Addition of Deborah M. Rosenthal, L. Elizabeth Strahlstrom Continues Bingham’s Growth of Land Use and Development Practice in California SAN FRANCISCO
(May 9, 2007) – LAWFUEL – The Law Newswire – Bingham McCutchen LLP announces the arrival of Deborah M. Rosenthal and L. Elizabeth Strahlstrom as partners in the firm’s Land Use and Development Practice Group. Rosenthal joins the Orange County office, and Strahlstrom joins the San Francisco office. Strahlstrom comes to Bingham from Steefel, Levitt & Weiss in San Francisco, where she was a partner, while Rosenthal joins from the real estate boutique Cox, Castle & Nicholson in Irvine. Their arrival continues a period of growth for the Land Use and Development Practice, which added partner Geoffrey K. Willis and a team of five attorneys with significant experience in the commercial land use market from Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold LLP to the Orange County office earlier this year.
“The additions of Elizabeth and Deborah build upon the success Geoff Willis and his team have had since they joined the Land Use and Development Group,” said Cecily Talbert, a Walnut Creek partner and co-leader of the Land Use and Development Practice.
“Their arrival affirms our commitment to strengthening our presence in all our California offices and enhancing the services we provide to our clients.” Strahlstrom’s practice emphasizes land use, real estate development, and environmental law, and she represents clients from the beginning of the entitlement process through any subsequent legal challenge filed in court. She focuses on CEQA and National Environmental Policy Act compliance, natural resources, energy development, public trust and coastal matters, endangered species, cultural and historic resources, initiatives and referendums, public land permitting, and administrative proceedings and litigation.
“I am thrilled to be practicing on such a strong platform with the firm’s nationally renowned land use and development lawyers, and I look forward to growing the firm’s California practice, particularly in the area of commercial real estate development,” Strahlstrom said. “The lawyers at Bingham share my enthusiasm for preventive planning in the land use entitlement process, where potential litigation issues are spotted and addressed in advance of project approval.”
Strahlstrom has extensive experience litigating land use matters, including the successful defense of a CEQA challenge brought against the Los Angeles Unified School District concerning its CEQA compliance for the Ambassador Hotel school project in Los Angeles. She also has significant experience practicing before the California Courts of Appeal in cases concerning the interpretation of CEQA.
A member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, Rosenthal devotes her practice to land use and environmental law and litigation, bringing more than 25 years of experience to the firm. She works extensively with land use and environmental issues in California, including wetlands, endangered species, takings, historic preservation, mitigation banking and development agreements.
Rosenthal has also been involved in a variety of complex federal- and state-coordinated environmental permitting programs for large private developments, including the negotiation of development agreements and preparation of development plans. She will continue to focus on large residential development projects, primarily in southern California.
“Joining Bingham is an opportunity to combine my practice with a strong group of experienced land use lawyers whose approach to solving complex permitting problems matches my own,” Rosenthal said. “I hope to bring my years of experience in large residential projects to match the Orange County office’s experience in commercial development. With our backgrounds, we can provide land use support from due diligence through litigation.” A major portion of Rosenthal’s practice is devoted to the California Environmental Quality Act, inverse condemnation and general plan litigation in connection with land use entitlements for large residential real estate developers. She represents clients in complex land use matters across California, with emphasis on the Inland Empire and San Diego.
Rosenthal is a 1981 graduate of Yale Law School, and she also holds a master’s degree in regional and city planning from the University of Oklahoma. She is a 1972 graduate of the University of Michigan. Strahlstrom is a 1994 graduate of the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law and a 1990 graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Bingham McCutchen LLP – www.bingham.com – is an international law firm with nearly 1,000 attorneys in 13 offices. The firm represents clients in high-stakes litigation, complex financing and financial regulatory matters, government affairs, and a wide variety of sophisticated corporate and technology transactions.
