Mid-market law firm Buchalter Nemer has expanded its transactional practice with strategic hires in California.
Lee Parish, a former general counsel of CTCB Bank, comes to Buchalter’s Orange County office as a partner in the firm’s banking and finance practice. Parish advises clients in the real estate sector on lending, leasing, distressed loans assets, and construction. In addition to Parish, the firm has brought aboard Scott Schoffel as special counsel in its Orange County health care practice. Schoffel previously served as executive vice president and general counsel of Integrated Health Care Holdings.
On May 1, Buchalter announced the opening of an office in St. Helena/Napa Valley and the hiring of James Rose as a shareholder based there. Rose previously was name partner of a legal boutique specializing in the representation of wineries, wine brokers, and vineyard managers. Rose has known Buchalter lawyers for about 30 years, and has worked on many matters involving lawyers from the firm.
“A year ago, I was approached by one of the partners I’ve gotten to know pretty well. He said, ‘We’d like to get into the Napa Valley, and you’ve got a substantial clientele. I represent over 80 wineries in Napa Valley, and other winery-related businesses, such as restaurants. They said it would be a natural fit,” Rose stated.
“A number of large firms have tried to get into the Napa Valley in the past, and have not been successful. It’s a small community, and there’s a casualness to the Napa Valley. A lot of the big firms that have tried to make inroads, have come in with very large ad campaigns, and have set up big offices in downtown Napa, where they showed up to work in their three-piece suits. It just doesn’t work,” he added.
Rose described the wine industry on which his practice focuses as a highly sophisticated agriculturally based community. The wine industry in Napa Valley alone is a roughly $1.5 billion industry, he noted.
“This is the epicenter of the wine industry in the country, if not the world right now. The average price of wine produced in the Napa Valley is $80 a bottle. If you look at the number of wineries producing bottles over $100, it’s substantial,” he said.
Accompanying Rose to Buchalter from his former firm is Katharine Falace, who joins as senior counsel.