Mintz Levin Expands Real Estate Practice in San Diego
8/4/2010
Commercial Real Estate Attorney Dawn Saunders Joins Firm as Of Counsel
San Diego, CA – Prominent commercial real estate attorney Dawn Saunders, formerly of Cooley, LLP, has joined the San Diego office of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. as Of Counsel, continuing the expansion of the firm's West Coast presence.
With an extensive background representing tenants and landlords, including REITs and institutional owners, Ms. Saunders focuses on complex commercial real estate issues, including purchase and sale transactions and commercial leasing.
"There has been an uptick in commercial real estate activity as tenants see opportunities to favorably renegotiate lease terms during the down economy," said Scott Biel, a San Diego-based member in the firm's Real Estate Section. "Dawn has built an outstanding reputation among both tenants and landlords in the region for her commercial leasing work and ability to creatively solve complex problems. Her experience will complement the office's existing real estate capabilities as well as our growing West Coast real estate practice."
"In less than four years, Mintz Levin has tripled the size of the San Diego office and become a major player in the region's legal community," said Eddie Wang Rodriguez, Managing Member of Mintz Levin's San Diego office. "Dawn's addition is an example of our ongoing commitment to building the firm's San Diego office – and West Coast presence generally – through the addition of extraordinary legal talent and expansion of key practice areas."
A well known figure in the local real estate community, Ms. Saunders' clients include technology and biotech companies, retail, medical and start-up companies, among others. Prior to joining Mintz Levin, she was in the Real Estate Leasing practice group at Cooley LLP, where she advised clients on a range of real estate matters including the leasing implications of mergers, acquisitions, related corporate financing and restructurings. She is a graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law where she was named a member of the Order of the Coif and served as an Assistant Editor of the San Diego Law Review.
Mintz Levin's Real Estate Section has represented clients in sophisticated, large-scale real estate, acquisition, disposition, development, financing and leasing transactions for over 25 years. The firm combines professional skill with practical judgment and political acumen to advance clients' real estate interests and takes a multidisciplinary approach tapping practices across the firm as necessary such as tax, environmental, communications, health law, life sciences, energy and clean technology and corporate.
