Paul Hastings Adds Stephen Berkman and Deborah Schmall to Real Estate Practice in San Francisco

March 05, 2008

San Francisco, CA (March 5, 2008) Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, a leading international law firm, announced today that Stephen Berkman, previously at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Deborah Schmall, previously at Farella Braun + Martel LLP, have joined the firms Global Real Estate practice as partners, resident in the San Francisco office. Mr. Berkman focuses his practice on real estate acquisitions and dispositions, leasing and joint ventures. Ms. Schmall concentrates her practice on environmental law and compliance issues.

Mr. Berkman represents institutional owners and users of various types of real estate assets, both nationally and internationally. He has extensive experience representing buyers and sellers of major office, retail, apartment, industrial, gaming and hospitality projects, whether in single asset or portfolio transactions. As part of his real estate practice, Mr. Berkman has developed a specialty representing both major internet companies and real estate developers with respect to the development, leasing and operation of data centers, including the representation of various corporate data center users in procuring their European and Asian facilities.

Ms. Schmall advises a diverse array of clients including real estate companies, resource companies, national research institutions, life sciences companies, telecommunications companies and other large institutional clients. She is one of Californias preeminent environmental lawyers with extensive experience defending private and public entities in administrative, civil and criminal environmental enforcement proceedings; providing strategic counseling for large brownfield projects; advising clients regarding environmental regulatory compliance; and representing buyers, sellers, and lenders in real property acquisitions and corporate mergers and divestitures.

Paul Hastings has one of the largest and most highly recognized Global Real Estate practices. A key contributor to our success is the top talent we continue to recruit to further complement our existing capabilities, said Philip Feder, Real Estate Department Chair. The strength of the San Francisco real estate market, coupled with the growing importance of environmental regulatory issues has centered our attention on increasing our breadth and depth in this important market. Both Steve and Deborah are a perfect fit for our strategic growth in San Francisco and will allow us to broaden the scope of legal services we offer our clients.

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, founded in 1951, is a leading international law firm with over 1,200 attorneys in 18 offices. The firm serves a diverse client base including many of the leading global financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies and offers deep capabilities in capital markets, finance and restructuring, intellectual property, international arbitration and dispute resolution, investment management, labor and employment, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, product liability, project finance, real estate, securities litigation and tax advisory services. For additional information, please visit our website at www.paulhastings.com.