First and foremost, we hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy. Our thoughts are with those who have been impacted by COVID-19.

In compliance with the stay-at-home order for Los Angeles, Pircher’s attorneys, paralegals and support staff are continuing to work remotely during this time. We are grateful for our firm’s long-term investment in technology, which has enhanced our abilities to operate securely and efficiently as we help our clients work through the unique challenges presented by the global pandemic.

Please feel free to contact us if you are concerned about how the current circumstances may impact leases, loan documents, partnership agreements or purchase and sale agreements.

Despite the major shifts that took place toward the end of the quarter, the Pircher team still has some exciting news and updates to report from the first three months of 2020. We’re looking forward to finding new and creative ways to continue connecting with you, and the industry at-large, as we move into Q2.
FIRM UPDATES
Pircher Conducts First JV Challenge Competition between UCLA and USC
Pircher recently completed its inaugural Real Estate Joint Venture (JV) Challenge competition between the law and business students of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of Southern California (USC). The event was hosted on UCLA’s campus on Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. UCLA won the day, with two of its student teams taking both first and third place. The university will keep its winning plaque until next year’s rematch competition, scheduled to be hosted at USC.
Pircher would like to once again thank all of the participants for their hard work as well as the industry judges and Pircher coaches for their support. For more information on results and the format of Pircher’s JV Challenge, check out the announcement on Pircher’s website.
Unfortunately, due to stay-at-home orders, the JV Challenge that was scheduled to be conducted at UC Berkeley on March 20, 2020 had to be canceled. The Pircher team sincerely missed seeing and working with the students this year, but looks forward to reconnecting at next year’s event.
Pircher Partner Returns to Teaching at USC Gould for Spring 2020 Semester
Pircher partner Danny Guggenheim returned to USC Gould School of Law (USC Gould) as a Lecturer in Law for the Spring 2020 session of the Real Estate Joint Ventures course. The class focuses on joint ventures formed by institutional capital sources and local developers or operators, exploring the topic through review and discussion of hypothetical fact patterns and contract provisions.


PIRCHER IN THE NEWS
The Recorder: On the Move
In February, The Recorder , among other media outlets, announced Pircher’s hire of William Swanson as an associate. He previously served as an honors intern in the trading and markets division of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C.

Commercial Observer: Big Promotions & Hires
Commercial Observer highlighted Pircher’s January promotion of Michael Seiden to partner in an article announcing other notable hires and promotions across leading firms in the Los Angeles real estate industry.

Curbed Los Angeles: Hollywood Market
Pircher partner Danny Guggenheim shared his thoughts on lender considerations surrounding foreclosures with Curbed in March. His commentary supported the publication’s piece on the potential fate of the historic Jardinette Apartments designed by Richard Neutra.

PIRCHER HAPPENINGS
Pircher Attends Industry Events
The Pircher team was grateful to be able to connect with many of you at some of the year’s early conferences, prior to industry-wide event cancellations. In the first quarter, the team attended MBA’s CREF2020 , 2020 InterFace Net Lease West and the 17th Annual IMN Winter Forum , where partners Alexis Alonzo , David Packer and Michael Ray moderated panels. In addition, partner Aimee Contreras-Camua participated in a panel presentation for LACBA in January entitled, “Completion Guaranties: Negotiating & Drafting Tips.”
Spring 2020 Real Estate Economic Forecast Webinar
Join Urban Land Institute in May for a live, members-only webinar and hear from leading economists and analysts as they discuss key economic and real estate indicators for the future as well as what recovery may look like for the industry after COVID-19.

Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Online Webinar
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Eastern