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Three CGS3 Partners Named Leaders of Influence in Law by the San Diego Business Journal
Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson (CGS3) partners Thomas Crosbie, Sean Gaffney and Phil Jelsma have been honored by the San Diego Business Journal (SDBJ) as “2024 Leaders of Influence in Law.”
According to the publication, this annual recognition celebrates outstanding legal professionals in the San Diego County. The honorees are all profiled in a special SDBJ supplement, published on Oct. 28.
“With extensive expertise in complex commercial real estate transactions and corporate matters, Tom, Sean and Phil are all core members of our exceptional legal team,” said CGS3 founding partner Sean Southard. “Each is a testament to our firm’s success and well deserving of these latest accolades.”
A CGS3 founding partner, Crosbie has many years of experience in a broad variety of commercial real estate areas, including acquisitions and dispositions, financing, leasing and construction in connection with commercial, residential, industrial, retail and mixed-use projects for local, regional and national real estate developers and investors. He also has vast expertise in all aspects of ground-up development and redevelopment projects, including drafting and negotiating development agreements, CC&Rs, REAs, construction contracts and design contracts for commercial, industrial, multi-family residential and mixed-use projects. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University and a J.D. from Northwestern University.
Jelsma is a partner and chair of the tax practice team at CGS3. Widely recognized as one of the state’s leading joint venture and tax attorneys, he has many years of experience in structuring sophisticated real estate and business transactions – with expertise in real estate exchanges, syndications, nonprofit corporations and international tax planning. His practice focuses on limited liability company (LLC) and partnership business and tax planning, with an emphasis on real estate and nonprofit corporations. He is an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Law, specializing in tax law, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business from the University of Southern California (USC) and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.
A partner with CGS3 and member of the firm’s litigation practice, Gaffney represents real estate investors, developers and owners looking to minimize risks that lead to litigation, defending them when disputes cannot be avoided. He is a skilled and experienced litigator and has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in all phases of trial work and alternative dispute resolution. His expertise spans the breadth of California real estate law, including claims arising from failed real estate transactions and development projects; landlord/tenant disputes; corporate, partnership and LLC governance disputes; construction and property management insurance coverage disputes; construction defect claims; and eminent domain and public/government construction claims. An active member of the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of San Diego (USD) and a J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law.
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.