ELKINS KALT WEINTRAUB REUBEN GARTSIDE - Key Persons
Amitabh Banerji's passion for law is in litigation, representing clients in complex commercial, business, employment, and entertainment trials, appeals and arbitrations. He has also served clients that are part of medical and legal malpractice and major automotive class-action cases. Prior to joining Elkins Kalt, Amitabh clerked for the Hon. Kathleen Cardone for the U.S. District Court Western District of Texas and served as extern for the Hon. Alex Kozinski for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit and the Hon. Marvin Aspen for the U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois.
Career Highlights
Represented a major automobile manufacturer in multi district economic loss litigation and bellwether case and negotiated favorable settlements.
Ara Pak is an experienced paralegal who works on a variety of trust and estate planning matters.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the California
Azita is a member of the California, Los Angeles County, Beverly Hills and Armenian Bar Associations and has been admitted before the United States District Court for the Central District of California. She has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, where she contributed to organizing the Section's Continuing Education Programs. Azita has been elected to a select group of Super Lawyers of Southern California.
Bill is an experienced paralegal who works on a variety of family law matters.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Related Team
Eli Diller provides comprehensive representation in connection with all aspects of real estate transactions and ventures. His practice is primarily focused on office, retail and industrial leasing, representing both landlords and tenants of all sizes and sophistication levels (from pension funds to start-up companies).
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Related Team
- Associate / Practices
- Associate in
Ellina Chulpaeff is an associate in Elkins Kalt's real estate practice group. Ellina represents real estate development companies, financial institutions, and investors in a variety of commercial real estate matters throughout the United States. Her practice includes single-asset and portfolio acquisitions, dispositions, financings, and development, with a primary emphasis on acquisition and disposition of commercial offices and industrial spaces.
Eric Bergman has many years of experience with designing and implementing comprehensive estate, gift, generation-skipping transfer, income and property tax planning for real estate investors, business owners and other high net worth individuals and families. Eric assists clients with satisfying both their tax and non-tax estate planning goals for their children and future generations.
Ernest Guadiana has extensive knowledge of environmental, energy, and land use law. He regularly advises clients in navigating federal, state, and local regulations to obtain the necessary environmental and land use approvals to develop and construct projects. His work has put him before a number of regulatory agencies and jurisdictional boards and he has, at times, pursued administrative action when entitlements have been challenged, denied, or revoked. Mr. Guadiana also regularly advises clients of the impact of new federal and state environmental and land use laws to ensure his clients' projects to continue to operate and remain compliant. With an in-depth understanding of the operations of oil, gas, and renewable energy producers, he has assisted an array of companies in governmental enforcement actions, disputes, and transactional matters.
Career Highlights
Energy
Job Titles:
- Member of the Related Team
- Partner
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Practices
Jackson McNeill represents clients in a variety of land use and environmental matters, including obtaining approvals and entitlements, assisting with post-approval compliance, and engaging in land use and environmental litigation. Jackson has extensive experience representing clients before a variety of administrative bodies and regulatory agencies. Prior to Elkins Kalt, Jackson worked at a boutique land use firm in Santa Monica and as in-house counsel at one of the nation's largest utility companies.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Related Team
- Partner
Job Titles:
- Member of the Related Team
- Partner
John Bowman is a trusted voice across California for his expertise in all aspects of land use and environmental law and real estate development. Over the course of his career, John has developed a particular skill in matters involving compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and is regarded as one of the state's foremost experts in CEQA litigation.
John has assisted clients in obtaining entitlements for commercial, industrial, residential, institutional and mixed-use projects throughout Los Angeles and California. His clients include property owners, developers, and community groups who must go before planning commissions, city councils, and other state and local public agencies in respect to the use and development of land. He often testifies as an expert witness on zoning matters, represents clients in litigation involving challenges to agency land use decisions, and has obtained favorable results in both the trial courts and the California Court of Appeals.
Career Highlights
Oversaw preparation and processing of a joint Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for a major expansion of a wallboard manufacturing plant in Imperial County; represented the plant owner in connection with a legal challenge to the County's approvals brought by a well-known environmental organization.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Practices
Justin Trujillo utilizes his extensive knowledge and experience in energy, natural resources, land use, and environmental law to regularly achieve exceptional outcomes for his clients. Justin began his legal practice in Colorado, where he worked on matters ranging from Oil and Gas regulatory issues to mineral title opinions. Justin moved his practice to California in 2020 and now focuses on a wide variety of environmental, energy, natural resources, and land use matters including environmental cost recovery litigation, advising on environmental aspects of transactions and regulatory compliance, and representing clients before a variety of administrative bodies and regulatory agencies.
Justin earned his law degree from the University of Colorado. He also holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Anthropology and Law & Society from the University of California, Riverside. Justin spends his free time hiking, surfing, and playing guitar.
Kasra Kokabi counsels public and private companies and investors in a range of corporate and finance transactions and governance matters. He has deep experience guiding clients through complex mergers and acquisitions, asset purchases and dispositions, and both commercial and venture capital financings. Kasra has developed an expertise working with commercial lenders, startups, emerging growth companies, and multinational conglomerates in such industries as mobile technology, food & beverage, media, energy, and consumer goods. He is fluent in Farsi.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Related Team
- Partner
Job Titles:
- Member of the Related Team
- Partner
Job Titles:
- Member of the Related Team
- Partner