Friday, July 20, 2001
Page 3
Sheppard Mullin Lawyer Follows Others in Move to Paul Hastings
By Kimberly Edds, Staff Writer
Real estate finance lawyer Mark Nelson has joined Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker as Of Counsel in the firm’s Los Angeles office.
Nelson, a former partner with Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, follows a stream of attorneys who have left that firm for Paul Hastings.
Two Sheppard Mullin partners, including Nelson, and three associates have made the move to Paul Hastings since the beginning of the year, Paul Hastings Real Estate Department Chair Philip N. Feder said.
Nelson, who was recommended to the firm by former Sheppard Mullin colleague Frank Iaffaldano, joins 32 other lawyers who make up the Los Angeles real estate department.
Iaffaldano joined Paul Hastings in January.
Sheppard Mullin did not return phone calls for comment.
Nelson, who represents institutional lenders in real estate joint ventures and development, will be bringing the majority of his clients with him to Paul Hastings, Feder said.
Feder said he was pleased to have Nelson join his team, noting that the addition could “only add to the firm’s well-established reputation in real estate law”.
“He has a very loyal clientele of institutional lenders,” Feder said of Nelson. “He adds a further dimension to our practice.”
Nelson’s area of expertise focuses on financing projects with tax-exempt bonds in which government agencies issue bonds to allow funding for the construction of homes for low and moderate income people.
Feder said Nelson’s practice at Paul Hastings will basically be a continuation of his practice while he was at Sheppard Mullin.
Nelson represents Bank of America and Wells Fargo in issuing letters of credit to back up the bonds and encourage investment.
Nelson received his law degree from University of California, Davis in 1979 after completing his undergraduate degree from California State College, Stanislaus.
Copyright 2001, Metropolitan News Company