General Counsel
In our role as general counsel we routinely assist clients in the implementation and interpretation of the requirements of HUD programs and the various laws and policies applicable to Housing Authorities, such as the Fair Housing Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VIII Civil Rights Act of 1968, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Violence Against Women Act and HUD”S Limited English Proficiency Guidance.
In addition, we provide advice on Housing Authority operations, including advice on requirements applicable to all government entities, such as the agenda, notice and conduct of meeting requirements of the Meyers-Millias-Brown Act (California’s open meeting law applicable to local government entities), the Public Records Act, the Fair Political Practices Act, and other laws concerning government conflicts of interest, handling of subpoenas, and responses to government tort claims. Further, Goldfarb & Lipman attorneys are also knowledgeable of and routinely advise clients on the HUD procurement process and state law public contracting requirements applicable to Housing Authorities.
Related Attorneys
Aileen Nguyen
Contact Information
Attorney
Aileen Nguyen represents and advises nonprofit organizations and public agencies in the development, rehabilitation, and financing of affordable housing and mixed-use projects.
She represents developers and public agency lenders in low-income housing tax credit projects and represents housing authorities and their affiliates in transactions that utilize tax-exempt bonds, state and local funds, low-income housing tax credits, and funding from HUD programs, including Section 8 and the Rental Assistance Demonstration program. She has experience drafting and negotiating loan documents in secured transactions; drafting and negotiating leases and other real estate documents in transactions involving the acquisition and disposition of property; drafting formation and governance documents for corporations, limited liability companies, and limited partnerships; and advising clients in obtaining federal tax exemption, state tax exemption, and property tax exemption.
Education
- B.A., magna cum laude, Emory University
- J.D., Georgetown University Law Center
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
Alexa Cacao Morton
Contact Information
Attorney
Ms. Cacao Morton practices in the areas of affordable housing and real estate transactions, community economic development, tax credits and syndication.
She represents developers and public agencies in all aspects of the real estate development transaction including, entity formation, the negotiation and drafting of loan documents, regulatory agreements, purchase and sale agreements, ground leases, and development agreements. Ms. Cacao Morton also assists with the firm’s litigation practice, as necessary.
Education
- J.D., cum laude, University of San Francisco, School of Law.
- B.A., with honors, College of Letters and Sciences – Distinction, University of California, Berkeley.
- Honors Leadership Program, McAuliffe Honors Society
- CALI Excellence Award for Legal Research & Writing
- CALI Excellence Award for Art Law.
Professional & Volunteer Affiliations
State Bar of California
Benjamin Funk
Contact Information
Attorney
Mr. Funk focuses his practice on the development, operation and preservation of affordable housing development at all stages of the project life cycle, including: negotiation of development agreements; preparation of funding applications; closings on site acquisition, construction, and permanent financing; establishment and renewal of rental subsidy; LIHTC investor exits; and recapitalization.
Prior to joining the firm in 2020, Ben represented nonprofit and for-profit affordable housing developers and public housing authorities for several years at an affordable housing law practice in Washington, DC. He has counseled clients regarding aspects of federal low-income housing tax credits; tax-exempt bond financing; private construction financing; FHA-insured and risk-share loans; HOME, CDBG, and FHLB AHP programs; USDA Rural Development Section 515 and 538 loan programs; HUD Section 202 Direct Loan prepayment and refinancing; local and federal rental subsidy programs; public housing mixed-finance capital and operating funds; HUD Section 18 public housing demolition and disposition approval; and conversion of public housing under the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program.
Ben also previously worked as Assistant General Counsel for Housing at Volunteers of America, Inc., one of the nation’s largest nonprofit providers of affordable housing. He has experience in negotiation and collaboration with HUD, affordable housing operational and compliance issues, business entity structuring, nonprofit corporate governance, tax-exempt status, and property tax exemptions. He has handled, resolved or defended housing discrimination complaints, and has trained housing management staff on the civil rights and fair housing requirements applicable to affordable housing programs. Ben also has significant experience advising clients on operating agreements, partnership agreements, leases, and other negotiated contracts.
Education
- B.M., Vanderbilt University
- J.D., American University, Washington College of Law
- Certificate of Completion, Volunteers of America Executive Development Program at the University of Notre Dame
Previous Employment
- Assistant General Counsel for Housing, Volunteers of America, Inc.
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
- California Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- The District of Columbia Bar
Colleen Wisel
Contact Information
Attorney
Colleen Wisel practices in the areas of affordable housing, real estate investments, syndication, and community economic development. She represents public agencies and developers in the development, syndication and management of low and moderate-income housing and related programs. Her practice involves representing clients in all phases of affordable housing development, including purchase and sale transactions, affordable housing finance and assisting the firm’s public agency clients in implementing a wide variety of community economic development programs.
Education
- B.A., University of California, Santa Cruz
- J.D., University of California, Irvine
- Staff Editor, UC Irvine Law Review
- Dean’s Award: Procedural Analysis, Lawyering Skills
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
Dianne Jackson McLean
Contact Information
Attorney
Dianne Jackson McLean has over 30 years of community economic development, real estate, tax-exempt financing, relocation, land use, and housing experience. Her practice includes the representation of former redevelopment agencies, public housing authorities, and other public agencies in major economic development projects and housing developments, including but not limited to shopping centers, hotels, public-private public housing developments under various financing programs provided by local, state or federal government agencies. She serves as general counsel and special counsel to public housing authorities and local city and county agencies in on-going agency administration, open meetings and public records requirements, relocation issues and related matters. She has substantial experience in all aspects of complex real estate closings, including the drafting of and/or reviewing and negotiating purchase and sale agreements, land disposition and development agreements, lenders loan documents, tax-exempt bond documents; resolving title issues, environmental issues, including issues related to hazardous materials and related matters. She prepares public agencies’ loan documents for rental housing and ownership housing developments, including secondary resale documents.
Ms. Jackson McLean also represents nonprofit housing developers in the development and construction of low and moderate-income rental and ownership housing, including mobile home parks. She provides all necessary legal services to develop various projects, including negotiating contracts to acquire land, review and negotiate lender documents from both the private and public sectors, review and negotiate partnership documents in transactions involving low-income housing tax credits.
In addition, Ms. Jackson McLean is a frequent lecturer and/or panel speaker at various conferences related to affordable housing, economic development, and ethics.
Education
- A.B., University of California, Berkeley
- Masters in City and Regional Planning, University of California, Berkeley
- J.D., University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco
Previous Employment
- City of Daly City, Community Development Block Grant Coordinator and Associate Planner, Department of Community Development
- City of Sacramento, Associate Planner, Planning Department
- City of Emeryville Redevelopment Agency, Urban Planner
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- Member, State Bar of California
- Member, United States District Court
- Member, United States Court of Appeals – 9th Circuit
- Member, American Bar Association
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Member, National Bar Association
- Member, Charles Houston Bar Association
- Advisor, Real Property Law Section Executive Committee, California Association of Lawyers
- Member, Ethics Committee, California Association of Lawyers
- Chair, Legal Ethics Committee, Bar Association of San Francisco
- Board of Directors, Legislative Chair, California Association of Black Lawyers
Isabel L. Brown
Contact Information
Attorney
Ms. Brown practices in the areas of affordable housing, real estate development, and public finance.
Ms. Brown represents public agencies, including counties, cities and housing authorities, in the structuring and financing of housing and mixed-use developments. Ms. Brown has extensive experience in structuring fee and leasehold property dispositions and loan transactions, and preparing and negotiating disposition and development agreements, ground leases, loan agreements, homebuyer documents, and the ancillary documents necessary for such transactions. She also has comprehensive knowledge of the statutory requirements of federal and state housing funding programs, including the HOME Investment Partnerships Act program, the Neighborhood Stabilization program, the Community Development Block Grant program, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, the Project-Based Section 8 Voucher program, and the Rental Assistance Demonstration program.
Ms. Brown also represents affordable housing developers and public agencies in the development and management of housing and mixed-use developments. She has extensive experience in forming nonprofit corporations, limited partnerships, and limited liability companies; the federal and state tax exemption application process; loan closings; condominium development; drafting and negotiating construction contracts and professional services contracts; and fair housing compliance.
Ms. Brown has lectured on federal and state disabled persons accessibility requirements, condominium development requirements, construction contracts, and loan documents and closings.
Education
- B.S.E. Civil Engineering, cum laude, Princeton University
- Masters in Architecture, University of California, Berkeley
- J.D., University of California, Berkeley School of Law
- Articles Editor, Ecology Law Quarterly
- Sadie & Alvin Landis Prize in Local Government Law
Previous Employment
- Legislative Assistant, U.S. House of Representatives
- Assistant Architect, City of New York, Department of Housing, Preservation & Development
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
James T. Diamond, Jr.
Contact Information
Attorney
James T. Diamond, Jr’s. practice emphasizes employment law litigation and counseling, municipal government advice and litigation, and commercial litigation. He has represented public entities, Fortune 50 corporations, small businesses and nonprofit entities. Mr. Diamond represents the firm’s clients in state and federal trial, appellate and bankruptcy courts, and in arbitrations, mediations and administrative hearings.
In his employment practice, Mr. Diamond has defended clients in state and federal courts throughout California in discrimination, sexual harassment, prevailing wage, whistleblower, retaliatory discharge claims and employment-related common-law tort and contract claims related to employment. He has represented clients in administrative proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Mr. Diamond provides employment law counseling to his clients in preventing litigation through properly documented disciplinary actions, handling Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and California Family Rights Act (CFRA) leave issues, pregnancy leave issues, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) reasonable accommodation issues, and wage and hour issues. He provides employment and labor counsel on issues including the duty to meet and confer under the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, counseling on reasonable accommodation rights and duties under state and federal law, Skelly hearings, grievance resolution, interpretation of labor contract issues, and labor negotiations.
Mr. Diamond has litigated commercial and business matters on behalf of his clients in contract disputes, common law tort matters including claims of fraud, whistleblower and False Claim Act cases under state and federal law, intellectual property, and trade secrets.
Education
- B.A., cum laude, University of San Francisco
- J.D., University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
- American Bar Association, Employment Law Section
- Alameda County Bar Association Labor & Employment Law Section, Executive Committee Member
- Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce
Jhaila R. Brown
Contact Information
Attorney
Ms. Brown practices in the areas of real estate, affordable housing, land use, and municipal law. Ms. Brown represents clients in all phases of the development process, including property acquisition, entitlement and administrative approvals, fair housing compliance, negotiating real estate disputes, financing and management of affordable housing projects and programs.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Brown was a Deputy County Counsel for the County of Riverside where she represented the Economic Development Agency, Housing Authority and its nonprofit affiliates, the Successor Agency to the Redeployment Agency and the Aviation Division.
Education
- B.A., University of California, Berkeley
- J.D., University of San Francisco School of Law
Previous Employment
- Deputy County Counsel IV, County of Riverside, Office of County Counsel
- Deputy City Attorney, Green, de Bortnowsky & Quintanilla (Calabasas, CA)
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
- Housing and Development Law Institute
- County Counsels’ Association of California
- Planning Commissioner, City of Monrovia (Monrovia, CA
Joshua J. Mason
Contact Information
Attorney
Mr. Mason’s practice focuses on representing owners in the development, finance and preservation of multifamily housing and healthcare facilities, with an emphasis on HUD-insured loans, low-income housing tax credits, and other state and federal assistance. Mr. Mason also represents public agencies, including housing authorities, cities and counties, in the development, financing and management of low and moderate-income housing programs.
Mr. Mason previously worked as an attorney-advisor in HUD’s San Francisco and Los Angeles offices, and has worked closely with HUD’s Special Applications Center and Offices of Multifamily Housing, Healthcare Programs, Public Housing, Recapitalization, Community Planning and Development, and General Counsel, both locally and in Washington, D.C. During his tenure with HUD, Mr. Mason closed and helped service numerous transactions involving the acquisition, development, rehabilitation and preservation of new and at-risk affordable housing. Mr. Mason has experience in forming nonprofit corporations, limited partnerships and limited liability companies; the federal and state tax-exemption application process; loan and grant closings; public housing dispositions; RAD transactions; and federal/state relocation compliance. Mr. Mason also has comprehensive knowledge of the statutory requirements of HUD’s Section 232 program, including Lean closing protocols, accounts receivable financing, master leases and transfers of physical assets.
Education
- B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, cum laude
- M.C.P., University of California, Berkeley
- J.D., University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
Previous Employment
- Attorney-Advisor, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, Office of General Counsel, 2007-2015
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
M David Kroot
Contact Information
Attorney
M David Kroot has more than 30 years of extensive experience in complex real estate transactions and affordable housing. He has represented developers, nonprofits and housing authorities on projects involving tax-exempt bond financing, HOME funds, public housing funds, Section 8 assistance, low-income housing tax credits, HOPE I and VI, and Mortgage Credit Certificates.
His practice includes nonprofit entity formation and tax exemption, housing finance and development, government-assisted housing programs, and tax-exempt financing. In addition, Mr. Kroot advises many nonprofit and public agencies on property development transactions involving multiple forms of development, including mixed-use developments.
Mr. Kroot acts as corporate counsel for nonprofit organizations regarding corporate governance, tax exemption issues, contracts, fair housing and employment issues. He has developed loan documents for homeownership programs financed by public agencies, provided advice regarding requirements for HOME and CDBG programs, and represented nonprofits in the use of various funding sources for housing.
Education
- B. A., University of Michigan
- J.D., University of Chicago Law School
Previous Employment
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Area Counsel, San Francisco, California, Attorney
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
- American Bar Association, Forum on Affordable Housing & Community Development Law
M. Hickey
Contact Information
Attorney
Ms. Hickey supports several practice areas of Goldfarb & Lipman LLP, including affordable housing development, real estate transactions, property management, landlord-tenant law, community economic development and tax-exempt financing, entity formation, land use, state and municipal law, and serves as a secondary support to the firm’s litigation team. She represents public agencies, nonprofit entities, and both private and nonprofit affordable housing developers.
Education
- B.A., University of California, Berkeley
- J.D., University of California, Davis School of Law
Professional Volunteer and Affiliations
- State Bar of California
- Member, American Bar Association, Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law
- Member, Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (AABA)
- Former Board Member/Secretary, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
Margaret F. Jung
Contact Information
Attorney
Margaret Jung practices in the areas of real estate tax matters and syndications. Ms. Jung represents nonprofit corporations and public agencies in the development, financing and management of low- and moderate-income projects and programs.
Ms. Jung’s work encompasses Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits, Renewable Energy Credits, and New Markets Tax Credits.
Ms. Jung’s practice includes structuring syndications using for-profit/nonprofit joint ventures, limited partnerships and other pass-through entities, the formation of limited partnerships, analyzing financial projections for tax credit investments, providing tax advice on the structuring of financing, issuing tax opinions to investors, and assisting clients in complying with all federal tax requirements for tax credit syndications.
Education
- B.A., magna cum laude, University of California, Los Angeles Phi Beta Kappa
- J.D., University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Previous Employment
- Public Accountant, Ernst & Young, LLP
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
- Member, American Bar Association, Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law
- Member, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development
- Former Board Member, Chinatown Community Development Center
- Certified Public Accountant (inactive), California Board of Accountancy
Robert C. Mills
Contact Information
Attorney
Robert C. Mills’s practice emphasizes transactional real estate involving the development and preservation of affordable housing. Mr. Mills’s focus is on structuring complex transactions involving multiple layers of financing, especially those with some type of federal assistance, including, for example, tax credits, FHA mortgage assistance, and Section 8 rental subsidies.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Mills worked as an attorney at HUD. In that capacity, Mr. Mills participated in numerous loan closings, negotiated the sale of properties from HUD’s multifamily portfolio, and enforced the federal Fair Housing Act.
Mr. Mills worked as a newspaper reporter in Los Angeles, California and Sydney, Australia before abandoning all creative thought processes and attending law school. For fun, Mr. Mills occasionally sports odd facial hair, to the deep embarrassment of his two daughters. When that ceases to provide enjoyment, Mr. Mills likes to run, read, and tend to the backyard garden.
Education
- B.A., cum laude, California State University, Northridge
- J.D., University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
- Associate Articles Editor, Communications and Entertainment Law Journal
Previous Employment
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Counsel, Pacific/Hawaii Area, Staff Attorney
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
Rye P. Murphy
Contact Information
Attorney
Rye Murphy is an associate in the firm’s litigation practice. He works with the firm’s private and public entity clients in state and federal litigation matters. While he regularly represents parties in large-scale matters, like challenges to municipal land use decisions, complex, multi-party litigation, and corporate disputes, Rye also has experience with jury trials and smaller-scale lawsuits, including unlawful detainers and personal injury actions. Rye takes a keen interest in civil procedure and while attending law school he interned at California’s Judicial Council and has published on the history of the class action.
Before entering law school, Rye studied Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at the American University of Beirut.
Education
- B.A., University of Oregon
- J.D., University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California
Thomas J. Levendosky
Contact Information
Attorney
Thomas Levendosky practices in the areas of real estate transactions, affordable housing, community economic development, tax credits and syndication. His practice involves representing clients in all phases of affordable housing development, including purchase and sale transactions, affordable housing finance and assisting the firm’s public agency clients in implementing a wide variety of community economic development programs.
Education
- B.A., Cum Laude, Fordham University
- J.D., University of California, Davis School of Law
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
- State Bar of California