McKenna Long & Aldridge Adds 17 Lawyers

LOS ANGELES-The law firm of McKenna Long & Aldridge has expanded its real estate litigation practice with the addition of 17 lawyers formerly with Los Angeles-based Brown Winfield Canzoneri Abram Inc. The Brown Winfield attorneys will expand the capabilities of McKenna Long & Aldridge in terms of providing legal services that will be in demand as a result of the economic stimulus bill’s emphasis on “shovel-ready infrastructure projects that require our joint expertise,” comments MLA chairman Jeff Haidet. The Brown Winfield lawyers “are recognized leaders in public/private partnerships, real estate, eminent domain, environmental regulation, finance and land use. These are all issues that will be at the top of the list in today’s challenging environment,” Haidet says.

The attorneys joining MLA’s real estate practice include partners Steven Abram, James Camp, Tony Canzoneri, Gordon Eng, Wendy Glenn, Geoff Mitchell, Bill Pham, Dennis Roy and Mark Steres. Ken Brown joins the firm as senior counsel and Donald Ries joins as of counsel. Those joining MLA’s litigation practice include partners Wayne Grejewski, Michael Wallenstein and Thomas Winfield III, as well as associates Adrian Guerra, Diana Vernazza and Aimee Wong.

Canzoneri, a former chairman of Brown Winfield Canzoneri Abram Inc., says that after working with MLA on a number of projects, “We realized the shared vision in our practice and the firm’s direction. The move of the Brown Winfield lawyers to MLA will integrate Brown Winfield’s government relations and public/private partnership experience into MLA’s longstanding state and federal network, he adds.

Bill Timmons, head of MLA’s real estate practice, notes that the Brown Winfield team has more than 35 years of experience in the industry and mirrors MLA’s experience assisting clients with real estate loan workouts, foreclosures and bank REOs. The addition of the Brown Winfield group will expand MLA’s real estate practice group to 65 lawyers with more than 30 based in California.