Our latest featured speaker is George Pincus from Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A.!

George will be speaking at our upcoming seminar, An Introduction to Commercial Real Estate Transactions: The Big Four in Fort Lauderdale on September 28th! We are excited to have him join us, and we know our attendees will appreciate the information he’ll provide during the seminar. (George is not related to our CEO, Faith Pincus, in case anyone was wondering!)

George A. Pincus is a Shareholder in the Real Estate Department and serves as a member of the Firm’s Board of Directors. As a transactional real estate lawyer, his practice focuses on office, industrial, retail and build-to-suit leasing representing both landlords and tenants, purchase and sale transactions for both buyers and sellers of office, industrial, retail, multifamily and vacant/developable land projects, real estate finance transactions with an emphasis on representing borrowers and developers in construction loans, term loans and refinancings with banks and life lenders, CMBS loans from securitized lenders, and multifamily loans from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, real estate private equity transactions, real estate development matters, and distressed debt transactions involving the purchase of defaulted mortgage loans from lenders and special servicers.

George has been actively involved in NAIOP, Commercial Real Estate Development Association for many years and has served in a variety of leadership positions in NAIOP’s local, state and national organizations. He has published articles on commercial leasing topics and teaches continuing education classes and webinars sponsored by the Florida Bar, NAIOP, and other real estate professional organizations on commercial leasing, real estate transactions, finance and development.

With depth of experience in representing landlords, tenants, buyers, sellers, developers, borrowers, funds and investors in real estate and real estate related private equity transactions, George is a solution-driven attorney who recognizes the importance of closing deals for his clients.

Our latest featured speaker is William McGuinn from Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger LLP!

Bill will be speaking at our upcoming seminar, An Introduction to Commercial Real Estate Transactions: The Big Four in Chicago on September 14th! We are excited to have him join us, and we know our attendees will benefit from the knowledge he’ll share during his presentation.

Bill concentrates his practice in commercial real estate, subsidized residential housing and strategic planning for entrepreneurs. He represents real estate developers, commercial landlords, tenants and various closely-held businesses in complex transactions, locally and throughout the country.

Our latest featured speaker is Belma Demirovic Chinchoy from EB5 Plus Immigration Law, P.C.!

We are pleased to have Belma speak for us for the first time at our EB-5 Investor Based Immigration Conference in Los Angeles on October 4-5, 2018! Belma has extensive experience guiding foreign entrepreneurs in setting up immigration-compliant businesses and pursuing EB-5, E-2, EB-1 and L-1 visas and advising US-based businesses on ways in which immigration programs can benefit their operations. We are excited to have her speak and we know our attendees will benefit from the knowledge she’ll share!

Belma Demirovic Chinchoy’s practice focuses on representing businesses and investors/entrepreneurs in immigration matters. Within the EB-5 field, Ms. Demirovic Chinchoy has developed a sub-specialty in direct EB-5 investments and in responding to complex RFEs. Ms. Demirovic Chinchoy has worked on over 200 EB-5 cases ranging from small-scale projects with one or a few direct investors to 0M regional center sponsored projects. Regardless of the size of the client’s undertaking, Ms. Demirovic Chinchoy takes pride in getting to know each of her clients on a personal level and in learning a valuable lesson about law from each of her clients.

Ms. Demirovic Chinchoy also works closely with start-up and small companies and assists them with employment-based petitions. Start-up and small companies require enterprising and nimble counsel that can accompany clients through their growth phases, and Ms. Demirovic Chinchoy thrives in devising legal strategies and solutions customized to each business’ specific needs.

Ms. Demirovic Chinchoy is a member of the State Bar of California and is admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court of California and California Central District Federal Court. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota and also attended Pepperdine University Law School in Malibu, California. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Politics, summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Prior to her legal career, Ms. Demirovic Chinchoy worked in the international human rights field as an advocate and fundraiser.

Ms. Demirovic Chinchoy is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (AILA), Los Angeles County Bar Association, Beverly Hills Bar Association and EB5Investors.com.

Our latest featured speaker is Kenneth Masters from Masters Law Group PLLC!

One of our favorite speakers, Kenneth will be returning to speak at our upcoming 3rd Annual Advanced Appellate Conference on September 14, 2018 in Seattle! This will be the third year in a row that Kenneth has spoken at our Annual Advanced Appellate Conferences in Seattle. He has also spoken at every other appellate seminar we have held in Washington over the past ten years. Yes, Ken is that fabulous! Past seminar attendees have said he offers a wealth of information, and that his presentations are at a “masterful guru” level with well-prepared content. We appreciate how engaging he is with our attendees and can’t wait to have him back!

Ken Masters celebrates 26 years of litigating civil appeals in 2018. Ken currently is a Trustee of the Washington State Bar Foundation, and recently substantially revised the Brief Writing chapter in the Appellate Practice Deskbook (WSBA 2017). He previously served as Treasurer and Governor for the Washington State Bar, and has chaired and served on numerous committees for various bar associations, as well as dozens of CLEs on appellate practice, writing, and other areas. Ken is honored to have been listed as a “Top 10” Super Lawyer® Honoree in 2017, and to have received a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from America’s Top 100 Attorneys®. He is a Fellow both of the American Bar Foundation and of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

Our latest featured speaker is Sean Matsler from Cox Castle Nicholson!

Our latest Featured Speaker is LaVonne Lawson from the Law Office of LaVonne Lawson!

We are pleased to have LaVonne on the faculty panel for our upcoming Practical Tax Planning Under the 2017 Tax Act: How to Take Advantage of the Good and Minimize the Bad seminar on July 20th in Los Angeles! LaVonne is an experienced tax attorney, representing individuals and entities in federal and California state tax matters, and we know our attendees will benefit from the knowledge she has to share.

In addition to operating her own practice in Los Angeles, LaVonne is Of Counsel with the law firm, Albrecht & Barney, in Irvine.

She is a former Senior Attorney with the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, where she litigated federal tax cases in the United States Tax Court, worked with Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Department of Justice attorneys in tax cases outside of the Tax Court, and advised revenue agents and revenue officers. She also previously worked with the law firm, Pillsbury Winthrop, where she focused on tax issues involving start-up companies.

LaVonne is the Second Vice-President of the Beverly Hills Bar Association and is a member of Black Women Lawyers Los Angeles. She previously served on the Executive Committee of the California State Bar Taxation Section and is a former Chair of the Taxation Section’s Tax Procedure and Litigation Committee.

Raised in Southern California, LaVonne holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and English from Stanford University and a JD/MBA from Duke University.

Our latest Featured Speaker is Howard Goodfriend from Smith Goodfriend!

We are pleased to have Howard back for our upcoming 3rd Annual Advanced Appellate Conference in Seattle on September 14, 2018! Howard has previously spoken at our Advanced Appellate Roundtable in 2013, where seminar attendees raved about his knowledgeability, interesting comments, and respectful demeanor. We look forward to having him speak!

Howard M. Goodfriend is a principal in the Seattle firm of Smith Goodfriend, P.S., Seattle’s oldest appellate boutique.  Howard has argued hundreds of civil appeals in almost every substantive area of the law, representing individuals, publicly traded companies, small businesses, professionals, hospitals, state and local governments. He is co-editor-in-chief of the Washington State Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Deskbook and author of the Appellate Practice chapter of the King County Bar Association Young Lawyer Division’s Washington Lawyers Practice Manual.  Howard is a Fellow and a director of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, is a founding member and past president of the Washington Appellate Lawyers Association, and has been repeatedly recognized by his peers as one of Washington’s top ten appellate lawyers and top 100 lawyers.

We are pleased to announce our latest featured speaker, Jennifer Post, from Thompson Coburn LLP!  Jennifer will be speaking at our upcoming Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain & Initial Coin Offerings seminar, where she will discuss topics including: Forming a mining company, Fundamental tax considerations, SEC guidance, and Contract drafting issues.

Jennifer Post is a Partner in the Thomas Coburn’s Corporate and Securities practice group. She serves as primary outside counsel to a variety of individuals, institutions and companies, including entrepreneurs, venture capital firms and emerging companies, as well as domestic and international public companies.

Jennifer’s practice encompasses all areas of general corporate and securities law, including private placements of equity and debt securities, mergers and acquisitions, and venture capital fund formation. Jennifer advises her company clients in many aspects of their businesses including financings, acquisitions, divestitures, licensing and distribution arrangements, equity compensation and joint ventures and strategic partnerships. Jennifer also represents venture capital firms in their formation, fundraising efforts and maintenance, as well as in their investments in early and later stage operating companies and in complex transactions and restructurings. Jennifer has a unique niche representing private capital lenders including venture debt lenders and hedge funds in lending transactions in both domestic and cross-border facilities.

A prolific speaker and media commentator, Jennifer was recently profiled in the California Lawyer’s M&A Roundtable. Additionally, Jennifer has presented at Digital Hollywood, the Metropole Global’s Crowdfunding Conference, NextGen’s Entrepreneurship & Global Crowdfunding Forum, the Beverly Hills Bar Association and the American Bar Association, among others.