Farella Braun + Martel Elevates Three Attorneys
SAN FRANCISCO, (April 21, 2009): Farella Braun + Martel elevates associates Ruth Ann E. Castro, Ilene Dick and Patrick R. McKinney to special counsel.
Castro represents and counsels public and private clients in environmental, products and litigation matters. Her environmental litigation experience includes representation of universities, public agencies and companies in the apparel, wine, agricultural, water treatment and manufacturing industries regarding cost recovery, federal and state enforcement actions, and citizen suits. She also counsels and represents manufacturers, distributors and retailers on a variety of product-related issues, including the defense of actions brought under California's Proposition 65. Castro earned her J.D., cum laude, from Tulane University Law School (2000) and her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley (1995).
Dick has more than 15 years of experience in land use, redevelopment and building code matters throughout Northern California. Her practice focuses on assisting owners in obtaining entitlements from cities and counties, such as conditional use authorization, variances and building permits. She also advises clients on compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). She has secured entitlements for several contentious projects in San Francisco, including approval of 150 housing units at the site of a historic Mission District printing plant and rehabilitation of many historic homes and properties in San Francisco. Dick has municipal agency and government experience, previously serving as Director of Housing for the City of East Palo Alto and as Deputy City Attorney specializing in land use and building code matters for the City of San Francisco. She earned her J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, as well as a Master of City Planning (MCP) from the University of California, Berkeley (1990). She earned her B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley (1982).
McKinney's practice encompasses construction and insurance coverage law. In the construction area, he represents and counsels owners, contractors and design professionals in a wide variety of matters, including differing site conditions, delays, deficient construction, and design errors and omissions. On the insurance coverage side, he represents and counsels policyholders seeking coverage under many types of insurance policies, including primary and excess general liability, professional liability, and life insurance. He has represented insureds in mediations, arbitrations, trials and appeals involving the interpretation of policy language under California law. McKinney earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (2001) and his B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles (1994).
Farella Braun + Martel represents clients throughout the United States and abroad in sophisticated business, real estate and environmental transactions and high-stakes commercial, civil and criminal litigation. Founded in 1962, the firm is headquartered in San Francisco and maintains an office in the Napa Valley focused on the wine industry. Farella Braun + Martel lawyers are known for their imaginative legal solutions, dynamism and intellectual creativity. With an unwavering service ethic and interdisciplinary team approach, the firm is committed to advancing clients' objectives in the most effective, coordinated and efficient manner. Farella Braun + Martel is a Green Business. www.fbm.com
Contacts:
Melinda Hepp / Traci Stuart
Blattel Communications
415.397.4811
[email protected] / [email protected]
Cheryl Loof
Farella Braun + Martel LLP
415 954.4433 / [email protected]
