James D. Richman

James D. Richman is a partner and the chair of Stradling's Real Estate practice group.

James has negotiated a wide variety of real estate deals over an expansive 30 year career. He specializes in Joint Ventures, Acquisitions, Sales and Exchanges, Commercial Leasing, Construction and Design, Construction, Permanent and Mezzanine Finance and Development.

Awards

  • The State Bar of California Real Property Law Section's 2014 Lawyer of the Year

Rankings

  • Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2008-2016 for Real Estate
  • Southern California Super Lawyers 2005-2019
  • The Best Lawyers in America 2006-2020 for Real Estate Law

The following represent the types of deals and projects he leads: 

  • Purchase and sale of commercial properties, including office buildings, medical office and research buildings, warehouses, creative facilities, and the acquisition of land for the development of residential subdivisions, shopping centers, office buildings, and headquarters projects;
  • large commercial, industrial, shopping center, mission critical data center, and office building space leases;
  • construction contracts; architecture and engineering design agreements; construction management contracts; and preconstruction services contracts;
  • long-term financeable ground leases;
  • real estate loans;
  • workouts, including acquisition of debt and restructuring of joint ventures and leases; and
  • applications for entitlements for significant real estate development projects, including applications for specific plans, vesting tentative maps, and development agreements.

James served as an extern law clerk for Hon. Stanley Mosk, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, and was a law clerk for Hon. Harry Pregerson, Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. He is a graduate of the University of California's Boalt Hall School of Law, where he served as an associate editor of the California Law Review.

Experience

Stradling represented TechSpace in connection with its sale to Industrious. Financial terms of this transaction were not disclosed. TechSpace provides modern, scalable, full-service office space and advanced technology services designed for small to mid-size growth companies.
Assisted a major Los Angeles hospital client in its strategic acquisition of several parcels in the Los Angeles area, some of which were found to have legacy contamination as a result of past uses as automotive repair facilities and drycleaners. In connection with the due diligence processes, Stradling managed subsurface investigations and geophysical studies, as well as the termination and closure of a long-term dry-cleaning business pursuant to regulatory requirements.
Represented inhouseIT, Inc.  in its sale to Cal Net Enterprises, LLC of 100% of the equity of inhouseIT. inhouseIT provides IT infrastructure solutions and services, managed IT solutions, voice and data communications solutions and cloud-based IT services. Cal Net, a portfolio company of Boathouse Capital, provides similar services, but did not have a presence in inhouseIT’s markets. The transaction was funded by equity contributions and a loan by Monroe Capital.
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Credentials

Education
  • University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, J.D.
  • Occidental College, B.A., magna cum laude
  • Vice President of the Board, Ojai Valley Museum
  • Vice Chair, California State Bar Real Property Law Section (2012)
  • Served as Chair of the Executive Committee, Los Angeles County Bar Association Real Property Section
  • Editor-in-Chief, Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Real Property Section Review
  • Member, USC Program Committee, USC Gould School of Law Symposium on Real Estate Law and Business, (2008-2012)
  • Benjamin S. Crocker Symposium, a major annual real property law symposium sponsored by the Real Property Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association
    • Panelist and Member, Program Committee (2008)
    • Program Co-Chair (1993 and 1995)
  • Past Member, Real Property Executive Committee, California State Bar (2007-2012)
  • Southern California Building Industry Association
    • Served as a member, Legal Committee
    • Served as a member, various Governmental Relations Committees
  • Fellow of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys
  • California

Related Practices

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