SAN FRANCISCO, July 19, 2005 – Holland & Knight LLP furthers the West Coast expansion of its national environment and land use practice with the arrival of a prominent group of lawyers in its San Francisco and Los Angeles offices. The group, formerly with Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., is headed by Partners Jennifer Hernandez and Elizabeth (Betsy) Lake and includes David Friedman, Of Counsel, and six associates.
“These lawyers are highly regarded for their wealth of experience and knowledge in all aspects of natural resource and environmental transactions, complex project permitting, compliance counseling, and regulatory and legislative development,” said Amy Edwards, National Environmental Team leader.
This addition is the latest in a series of strategic growth moves for the firm’s Government Section, which recently has welcomed such high-profile arrivals as defense procurement lawyer Mary Ann Gilleece; Kathryn Lehman, former chief of staff for the House Republican Congress; and former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO).
“We have continued to expand and diversify our core practice groups in a meaningful way so that the firm can better serve its national client base,” said Whayne Quin, Land Use & Government practice group leader. “This group complements our existing strengths in environment and land use law and provides additional depth as we continue to build a strong presence in San Francisco and Los Angeles.”
About Jennifer Hernandez (Partner)
Ranked among California’s top 10 environmental lawyers by Chambers USA – America’s Leading Business Lawyers, Hernandez has achieved national prominence in work on brownfields redevelopment, wetlands and endangered species, and complex development projects. She represents clients in the private, public and non-profit sectors in land use and environmental project permitting, compliance, litigation and public advocacy work, and teaches land use and environmental law at Stanford Law School and the University of California.
Hernandez co-founded and served as the first board chair and general counsel for Landbank, Inc., was appointed by President Clinton and served on the board of trustees for the Presidio Trust for the Presidio National Park in San Francisco, and currently serves on the boards of the California Center for Land Recycling, the California League of Conservation Voters, and Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition. Mayor Brown proclaimed Oct. 9, 2002, as “Jennifer Hernandez Day in San Francisco” for her work on sustainable land use and called her a “warrior on the brownfield” for reclaiming vacant contaminated property for housing, parks and schools.
She received her undergraduate degree cum laude from Harvard University and her law degree from Stanford University. Hernandez will divide her time between the firm’s San Francisco and Los Angeles offices, and will serve as co-leader of the National Environment Team.
About Elizabeth Lake (Partner)
Lake’s practice focuses on natural resource and environmental transactions, complex project permitting, compliance counseling and regulatory and legislative development. She represents property owners, project proponents, corporations and public agencies in transactions, federal land leasing and concessions, conservation banking and mitigation transactions, and brownfields redevelopments. She also advises clients in land use, environmental review, permitting and litigation matters for complex land use and development projects involving environmental impact reports/statements, local entitlements, wetlands and endangered species issues.
Lake brings significant experience in the enactment and amendment of environmental and land use statutes and regulations as well as environmental management, audit and enforcement matters involving federal, state and local agency regulation of air and water quality, hazardous materials and waste management, radioactive and medical product and material management, worker safety, wetlands, protected species and land use. She is an appointed member of the California State Bar Environmental Section Executive Committee, a member of the Legislative Committee of the State Bar of California, Environmental Law Section and is a board member of the State Parks Association.
She received her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Amherst College and her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1995. Lake will work in the firm’s San Francisco office.
The team also includes:
David Friedman, Of Counsel, Land Use & Development, UCLA (J.D.)
Alfred Fraijo, Jr., Associate, Land Use & Environmental law, Loyola Law School, (J.D.)
Peter Landreth, Associate, Litigation & Project development, Stanford Law School (J.D.)
Nicole Leonard, Associate, Environmental law, Duke University School of Law (J.D.)
Amanda Monchamp, Associate, Land Use & Environmental law, Vermor Law School (J.D.)
Tamsen Plume, Associate, Land Use & Environmental law, University of California, (J.D.)
Danielle Sveska, Associate, Land Use & Environmental law, University of Michigan, (J.D.)
About Holland & Knight LLP: Holland & Knight is a commercial law firm with more than 1,250 lawyers in 26 offices in the United States. Internationally, offices are located in Mexico City, Tokyo and Beijing, with representative offices in Helsinki, Caracas and Tel Aviv. Holland & Knight is among the 15 largest firms worldwide, providing representation in all major areas of law. www.hklaw.com
Contact: Elizabeth Fogerty with Rubenstein Associates at 212-843-9287
