Firm Developments

The Firm Expands its Construction Litigation Practice and Las Vegas Office with the Addition of Three Highly Regarded Lawyers

 

We are pleased to introduce three lawyers who have recently joined Dongell Lawrence Finney LLP to strengthen the Firm’s construction litigation practice.  Dennis Naish and Tim Swickard have joined the Firm as partners, and Robert Katz is now Of Counsel.  These highly regarded lawyers bring valuable expertise and knowledge to the Firm, allowing us to continue to expand the services we provide to our construction and real estate development clients.

Dennis Naish has been practicing construction law in Los Angeles for over 18 years, having previously practiced with Thelen Reid & Priest, Castle & Associates, and Cox, Castle & Nicholson, firms with well known construction litigation practices.

Dennis is an accomplished litigator of complex construction disputes ranging from delay and cost overrun claims to large scale construction defect claims.  A list of Dennis’ representative past litigation matters includes:

·         Represented contractor asserting multi-million dollar productivity and impact claims arising out of fast-track construction of professional baseball stadium;

·         Represented contractor in defense of multi-million dollar construction defect claims asserted by state university;

·         Defended contractor against delay and productivity claims of subcontractor arising out of construction of luxury hotel;

·         Defended homebuilder against claims brought by multiple homeowners alleging construction defects in numerous systems and components of single family homes;

·         Defended design-build contractor against subcontractor's delay and impact claims arising out of construction of consolidated rail corridor;

·         Represented contractor asserting multi-million dollar delay and productivity claims arising out of construction of state prison;

·         Represented design-build contractor asserting claims against municipality arising out of termination of municipal light rail project;

·         Represented steel fabricator and erector asserting labor productivity claims against design-build contractor arising out of construction of federal courthouse;

·         Represented public works contractor in breach of contract claim against municipality arising out of default termination;

·         Represented real estate developer asserting claims for damages against structural engineer arising out of development of mixed-use condominium project;

·         Defended architect against multi-million dollar delay and impact claims asserted by contractors on municipal public works project;

·         Represented real estate developer defending against multi-million dollar lien claims asserted by contractors, and asserting multi-million dollar delay and impact claims against design team;

·         Represented developer of condominium project against action brought by homeowners association alleging construction defects in project; and

·         Defended municipality in multi-party construction claim case arising out of delay and impact claims asserted by subcontractor.

 

Dennis has also lectured to industry groups and legal groups on topics such as handling and avoiding claims on construction projects, the rights and remedies available to owners, contractors and design professionals facing claims on construction projects, California mechanic’s lien law, and negotiating AIA contract forms.  Dennis has also developed a complete understanding and expertise with all the major families of construction contracts, such as the AIA, AGC, and EJCDC contract forms. 

We are excited to have Dennis join the Firm, and we will add Dennis to our team of lawyers servicing our construction client base.

Tim Swickard, as explained separately in the section below, brings tremendous insight and practical experience to the Firm’s construction and real estate development client base.  As Chief Legal Counsel and Director of CalEPA/Department of Toxic Substances Control during Governor Schwarzenegger’s first term, Mr. Swickard possesses an unparalleled knowledge and expertise in nearly all aspects of environmental, real estate development, construction, and public agency law matters, whether compliance or litigation related.

Rob Katz has also joined the Firm.  Rob will be resident in our Las Vegas office, and will bring to the Firm his many years of experience in effectively handling construction defect and toxic tort litigation.  Rob is a member of the Nevada and Arizona Bars, and is well known for successfully defending complex construction defect cases in each state.  Rob’s expertise will broaden the Firm’s capabilities to handle construction law matters in Nevada, Arizona, and California, and will spur the Firm’s expansion of our Las Vegas office.

 

Senior Schwarzenegger Appointee Tim Swickard Joins Firm as Partner

 

As Chief Legal Counsel and Director of the Department of Toxic Substances Control during Governor Schwarzenegger’s first term, Mr. Swickard brings to the Firm’s Clients an unparalleled knowledge and expertise in nearly all aspects of environmental, real estate development, construction and public agency law matters, whether compliance or litigation related.

 

Appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2004 as Chief Counsel of the Department of Toxic Substances Control (“Department”), Mr. Swickard oversaw the Department’s Office of Legal Counsel of 24 attorneys and numerous support staff, the Criminal Investigation Branch of 10 Peace Officers, as well as the Forensic Investigation, CEQA, and Regulations Units.  In addition to providing ongoing legal advice to the Director and Department programs, Mr. Swickard initiated the Criminal Hazardous Waste Sting Unit targeting unlicensed transporters of hazardous waste, the Department’s Risk-Based Enforcement Initiative re-prioritizing enforcement resources to target violators posing the highest risk to public health and the environment, and the Mercury Lamp and E-Waste Compliance Enforcement Initiative.  He also initiated the Department’s Nusiance Law Site Cleanup Regulations and the AB 389 Brownfields Remediation Program jointly with the State Water Resources Control Board to facilitate remediation and reuse of smaller low risk brownfields sites.  During his tenure, Mr. Swickard also negotiated the final model Joint Consent Decree language between the State of California and the EPA.

 

Governor Schwarzenegger later appointed Mr. Swickard to serve as the Director of the Department.  As the Depart- ment’s Director, Mr. Swickard further implemented the initiatives discussed above.

 

Mr. Swickard’s law practice includes the representation of large developers, public agencies, insurers, and resource conservation landowners in the areas of Federal and State environ-mental law and litigation, land use entitlement, real estate development, construction, natural resource regulation, environmental compliance and hazardous waste law, and water law.

 

Before commencing his legal practice, Mr. Swickard served as a Judicial Extern for the Honorable Edward C. Reed Jr., Senior Judge, United States District Court, District of Nevada, and for the Honorable Gregory G. Hollows, Chief Magistrate Judge, United States District Court, E.D. Cal.

 

Mr. Swickard received his Juris Doctor Cum Laude from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where he was awarded the Traynor Honor Society Award for Academic Excellence.  Mr. Swickard double majored in Agricultural Business Management and Biochemistry in receiving his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of California, Davis, where he also received the Regents Scholarship Award for Academic Excellence.


Mr. Swickard and Richard Dongell both offered the following comments regarding the addition of Mr. Swickard:

    • “Dongell Lawrence Finney is not only one of the busiest law firms in the state, it’s also regularly involved in some of the most interesting, cutting-edge environmental and regulatory work out there.  That’s probably the main reason I chose to practice law here.”  Tim Swickard

    • “When Tim Swickard has had anything to say about environmental, real estate development, or construction related matters, lawyers and clients alike would listen.  And for good reason.  From the top down, Tim was a leader for change in the way government regulated business in these areas.  And from the bottom up, Tim really knows his stuff.  He’s a season-ed litigator and regulatory lawyer and really understands how the law works in these areas.”  Richard Dongell

Glenn Weinman Joins the Firm to Head Up Its Transactional Practice

We are pleased to announce that Glenn Weinman joined the Firm in October, 2006 to head up the Firm’s corporate and business transactions practice.  Glenn brings to the Firm his experience gained both as the General Counsel for two publicly-traded companies, Guess? Inc. and Luminent, Inc., and as an attorney in private practice with large national firms.

Throughout his career, Glenn has negotiated numerous major mergers and acquisitions, prepared private companies for public offerings (ensuring that all reporting and required procedures were completed), and negotiated several major loan restructuring and workout transactions. 

Glenn regularly prepares corporate license agreements, financial agreements, confidentiality and employment agreements, and commercial lease agreements.  Glenn also regularly counsels clients regarding appropriate business structures to accomplish their goals and forms entities, including partnerships, corporations, and joint ventures.

While General Counsel, he also established legal practices and policies, intellectual property management programs, financial reporting procedures consistent with SEC requirements, managed the legal, human resources, risk management, shareholder relations, and domestic and international contractor compliance departments. 

Glenn obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1978, and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Southern California Law Center in 1981.

The Firm Promotes Two of its Senior Associates to Partners

The Firm is pleased to announce that Josh Levine and Michael Gallagher have joined our partnership ranks.  Both Josh and Mike have worked for many years as associates with the Firm’s lawyers, and have consistently demonstrated their outstanding legal and leadership skills, their commitment to our clients, the Firm, and the practice of law.

Four New Associates Join the Firm

The Firm welcomes Ani Gasparyan, Daniel Cho, Michael Gold, and Emily Atherton.