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Practice Areas
Business
Real Estate
Restaurants & Wineries
Technology & IP
Experience
John Harkavy is a partner with Wendel Rosen's business and real estate practice groups. From 1969 to 2007, he practiced law with Aiken, Kramer & Cummings Inc.; 35 years as a partner and several years as the managing partner.
John specializes in structuring, negotiating, evaluating and documenting various types of complex business transactions, focusing significantly upon acquisitions and other reorganizational transactions and strategic alliances, as well as complex business, commercial, financial, contractual and other transactional matters. In addition, John has extensive experience and expertise in handling intellectual property and real estate matters, primarily involving the licensing, development and purchase/sale of software and the acquisition, disposition, entitlement and leasing of real property.
In the past, John has represented, on an ongoing basis, clients from Canada, Germany and Australia and is experienced in cross-border acquisitions and other business transactions, including work in Germany, Japan, Great Britain, the People's Republic of China, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Canada and Australia.
John is particularly adept in acting as the de facto general counsel to numerous mid-sized businesses involving manufacturing, distribution, software, waste management, wine and professional or commercial services. He also has had extensive experience representing various companies listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ, as outside divisional counsel or as counsel retained for particular projects or to take advantage of John's specialized expertise.
John also manages complex business litigation, retaining and overseeing litigating specialists and actively participating in the strategic decisions that are made in relation to such matters and providing business-like counsel to clients relative to the risks of litigating versus settling and formulating possible means by which to resolve the underlying disputes. Substantially all of John's current clients have been with him for more than 15 years (some for more than 35 years) and regularly seek his guidance in relation to strategic planning, financial analysis and management issues.
Reported Case
Beamer v. Franchise Tax Board (1977) 19 Cal.3d 467, 138 Cal.Rptr.199 (significant state tax opinion rendered by the California Supreme Court in favor of the represented taxpayer)
Major Transactions (Partial List)
(representative clients identified by asterisks)
Acquisitions (Seller listed first)
Genius CAD Software Gmbh*/Autodesk, Inc.
Web2CAD AG*/Thomas Publishing Company
CT Scanning Corp*/American Physician Partners
Bay Area Petroleum*/Golden Gate Petroleum
Easley & Brassy Corp*/Genstar Corporation
Murphy's, Inc.*/The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
Briscoe-Maphis Environmental/Genstar Waste Transfer*
Waste Treatment, Inc./Genstar Waste Transfer*
Laidlaw Waste Systems/Wastech, Inc.*
Stolte, Inc.*/National Medical Enterprises
Waste Services, Ltd.* and TRT Holdings, Ltd.*/Balaclava Enterprises, Ltd.
Coon Lithograph*/KP Graphics
Laidlaw Waste Systems/Wastech Services, Ltd.* and Wastech, Inc.*
Greenfield Thompson Associates*/Foundation Health Corporation
Telsar Corporation and Raytech Security/United Security Products*
Master Dynamics/Master Plastics*
Wastech, Inc.*/Finley Buttes Landfill Company
Mergers
Majors Engineering/Towill, Inc.*
Ralph Garrow, Inc.*/Garrow & Cardinale Construction*
SCVA* and Roman Empire/Santa Clara Valley Associates
Strategic Alliances
Nortech Waste, LLC*
Wastech Services, Ltd.*
Customized Services Administrators*
DuMOL Wine Company*
Waste Management
Landfill agreements for operators Genstar Waste Transfer, Easley & Brassy and Wastech Services, Ltd.
Recycling (materials recovery facilities - MRFs) and transfer stations for operators Nortech Waste, LLC*, Easley & Brassy, Genstar Waste Transfer, John Sexton Sand & Gravel, and Wastech Services, Ltd.
Methane gas recovery agreements for Genstar Gas Recovery Systems* with owners/operators of landfill properties, such as the Irvine Company
Real Estate Acquisitions/Sales
Michelin Tire Company sale of 380,690 s.f. distribution facility to owners of East Bay Tire*
Norcal Waste Systems sale of Mt. View facility to Silicon Graphics; acquisition of San Jose 304,484 s.f. facility from Northern California Fertilizer; sale of San Francisco recycling facility
Timco Worldwide sale of Woodland facility and purchase of Woodland and Davis facilities
Intellectual Property
Complex integrated agreements between Genius CAD Software Gmbh* and Web2CAD AG* and Thomas Publishing Company to develop, license and use sophisticated software programs and related technology/intellectual properties; licensing of bio-technology by the Peralta Cancer Research Institute* to Xoma Corporation
State and Local Tax
Humana Corporation* (CA sales and use tax)
AVCO Corporation* and AVCO Financial Services* (multi state taxation)
Modern Album* (CA sales and use tax)
Contractual
Unitization of Friendswood - Webster oil and gas field in southeast Harris County, Texas (operated by Exxon Corporation)
Work-out acquisition of assets by Jatco, Incorporated* from Plantway, Ltd.
Restructuring affiliated off-shore (Bermuda) captive insurance companies for Harding Associates*
Underwriting counsel for TXL (Genstar)* for offering by Scotia Gas
Education
University of California Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, J.D. (1967)
Bucknell University, B.A. (1964) |
