The National Law Journal has named Coblentz to its 2015 Midsize Hotlist. This is the second consecutive year the Firm has been awarded this elite recognition, and third year overall. The NLJ list recognizes only 20 law firms nationally with between 51 and 150 attorneys “that excel at deal making, litigation, counseling and other legal services,” as well as “have demonstrated creative strategies that keep them competitive against much larger law firms. They build cultures that attract and retain top talent. And they take pains to understand and serve their clients’ needs.”

In its profile of Coblentz, the National Law Journal quotes San Francisco 49ers Director of Legal Affairs, Hannah Gordon, as saying of the Firm, “They are just really good people who give solid advice.” Coblentz Co-Managing Partner, Alan Gennis, notes the Firm “has established itself as one of San Francisco’s premiere real estate and litigation firms in part because it focuses on the future,” recognizing emerging practice groups, managing space and technology with greater efficiency and placing a strong emphasis on pro bono work and Firm diversity.

Coblentz was also named to the Midsize Hotlist in 2014 and 2011. Click here to read more.

Chambers & Partners, publishers of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, has again awarded Coblentz a Band 1 ranking in the Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use – California category. The firm was also recognized in the Real Estate California category.

Partners Pam Duffy and Harry O’Brien are once again ranked in Bands 1 and 2, respectively. Of Pam Duffy, one client notes she is regarded as “a land use force in the city,” and another states Harry O’Brien is “very skilled, understands the politics of San Francisco and is deserving of recognition.”

According the Chambers, the Coblentz team “combines capabilities in transactional work with leading expertise in land use and development matters. Provides counsel to prominent commercial real estate developers on areas such as entitlements for major mixed-use development projects.”

Chambers quotes a client: “I appreciate their ability to think outside the box. Land use entitlement is more of an art than a science, and they’re very helpful in presenting options that may not be as obvious.”

London-based Chambers and Partners notes that it conducts intensive, continuous research to identify the world’s leading lawyers and law firms – those who perform best according to the criteria most valued by clients. The process, which extends over several months, includes written submissions, personal interviews, client feedback, and peer assessment. Chambers USA was first introduced in 2003.

The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) of The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) celebrated its most outstanding volunteers at its annual Volunteer Celebration on May 12. Chief Justice of California Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye was on hand to present awards.

More than 200 people attended the event, held at the Louis B. Mayer Lounge at UC University of California College of Law, San Francisco. JDC honored volunteers of its Legal Services and Diversity Educational programs. Guest of honor Chief Justice of California Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye provided inspirational remarks at the awards ceremony and greeted awardees. JDC Board President Timothy Moppin, Kaufman Dolowich Voluck, also made remarks and congratulated awardees.

JDC honored the top 15 percent of the volunteers in its Pro Bono Legal Services Program, Homeless Advocacy Project and Diversity Educational Programs with Outstanding Volunteer in Public Service Certificates.

Coblentz recipients honored with Outstanding Volunteer in Public Service Certificates were Jeff Bernstein, Bejan Fanibanda, Fred Fields, Mark Hejinian, Stephen Lanctot, David Mehretu, Misti Schmidt, Katharine Van Dusen and Clifford Yin.

Read more from JDC here.

Partners Jon Bass and Tim Crudo are quoted in “What New Litigators Can Do To Win Their First Trial,” Law360
April 29, 2015

Law360, New York – “Litigating your first case is terrifying. Are you prepared? Will the judge and jury take you seriously? Will you ask the right questions? Will your witnesses do well on the stand? Will you win?” Jon Bass and Tim Crudo offer their advice:

Jon Bass: “Be scared, but don’t be intimidated. Your opponent may have tried a few cases, but that doesn’t mean she has the better side of this one. Be open about your inexperience, rather than trying to conceal it. The judge is your friend in your first trial, so accept her helping hand with grace. And simplify your case as much as possible, or more so. A good case will benefit from being stripped down to its core. Layers of complexity won’t improve a bad one, and you’ll have made your job harder than it needs to be.”

Tim Crudo: “Two words: short and simple. That goes for opening, direct and cross-exams, and closing. Even — and especially — for long trials, distill your documents and witnesses to what is essential and use those to drive home your (short and simple) theory of the case. Evidence is a two-edged sword, and a good trial lawyer will know how to turn yours against you. And at some point you lose a jury if you keep hitting it over the head with the same point. So figure out what you really need and cut out the rest. Less really is more.”

Coblentz is named to BTI Consulting Group’s report, BTI Brand Elite 2015: Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms.

Based on corporate counsel feedback, Coblentz is known for standing out for its client recommendations, earning a place on BTI’s Honor Roll of Most Recommended Firms. BTI develops the report based on in-depth interviews with 648 corporate counsel at the world’s largest and most influential companies. BTI Brand Elite 2015 only includes law firms with the definitive imprint on corporate counsel in key factors clients rely on to differentiate law firms.

Congratulations to partner Pam Duffy, recognized as one of 75 “Outstanding Women Lawyers” in the  country by the prestigious National Law Journal, which identified 75 of the most accomplished women attorneys in the legal profession today.

“The building boom in the San Francisco Bay Area owes a lot to Pamela Duffy,” writes the National Law Journal. The award honors her particular work with California Pacific Medical Center in its $2.5 billion rebuilding project, and the Firm’s collaborative work with the San Francisco 49ers and the Exploratorium.

T. Wade Welch & Associate / DISH Network v. OneBeacon Insurance Co. was named to the National Law Journal’s “Top 100 Verdicts of 2014.” This verdict was #63 nationally and #8 in Texas in 2014.

Coblentz represented DISH Network L.L.C. in a ten-day federal jury trial in Houston, Texas. The trial took place in October 2014  in Houston and involved complicated insurance coverage and legal malpractice issues. The jury deliberated for only three hours before returning a verdict awarding DISH and its co-defendant $34.5 million.

The trial team included Richard Patch, Rees Morgan, Mark Hejinian and Howard Slavitt.

Coblentz partner Clifford Yin was featured in Law360’s Minority Powerbrokers series. In the question and answer series, Cliff shared his perspective on law firm diversity and issues facing minority lawyers today, stating that “Allowing lawyers of color to formulate and influence strategy and policy and to serve as role models for up-and-coming lawyers is critical, not just to a firm’s diversity efforts but to its ability to compete, succeed and grow. I am fortunate enough to be a partner in a firm that places an enormous value in hiring, retaining and promoting attorneys of color and women.”

Read the Q&A here.

Coblentz partner Paul Tauber was appointed as a civilian observer on behalf of the Pacific Council on International Policy to observe a week of pre-trial hearings in the U.S. v. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GTMO). Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is the alleged mastermind of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, and stands trial along with four others. In 2013 the Pacific Council was granted official NGO observer status at the Military Commission at GTMO, joining a group of organizations, including the American Bar Association and Amnesty International, that have the privilege of sending a representative to observe proceedings at GTMO.

Paul Tauber’s GTMO assignment follows the lead of the late William (Bill) Coblentz, who was also appointed as an observer by the American Bar Association in 1989 when he traveled to Singapore on behalf of the ABA to observe the trials of four Singaporean lawyers accused of conspiring to undermine the government.

Coblentz attorneys Pamela Duffy, Aaron Foxworthy and Misti Schmidt counseled seller 350 Beach Road LLC in the entitlement and nearly $48M sale of an 18-acre office site property in Burlingame Point to a Chinese investment group. The site is approved for office, life science, retail and restaurant uses, and described by the San Francisco Business Times as “the most significant office project to rise in Burlingame in years.”

Click here to read more.