Cox, Castle & Nicholson Welcomes Two New Partners to San Francisco Office
Attorneys Arielle Harris and Gordon Hart Join the Firm as Partners
SAN FRANCISCO – April 5, 2023 – Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, a leading full-service law firm specializing in real estate in the United States, announced today that two attorneys have joined the firm as Partners in the San Francisco office. Arielle Harris joins Cox Castle’s land use team, which is highly regarded for its ability to guide clients strategically and efficiently through the complex and dynamic processes that define California land use. Gordon Hart joins Cox Castle’s environmental team, which has decades of experience handling all aspects of complex environmental matters.
“Arielle and Gordon’s wealth of experience in the land use and environmental arenas combined with their longstanding deep relationships with the real estate development, governmental, and regulatory communities, will be a tremendous complement to our first-in-class land use and environmental practices,” said Mathew Wyman, Co-Chair of Cox Castle. “We continue to add even greater depth and expertise in our land use and environmental practices and are thrilled to welcome Arielle and Gordon to the firm.”
Harris represents developers, landowners, and public agencies in connection with land use entitlements as well as environmental review and permitting for a wide range of residential, commercial, and industrial developments as well as public infrastructure projects in California. She brings extensive experience in state planning and zoning laws, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), in addition to state housing production laws such as the Housing Accountability Act and Density Bonus Law. Harris is an experienced litigator, representing clients in administrative hearings as well as in litigation at both the trial and appellate court level in the areas of CEQA, land use law, and the public trust doctrine. She is a frequent speaker on matters involving land use, housing production, and CEQA. Harris joins Cox Castle from Miller Starr Regalia where she was a Partner.
Hart focuses on environmental and land use law and government advocacy. He specializes in transactional, permitting, enforcement, and litigation issues on behalf of real estate developers and owners, energy project developers, and manufacturers. Prior to entering private practice, Hart served in several capacities on the staff of the California State Legislature, including serving as senior consultant to the Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee, as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and as counsel to the Speaker of the Assembly. Hart joins Cox Castle from Paul Hastings where he was a Partner.
“I am thrilled to join Cox Castle as a Partner and excited to work with some of the brightest land use and real estate attorneys in the nation,” said Harris. “The depth and breadth of the firm’s combined land use, environmental, and real estate expertise was a key factor for my decision to join the firm.”
Hart added, “I’m excited to be a part of Cox Castle’s preeminent environmental practice in California and to work alongside highly skilled lawyers to help our clients successfully navigate environmental issues arising in transactions, risk management, and regulatory strategies.”
About Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP
Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP was founded in Los Angeles in 1968, with the goal of providing superior and comprehensive legal services to businesses, institutions, and individuals in all aspects of the real estate, finance, and construction industries. Cox Castle is now one of the largest full-service law firms specializing in real estate in the United States and has over 140 transactional and litigation attorneys in its Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Francisco offices.
The Firm has substantial expertise in matters involving land and improved property acquisitions and dispositions; joint ventures; single and multi-family residential development; land use, entitlement and regulatory compliance (including coastal commission and condemnation); office, industrial, retail and mixed-use development, leasing and management; commercial lending and institutional investment; loan workouts and financial restructuring; construction; resort and hospitality; labor and employment; risk management and insurance; environmental compliance; renewable energy and natural resources; and tax and estate planning. For more information, please visit www.coxcastle.com.