December 15, 2006

THE DAILY JOURNAL

By William-Arthur Haynes

SAN FRANCISCO – Cox Castle & Nicholson has big things to look forward to from its latest lateral coup. Edward A. Cherry, who served as chairman of Farella Braun + Martel’s real estate group for several years in the 1990s, joins the real estate firm’s San Francisco office today.

Cherry said there was no dissatisfaction with the people, his compensation or the financial health of the 120-attorney San Francisco firm, where he’s practiced for 23 years.

“It’s an extraordinary firm,” he said of Farella Braun. “It simply does not have enough real estate lawyers for my practice.”

Farella Braun lists 21 attorneys in its real estate practice. A firm spokesperson said Farella Braun wished Cherry well, but declined to comment further on his departure, citing firm policy.

This is Farella Braun’s second significant loss this year. In May, Mary G. Murphy, a high-profile real estate transaction attorney who focuses on land-use issues, defected to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Farella landed land-use partner Steven Vettel from Morrison & Foerster a month later to help plug the gap.

Cox Castle partner Mario Camara, a senior member the firm’s executive committee, said Cherry brings vast experience and a unique set of capabilities to the firm.

Cherry brings a seven-figure book of business and “with expanded resources to support him, the sky’s the limit,” said Kenneth Schwartz, the Watanabe Nason Schwartz & Lippman recruiter who engineered the move.

According to information provided by Farella Braun, at one time Cherry was chief relationship partner to San Mateo-based developer William Wilson & Associates, the firm’s largest client. In addition to several local projects, the office development giant owns properties nationwide and has a market capitalization worth several billion dollars.

The 100-plus-attorney Cox Castle houses a well-thought of group of attorneys throughout its Los Angeles, Orange County and San Francisco offices and is known in many circles as “the pre-eminent real estate practice group in California,” Schwartz said.

Cox Castle concentrates on all facets of the real estate, finance and construction industries and provides legal services to developers, investors, lenders, tenants and landlords.

“They’ve been adding strength both in transactional and litigation in San Francisco, and we felt that Ed’s practice might be a really nice fit with what Cox was trying to do,” Schwartz said.

“It’s a great opportunity for Ed to affiliate with literally a world-class transactional practice.”

Cherry is principal outside counsel to a number of luxury golf and ski developments in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. He is also the principal outside counsel to several opportunity funds acquiring office properties up and down the state.

Though market forces have caused the practice to fluctuate, Cherry said the luxury resort market is “extremely hot” at the moment, driven by “a lot of rich people.”

“Right now my practice is expanding significantly in resort development,” Cherry said.

“That’s something Farella used to be very good at and had lots of lawyers doing it, including me, but no longer.”

Clients are involved in a varied array of projects domestically in Malibu, Napa and Santa Fe, N.M., and in far-off locations, such as Fiji and the Philippines. Caribbean ventures in St. Kitts and Anguilla feature luxury hotels, residences, a mega-yacht marina and golf course.

One client is responsible for developing the Tamarack Resort on Lake Cascade in Idaho. Tamarack is the country’s first year-round resort to be developed in two decades.

In September Agassi Graf Development, which bears the name of tennis stars Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf, and Miami-based Bayview Financial announced an agreement to add their own luxury mountain project, Fairmont Tamarack, to the Donnelly, Idaho, resort.

Another client is Amanresorts whose signature is on the Hotel Le Mélézin located high along the picturesque slopes of France’s Courchevel 1850, a town in the Alps named for it’s altitude in meters.

“It’s a good time in the world economy,” Cherry said.

“There are a lot of folks who recognize ultra-luxury and enjoy spending a couple weeks or a couple months at a phenomenal resort.”