LOS ANGELES-The Allen Matkins law firm has named five new partners, with election to be effective July 1.

Matthew Fogt, Alan Hearty, Brian Kintz, Alexander Nestor and Keith Yandell have been elected to the firm partnerships.

"Matt, Alan, Brian, Alex and Keith are excellent lawyers with strong client relationships, and we are very pleased to welcome them to our partnership," said a statement from David Osias, managing partner of Allen Matkins. "They each exemplify – both personally and professionally – our focus on client service and community involvement. This new class of partners will carry on the Allen Matkins legacy. I congratulate them on their deserving election."

The background of the new partners:

Matthew Fogt - Works with the land use, real estate, environmental and natural resources and energy practice groups in the Orange County office. He has represented a variety of real estate finance and development firms on the acquisition, development and disposition of several master planned and multifamily communities; mixed-use, office, retail, and industrial projects; auto dealerships; and solar facilities throughout the western United States. His land use work includes obtaining development approvals from various local, state and federal agencies, performing entitlement and zoning review as part of acquisitions, and navigating projects through CEQA.

Alan Hearty - A trial attorney based in Century City, Hearty focuses on complex litigation with an emphasis on real estate and commercial business matters. His real estate experience includes representing owners, purchasers, sellers, developers, lessors and lessees of commercial properties on a wide variety of complex matters. He recently co-chaired a five-week jury trial and helped obtain a multi-million dollar verdict for a publicly traded real estate investment trust in a case involving breaches of an industrial lease.

Brian Kintz - Practices in the real estate and retail ractice groups in Allen Matkins' San Diego office. Kintz has represented a variety of landlords in the leasing, financing and disposition of office, industrial, retail and mixed-use developments. His practice also represents real estate investment advisors in purchase and sale transactions, joint venture agreements and acquisition, development and construction financing.

Alexander Nestor – Practices in the labor and employment group in Allen Matkins' San Francisco office, where he represents some of the nation's largest technology and financial services companies. Nestor represents employers in litigation proceedings in state and federal court, in arbitration, and before administrative agencies on a broad range of employment matters, including discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, defamation, wage and hour, trade secret misappropriation, and unfair competition claims. He also counsels and assists employers in resolving a variety of employment issues, such as compliance with state and federal employment laws, developing employee policies, reductions in force, executive employment agreements, and restrictive covenants.

Keith Yandell – A trial, class action and employment attorney in Allen Matkins' San Francisco office. His practice involves litigation in multiple mortgage origination, labor and employment, title insurance, and real estate cases. One of his most prominent wins came in a breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and non-disclosure action arising out of his clients' purchase of real property, which resulted in a unanimous jury verdict and seven-figure compensatory damage award. Yandell has also litigated numerous class actions alleging violation of RESPA, TILA, and wage and hour laws. His many pro bono victories include assisting a non-profit organization to retrieve money that an employee embezzled and helping immigrants obtain asylum.

Allen Matkins was founded in 1977 and is a California-based law firm with approximately 220 attorneys in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and San Diego. The firm's core specialties include real estate, real estate and commercial finance, bankruptcy and creditors' rights, construction, land use, natural resources, environmental, corporate and securities, intellectual property, joint ventures, taxation, employment and labor law, dispute resolution and litigation in all these matters.

As reported earlier by GlobeSt.com, the new Allen Matkins partners will be kept busy. The firm is touting a construction boom in San Francisco and Los Angeles.