|
Description of Practice:
Sonia, a land use partner in our Los Angeles office, is highly regarded for her extensive experience in land use and redevelopment. She has co-chaired the firm's renowned land use, environmental, and natural resources group, and served as Allen Matkins' Marketing Partner as well as on the firm's Compensation Committee. Sonia was named one of Real Estate Southern California's Most Influential Women in Commercial Real Estate in 2005, 2004, and 2003. She was also recently recognized by Commercial Real Estate Women - Los Angeles (CREW-LA) as a woman in real estate who has transformed the real estate landscape of Los Angeles. Sonia's client list includes Aeroterm, Azusa Land Partners, Bank of Montreal, Catellus (now ProLogis, Inc.), Chadmar Group, Empire Commercial Real Estate, Extra Space Storage, Extended Stay America, IKEA Properties, ING Real Estate Investors, Kearny Real Estate, Mesa Development, Sares-Regis Group, Symantec, and Trammell Crow Residential.
Sonia's work in land use matters includes: developing entitlement strategies for commercial, industrial, and residential projects in numerous Southern and Northern California jurisdictions including, but not limited to, general plan amendments, zone changes, conditional use permits, variances, subdivisions, planned development permits, and changes in jurisdiction; leading and coordinating development teams, including architects, engineers, environmental, financial, public relations, and community relations consultants; advising clients on and developing strategy for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act; advising clients on strategic and compliance issues related to Subdivision Map Act; and drafting and negotiating development agreements. Sonia handles a wide variety of redevelopment and public finance matters for her clients, including the following: drafting and negotiating disposition and development agreements, owner participation agreements, and exclusive negotiation agreements between developers (or other property owners) and redevelopment agencies; developing strategies for obtaining public financing for a variety of public/private partnerships; and military base redevelopment. Sonia also advises purchasers, developers, investors, and lenders regarding existing entitlements on real property, identifying potential land use issues, and developing a strategy for obtaining entitlements if existing entitlements are insufficient.
Sonia's recent transactions include serving as land use counsel for SAMS LLC, a venture of Kearny Real Estate, Morgan Stanley, and Catellus, the developer chosen by the U.S. Air Force to modernize the Los Angeles Air Force Base, and representation of Chadmar Group in its efforts to develop 1,050 single family homes on former Fort Ord. Sonia is known for her expeditious efforts. For example, the complex entitlements for SAMS LLC, which included detachment of a 40-acre site from El Segundo and its annexation into Hawthorne, took approximately one year and the entitlement of a 330,000 sq. ft. IKEA store in Covina took less than four months. She works closely with government entities throughout California and had a 2004 transaction revenue in excess of $1 billion.
Sonia served as President of CREW-LA in 2001 and 2002, and has served on the organization's Board of Directors since 1996. She is also a member of the California State Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and Women Lawyers of Los Angeles. A sought-after speaker, Sonia has spoken at the UCLA Multi-Family Housing Forecast, CREW-LA, California Continuing Education of the Bar, Fundamentals of Real Property, and California State Bar Real Property Section. She has also written a number of articles on real estate and land use issues, including "9 Tips on Managing the Entitlement Process," published in the December 2004 edition of the California Real Estate Journal.
Educational History:
Ransom received a J.D. from Loyola Law School (1992) and a B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles (1988). |
