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Three CGS3 Partners Named Leaders of Influence in Law

October 18, 2023 Thomas Crosbie, Gregory Markow, Steven E. Otto CGS3 Team

SAN DIEGO – Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson (CGS3) partners Thomas Crosbie. Gregory Markow and Steven Otto have been honored by the San Diego Business Journal as “2023 Leaders of Influence in Law.”  This annual tribute, published by the longtime San Diego business publication on Oct. 16, spotlights top attorneys from throughout San Diego County.

According to CGS3 partner Sean Southard, all three attorneys are well deserving of these latest accolades and have expertise in various aspects of commercial real estate law. “We are thrilled to have three of our partners honored in this annual recognition,” said Southard. “Each is committed to delivering a best-in-class client experience and all have extensive expertise in complex transactions and corporate matters.”

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 J.D. from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University.

Heading CGS3’s busy litigation practice, Markow works with commercial real estate investors, developers, owners, and property management companies looking to minimize risks that lead to litigation, defending them forcefully when disputes cannot be avoided. He routinely represents large commercial landlords in connection with lease disputes and acquisition and disposition issues and believe in litigation avoidance rather than scorched earth litigation – examining all options to identify alternative strategies that will achieve his clients’ goals.  He holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago and an A.B. degree from Harvard.

Specializing in structuring complex transactions, Otto’s experience spans the acquisition, development, leasing, licensing and sale of office, industrial and retail portfolios, and mixed-use office/retail.  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.  With a unique ability to handle out-of-the-box transactions and special expertise in assisting clients in the energy sector, he often draws on his engineering degree from the United States Naval Academy, as well as his military service, to develop solutions to complex issues and deal structures. He holds an M.B.A. from the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego, a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the United States Naval Academy.

About Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP (CGS3)

CGS3 is a new generation commercial real estate law firm with practice areas covering the full 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 has recruited some of the state’s top real estate attorneys from both large corporate firms and senior in-house positions. CGS3 is located at 12750 High Bluff Drive, Suite 250, San Diego, California 92130 and 10940 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 2200, Los Angeles, California 90024. For more information, visit http://www.cgs3.com.