Press Release - Sedgwick Attracts Banner Real Estate Group

June 2007

Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold LLP announces that the six attorneys formerly of Woo & Associates, P.C. will join the firm's San Francisco office on Monday, June 25.  Led by Jeffery Woo, the real estate boutique focused its practice on representing institutional and regional property holders, and real estate professionals.  The services offered by Woo and associates David Blumenfeld, Harrison Nam, Scott Okamoto, Stanley Riddell and Stephen Sherman will complement Sedgwick's existing offerings to the real estate community, which include litigation and transactional services for a wide range of commercial real estate owners, developers, managers, lessees and professionals.  The addition of the six attorneys continues Sedgwick's growth in its San Francisco office and nationwide and reflects the firm's commitment to the expansion of its services through the hiring of experienced attorneys. 

"We welcome Jeff and his group to our team," said Steve Roland, head of Sedgwick's Commercial Practices Division and Real Estate Litigation Practice.  "Jeff's experience and reputation as well as that of his colleagues will enhance the current roster of real estate litigation and transactional services we offer our clients while adding new practice dimensions to our firm."

The Woo group has offered clients a broad variety of real estate litigation and transactional services.  However, their practice has been concentrated in the representation of property owners in leasing and related landlord-tenant matters. 

"International firms with multinational corporate clients can sometimes fall into the trap of overlooking the service requirements of potential clients in our own backyards," said Kevin Dunne, Sedgwick chairman.  "While Sedgwick will always represent many Fortune 100 clients, we also remain focused on the development of local client relationships from each of our 13 locations.  With his deep roots in the Northern California real estate community, Jeff and his group bring a knowledge of local real estate practices that is unsurpassed and will be a tremendous benefit to our clients in this region."

The move by Woo and his associates to Sedgwick is indicative of a growing trend among small firms that move their practice to firms with a national or international presence.  Larger firms offer a network of administrative support and can provide a platform to launch services into new geographic markets.  However, a common firm culture and client service philosophy are essential for these moves to be successful. 

"I have run my own firm for over 16 years and wouldn't consider moving to a large firm unless we shared the same culture and client service values," noted Woo.  "Sedgwick believes in providing extraordinary legal counsel to their clients.  They offer real world, actionable advice that makes clients' business and personal interests a top priority.  My clients expect that and will continue to receive it at Sedgwick."

Biographies

Jeffery Woo, who joins Sedgwick as special counsel, has 20 years of experience in real estate and general business litigation and counseling.  Since opening his own firm 16 years ago, his practice has focused on the representation of both major institutional and regional property owners and lessees, real estate brokers, commercial office and retail property developers, buyers and sellers, and homeowners associations.  The types of matters Woo typically handles include commercial and residential unlawful detainer; leasing, purchase and sale issues; failure to disclose; and boundary, easement and partition actions.  He received his J.D. from the University of California, Davis (1987) and his B.S. from the University of Southern California (1984).  He has a master's in community planning candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, with an emphasis in public/private project development and housing.

David Blumenfeld, Harrison Nam, Scott Okamoto, Stanley Riddell and Stephen Sherman join Sedgwick as associates and will continue to represent clients in real estate and general business litigation and transactions.  Blumenfeld received his J.D. from the University of San Francisco (1984) and A.B. from Washington University (1980).  Nam earned his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1997) and B.A. from Amherst College (1994).  Okamoto earned his J.D. from the University of San Francisco (2004), his MBA from the University of San Francisco Masagung School of Business and Management (2004), and his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley (1999).  Riddell received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1999) and his B.A., with honors, from California State University, San Bernardino (1995).  Sherman received his J.D. from the University of California at Davis, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School of Law (1989) and his B.A., cum laude, from the University of San Francisco (1986).