Whitney M. Skala, A P.C.
Serving Closely-held Ventures and Family Offices
Taking Care of Sophisticated Clients and Their Unique Legal Needs
What We Offer
We provide legal advice and collaborative transaction leadership in
corporate and real estate formation and transaction matters.
Our services are tailored primarily to closely-held ventures (large and small)
and family offices and their unique legal needs.
Entity Formation and Restructuring
- Entity Formation: Corporations (C and S), Limited and General Partnerships, Joint Ventures, and LLC’s
- Entity Documents: Articles, By-laws, Initial Minutes, LLC Operating Agreements, Joint Venture Agreements, and General and Limited Partnership Agreements
- Governance Advice: Board structure; Manager and Member duties and powers; Partnership management
- Annual minutes and filings
- Other Internal Agreements: Buy-Sell and Shareholder Agreements
- Restructuring: Transfer of ownership; long-term ownership planning
Business Transactions
- Purchase and Sale Agreements: Drafting and review of agreements
- Financings: Drafting and review of financing documents
- Contracts: Drafting and review of joint ventures, vendor contracts, dealer and rep contracts
- Equipment Leases: Preparation and review
- Senior Executive Employment Contracts: Preparation and review
Real Estate Transactions
- Purchase and Sale Agreements: Drafting and review of PSA’s for office, retail center, raw land, apartment, and other commercial or investment properties
- Leases: Drafting and review of office, retail, and ground leases
- Loan Documents: Drafting and review of real estate financing documents
- Title Matters and Easements: Review and resolution of title issues
- Opinion Letters: Drafting of opinion letters and all supporting resolutions and consents
- Construction Contracts: Review of contractor, architect, engineering, and other consultant agreements
Professional Achievements
- Professional Ratings: Rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubble, and recognized as one of San Diego’s “Top Lawyers” in Business and Real Estate Transactions
- Author: Author and annual reviewer of CEB’s attorney practice reference books, Business Buy-Sell Agreements and Forming Entities in California
- State Bar Opinion Letter Report: Former Secretary of California State Bar Working Group on Legal Opinions Concerning Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies, (2013-17)
- Bar Section Chair: Former chair of Real Estate Section of San Diego County Bar Association
- Organizations: ABA Int’l Law/Arts & Cultural Heritage Committee; Urban Land Institute; LAI– real estate economics; California Lawyers Ass’n Partnerships and LLC’s Committee
- For more, see Biography, below
Community Commitment
- San Diego Museum of Art: Member, Board of Trustees, July, 2023 to present
- Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego: Member; legal representation on construction financing for 2020-22 La Jolla expansion project
- San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce: Member, 2007-present; Member, Economic Strategy Working Group, 2022-present; Member, Washington DC Delegation, 2008, 2011, 2015-2019, 2023; Chair, Energy and Water Committee, 2018
- Rotary Club 33/San Diego: 2017-present
- University of California, Berkeley: Member, Faculty Club
- For more, see Biography, below
Staying A Step Ahead For Our Clients
Working With Our Firm: “Your relationship with us will begin with a phone call or email to determine whether we’re a good fit for your needs. We hope so. But if not, we’ll steer you to an attorney who’s right. We’ll send you our standard engagement letter– it’s very straightforward and we never ask for money up front. We have two professionals who will be on your matter: myself, and our paralegal, Catherine Salinard. I don’t push lawyer work down to Catherine– she’s fantastic with paralegal tasks, but with today’s technology I can stay “hands on” at the lawyer level and still keep the fees in balance.
“There’s a good chance that I know someone in the deal other than the client– the banker, the escrow officer, the broker, or the legal team on the other side. Those relationships lay the groundwork for a collaborative experience, where we all can keep our eyes on the ball and not on our back.
“I invite clients to reach out to me anytime, even nights or weekends, and even on my cell phone. I might not always see the call, or I might be in the middle of watching my Cal Golden Bears athletics or working on my Georgetown law school reunion — but I’ll call right back when I have a moment. If you like using texting, feel free to text me until your thumbs cramp.
“Legal fees these days can be large. We’re not the low-cost alternative by any means. We tend to have few if any complaints about our fee totals, and I invite questions and feedback. We email our invoices out as close to the first of the month as we can. We offer an electronic payment portal that’s embedded in our invoices. Old School checks are welcome too.
— Whitney
