public Agency practices. With a professional background in planning and economics, including masters degrees in city planning and transportation engineering, he offers private and public agency and private clients a unique mix of real estate and land use knowledge, experience and insight. He counsels on a range of matters including real estate transactions and agreements, easements and title issues, land use permitting, public projects and service contracts, and serving as public agency general counsel.

Real Estate and Land Use

For private industry and individual clients, Neal negotiates, drafts and analyzes agreements in for real estate transactions, including leases, purchase and sale contracts, easements and related agreements, and subdivision documents including CC&Rs. He also assists clients with land use and related permitting issues, including CEQA, zoning, and other regulatory matters.

Public Agency

Skilled in matters of public agency law and experienced in city planning and transportation issues, Neal guides public agency clients on matters related to construction, design and other professional service contracts and procurement. He also advises clients regarding the implications of, and potential revisions to, new and pending legislation. Neal also serves as general counsel to public agencies, advising on a broad range of issues.