News & Insights

Steven Otto and Sean Southard, both former U.S. Navy officers and partners with Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson (CGS3), have been recognized by the San Diego Business Journal as one of its Top 50 Veteran Business Leaders of Influence for 2024. Awardees were featured in the publication’s special supplement on Nov. 11.

Each Veterans Day, this awards program honors San Diego’s most dedicated and influential veteran business leaders – lauding their contributions and commitment in the local business community.

Both Otto and Southard served as U.S. Navy officers and now play an important role in the continued growth and success of CGS3, one of Southern California’s leading commercial real estate law firms.

Southard helped found CGS3 eleven years ago and has since worked hard to establish the firm as a leader among breakout commercial real estate law firms, with a team of accomplished legal professionals working to complete high-profile real estate deals throughout the United States.

Following graduation from University of San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations, he was commissioned by the U.S. Navy, serving tours in Iraq and Somalia.  His training as a U.S. Naval Officer prepared him well for the complex world of commercial real estate law – providing him with the leadership abilities, focus and discipline needed in a challenging and dynamic profession.

Now he is a top attorney in the fast-paced commercial real estate field – successfully completed major leasing transactions totaling millions square feet of space across all sectors of commercial real estate, including retail, industrial, and office, with special leasing expertise in life science and retail asset types.

A frequent lecturer at various legal educational seminars and real estate industry trade group conferences and programs, he was an associate at Cox, Castle & Nicholson and a partner at Allen Matkins prior to founding CGS3 in 2013.

Otto is also a seasoned attorney and business professional and was previously a senior in-house attorney for Pinnacle West Capital Corporation and worked for Latham and Watkins and Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps (now Dentons), where he became a partner.

His experience spans the acquisition, development, leasing, licensing and sale of office, industrial and retail portfolios, and mixed-use office/retail projects.

He has successfully negotiated numerous master developer and merchant builder agreements as well as private party development agreements for retail shopping complexes and residential developments.  His clients have included international firms and public companies, REITs, developers, and private joint ventures, and he has played a key role supporting one of the largest nuclear power generating sites in the country.  With a unique ability to handle out-of-the-box transactions and special expertise in assisting clients in the energy sector, he frequently draws on his engineering degree from the United States Naval Academy, as well as his military service – which include two deployments to the Persian Gulf – to develop solutions to complex issues and deal structures.   With keen insight and a wealth of experience, he understands the real estate related legal issues as well as the impact of the operational technology, including the overall economics of a transaction.

About Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP (CGS3)

CGS3 is a recognized leader among a new generation of commercial real estate law firms with practice areas covering the entire commercial real estate life cycle, including finance, acquisition/disposition, entity formation, tax, development, land use, leasing, distressed asset workouts and dispute resolution.  Earning a reputation as one of California’s leading commercial real estate law firms, CGS3 recruits the state’s top real estate attorneys from both large corporate firms and senior in-house positions. For more information, visit http://www.cgs3.com.