Real Property Section Meeting

Elizabeth Brekhus

Brekhus Law Partners

Elizabeth Brekhus has been practicing real property litigation, municipal law and land use in Marin County since 1997, and has substantial trial experience.
Representative matters include failure to disclose cases, landslide and subsidence litigation, easement, encroachment and adjoining neighbor disputes, tree-view disputes, quiet title actions, eminent domain actions, litigation with cities, counties and special districts, writ proceedings, zoning matters and representation at planning commission and council meetings.
Elizabeth is serving a second 4-year term on the Town Council of Ross, and was elected the Mayor of the Town of Ross in 2014. She was President of the Ross Valley Fire Board in 2018 and is Vice President of the Marin County Council of Mayors and Council Members. She is a past President of the Marin County Bar Association.

Elizabeth is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell.

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Neusha N. Ghaedi

DeMartini Walker & Ghaedi LLP

Neusha is a Partner at DeMartini, Walker, & Ghaedi LLP, where she has successfully litigated many cases since joining the firm in 2017. Her clientele ranges from Marin County’s largest property managers and real estate developers to individual property owners and trustees. She advises clients on a wide variety of legal matters pertaining to real estate transactions, property management, probate litigation, and commercial and residential properties.

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Riley F. Hurd, III

Ragghianti Freitas LLP

Riley is a partner with Ragghianti Freitas, where his practice focuses on land use and municipal law. A graduate of Hastings College of the Law, Riley has had the pleasure of appearing multiple times in front of every Planning Commission and City Council in Marin. He has served on the Board of the Marin County Bar Association and was born and raised in Mill Valley.

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Timothy S. Galusha

Thompson Welch Soroko & Gilbert LLP

Tim is a managing partner of the firm. His practice focuses on real estate, business, and partnership law, and he specializes in property tax issues. Tim is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley (1990) and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1993). He externed at the California Court of Appeal for Justice Ming Chin, a California Supreme Court Justice.

Tim is a member of the Real Property and Business Law sections of the State Bar of California, the San Francisco Bar, and the Marin County Bar. From 2011-2015, Tim served as the Co-Chair of the Marin County Bar’s Real Property Section.

Since 2003, Tim has lectured on property tax issues concerning Proposition 13 and reassessment. He is the co-author with Wayne Gilbert of “Understanding Property Tax Treatment of Trusts” (Winter, 2007) Vol.12, No. 4, Trusts and Estates Quarterly. He has volunteered pro bono services on behalf of Marin Legal Aid since 2003.

Tim lives in Marin with his wife and three children, and his activities also include tennis, Crossfit, skiing, soccer, and coaching soccer.

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Leonard A. Rifkind

Rifkind Law & Mediation LLP

Len is the principal of the Rifkind Law & Mediation, with practice areas in real property transactions and related litigation, commercial leasing, land use, landlord-tenant, and construction law, and has been selected to Northern California Super Lawyers (2012-2020). Len is a past president of the Marin County Bar Association (2005), served on the Larkspur City Council from 2009-2013 (Mayor 2012), and president of the Marin County Council of Mayors and City Councilmembers (2013). Len is also a principal and general counsel with Grand Partners, LLC, a real estate development company specializing in acquiring and stabilizing environmentally contaminated commercial property.

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Spencer P. Scheer

Scheer Law Group, LLP

Spencer is an AV rated lawyer and a managing partner of the Scheer Law Group, LLP. He has over 25 years of experience in real estate, creditor bankruptcy, and general business litigation and transactional matters. He has handled over 200 jury and non-jury trials on a wide variety of matters. He has been a speaker for the California State Bar-Real Property Section at seminars and webinars and is also a noted speaker on Lender rights for lender associations throughout the state of California. He is an avid New England sports fan, who plays in a local band named Factor 11 (2.0).

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Derek A. Weller

Law Offices of Derek A. Weller

Derek is the principal of Law Offices of Derek A. Weller specializing in real estate transactions, land use and development, Map Act and subdivisions, and general business transactions and entity formations. He is a graduate of University of California Davis and received his law degree from Hastings College of the Law. Derek is the co-chair of the Real Property Section of the Marin County Bar Association.

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David Feingold

Partner, Ragghianti Freitas LLP

Dave Feingold has been handling real estate and construction matters, and related litigation, since 1986. He is also a recognized expert in common interest development law, and represents community associations, both as general and litigation counsel, throughout the Bay Area. He also publishes and speaks extensively at legal seminars state wide on the subject of common interest developments and standard of care issues.

He has significant transactional and litigation experience with construction projects, and complex multi-party construction defect litigation. He has worked with owners and Associations on hundreds of residential projects, ranging from ground up construction to complex, high value renovation projects.

Although he is an experienced trial attorney, he uses modern dispute resolution techniques to avoid costly litigation whenever possible. He is also an active and sought-after mediator, who is known for his attention to detail and tenacity in working with counsel and their clients to resolve conflict. He finds that his experience as a Reserve Police Officer with the City of San Rafael has been most useful in his mediation practice.

Dave has an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale Hubble, is a former President of Marin County Bar Association, a former reserve police officer, and has consistently been named as a Northern California “Super Lawyer,” which is a designation awarded to the top 5% of attorneys in Northern California.

When not busy serving his community or representing his clients, Mr. Feingold enjoys road biking, paddle boarding and spending time with his family.

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Barbara Monty

Partner, Monty White LLP

Barbara Monty is a successful trial attorney and mediator. She has represented Fortune 500 companies and individuals throughout California. Selected for inclusion in Who’s Who in California and Who’s Who in American Law, each year she receives the highest possible peer-review rating for legal skill and ethics from Martindale-Hubbell. She holds the highest evaluation (10 out of 10) from Avvo, a national independent rating system for lawyers.

Barbara tried the first airborne asbestos case in the country, winning a defense verdict against a multimillion dollar claim for a major car manufacturer. She also received the highest award against the United States Postal Service representing a victim of sexual harassment. She’s received an award from the California State Bar for her representation of residents of a low-income housing complex who suffered from elder abuse. She has also achieved many defense verdicts representing contractors in construction defect trials.

Barbara has consistently served the legal community, as a member of the board of directors of Marin Women Lawyers, Marin County Bar Association, Alternate Defenders, Inc., and the Bar Association of San Francisco. She has taught trial and litigation skills to numerous groups, including Liberty Mutual Insurance and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.

Recently Barbara received the President’s Award from the Marin Trial Lawyers Association for her outstanding contribution to the legal community.

She spearheaded legal efforts to improve the legal rights of the LGBTQ community and low-income elders, and co-founded the first AIDS Legal Referral Panel in the country. Barbara is one of the few attorneys in the United States certified as a Forgiveness Coach, and has taught and written on the subject of how to use the principles of forgiveness in litigation and mediation.

As one of the first city-wide mediators in San Francisco, Barbara was appointed by the city government to help resolve neighborhood disputes, gay bashing, and gang violence. As a mediator with Resolution Remedies, Barbara currently assists clients, lawyers, and the courts by helping them settle disputes without the expense, stress, and risks of trial.

Barbara attended the University of London, holds a BA in English and Political Science from Regis College, and an MA in adult education from San Francisco State University, where she taught graduate courses and worked throughout the South Pacific. While working full time as an Adult Education Specialist for the Federal Department of Education, Barbara attended law school at Golden Gate University’s night program, where she was on law review, was a teaching assistant, and received numerous American Jurisprudence Awards.

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