Leon Silver and Rebecca Cain announce the opening of Silver Cain
Leon Silver and Rebecca Cain today announce the launch of Silver Cain PLC, a boutique commercial law firm headquartered at 3101 N. Central, Suite 1410, in Phoenix.
Prior to launching the new firm, Silver served as managing partner of, and Cain was a partner in the Phoenix office of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, the twentieth largest firm in the United States. Silver also served as the nationwide practice group leader of the firm’s Retail & Hospitality and Government Regulatory & Administrative Law practice groups. The two previously worked together as partners at Polsinelli, and co-founded the Liberty Project, a student and community think tank based in the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU.
Silver Cain is committed to a client-specific, case-specific legal approach. “We believe that for any business or individual to survive and thrive despite litigation, their counsel must understand their industry, company, and unique situation and be committed to helping them meet their goals,” says Silver. “We develop a personalized litigation approach tailored to clients’ specific needs and help them effectively assess and manage risk. We have succeeded in the most difficult commercial cases and are committed to providing the benefit of that experience to anyone we represent.”
With more than 30 years of experience handling complex business and real estate trials, arbitrations, mediations and appeals, Silver has a proven record of success. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation and has been recognized as both a Top 100 Lawyer in Arizona and a Top 10 Arizona Lawyer for Commercial Litigation. Silver excels at providing counsel to his clients on all aspects of their business operations, with a special expertise in conflict resolution and avoidance, protecting clients from government overreach or over-regulation, and developing litigation and trial strategies designed to achieve the efficient resolution of any dispute. He has managed litigation all over the country, as well as in Canada, Mexico, and Europe.
Cain, a litigator with a background in business administration, has represented businesses and individuals in high-stakes disputes for 15 years. She offers a special expertise in early case assessment, simplifying complex factual and legal issues for presentation to judge or jury, and developing comprehensive, efficient plans for mediation and litigation. Recent successes include obtaining a complete dismissal with prejudice in a multi-billion-dollar class action lawsuits and winning summary judgment on a multi-million-dollar breach of contract claim.
LPC makes major next step in Nevada
Lincoln Property Company’s Southwest division, LPC Desert West, has established an office in Nevada, hiring a locally based team to oversee the company’s rapidly growing commercial real estate footprint in Las Vegas and Reno.
Based in Phoenix, LPC Desert West since 2001 has developed over 15 million square feet, acquired more than 6 million square feet and currently manages almost 21 million square feet of institutional-grade commercial space in a region spanning Arizona, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico.
Nevada represents 6.1 million square feet of that activity, including a 769,572-square-foot investment portfolio and a 1.5 million-square-foot new development that is currently under construction. It also includes 3.7 million square feet of property management activity through a mix of owned and third-party assets.
“Las Vegas and Reno have experienced incredible industrial growth, much like we’ve seen in Phoenix,” said LPC Senior Executive Vice President David Krumwiede. “It is exciting to have our Nevada office officially open and our boots-on-the-ground experts in place so that we can bring our full set of investment, development and management skills to bear in Nevada as we’ve done in Phoenix for more than two decades.”
The new LPC Nevada office team includes Senior Property Manager Jessica Saldana, Property Manager Aurora Murtey, Assistant Property Manager Haley Novak and Senior Building Engineer Jeff Robins.
Together, the office manages almost 770,000 square feet of LPC-owned space at West Craig Industrial Center in North Las Vegas and six buildings within Hughes Airport Center, near Harry Reid International Airport. It also manages an institutional-grade industrial portfolio totaling 30 buildings and 3.7 million square feet in Las Vegas and Reno. That space is part of a larger, 8.1 million-square-foot regional industrial portfolio that LPC manages for the institutional owner across Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.
“Our property management presence in Nevada has grown from assisting with acquisition and due diligence services into a full management, leasing and construction management scope of work,” said LPC Desert West Managing Director Julie Cornelius. “We have put our market knowledge to work, and continue to grow the value of our owned and third-party properties through strategic management and leasing.”
Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR expands team
Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR recently expanded both its Tucson commercial real estate brokerage team and its property management group by welcoming Kameron “Kam” Norwood and Mary Lou Lara.
Norwood, a two-time entrepreneur, launches his commercial real estate career with C&W | PICOR as an investment sales and leasing specialist, with a primary focus on the industrial and warehousing sector. A Tucson native and University of Arizona graduate, Norwood began in technical staffing working from recruiter to management in eight years.
At 29 he left corporate America to found a hemp business helping farmers commercialize their goods. This evolved into a Forbes-featured, award-winning CBD brand. When COVID hit and e-commerce boomed, direct-to-consumer fulfillment was the biggest challenge for their business. Along with his co-founder, Norwood launched Packdash, a third-party logistics (3PL) company empowering other small businesses’ fulfillment options. After building PackDash, they sold to a larger company in early 2023.
Norwood brings this entrepreneurial mindset to his clients, drawing from experience in supply chain, leadership, finance, and business operations. Barbi Reuter, CEO of C&W | PICOR says, “Kam’s energy and relatability are infectious, and his understanding of the business cycle will be a great asset to his clients.”
Outside of the office, Norwood is a dedicated father of two girls embracing diverse pursuits from culinary, woodworking, gardening, an affinity for cars, and is a retired chicken farmer.
With a career spanning over two decades in healthcare, Mary Lou Lara obtained her real estate license to put her knowledge and experience in property management to work at C&W | PICOR.
Formerly a key player in a multi-site hospital system, Lara’s experience encompasses managing vendor relations, tenant improvement projects, leasing, real estate management, and development in commercial settings. Her mixed commercial portfolio includes a number of government and retail offices. Lara’s philosophy is prioritizing relationships with all property stakeholders and embraces a people-first approach infused with servant leadership.
Having been a resident of Tucson since 1993, Lara has built many relationships within our community. Beyond her professional life, she loves the great outdoors and spending quality time with family. “We’re fortunate to have such a wonderful colleague on our team!” says Tina Olson, Director of Property Management.
Spencer Fane adds trio of attorneys
Spencer Fane LLP announced William (Bill) Clarke, Eric Gere, and Joel Newell have joined the firm’s Phoenix office. Gere (partner) and Newell (of counsel) are in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group, while Clarke joins as a Tax, Trusts, & Estates partner.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to continue this office’s measured growth and support our proven ability to supply clients with the resources needed to provide a full spectrum of legal counsel,” said David Funkhouser, Office Managing Partner for Spencer Fane in Phoenix. “All three of these attorneys have proven, established practices and share our commitment to collaborative, efficient, and effective client service.”
ABOUT THE ATTORNEYS
Bill Clarke (Tax, Trusts, & Estates) — Clarke provides informed and experienced counsel to businesses, families, and individuals on structuring business transactions and personal finances, aligning strategies to achieve tax objectives and estate planning goals. This includes varying complexity in estate planning, probate administration, general business matters, and corporate and real estate transactions. He brings more than four decades of experience in private practice with a proven ability to utilize the full spectrum of options to create unique solutions that satisfy immediate needs while reducing taxes and protecting their wealth for generations to come. Clarke completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Kansas, where he was an All-American tennis player, before earning his Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona.
Eric Gere (Litigation and Dispute Resolution) — With a private practice focused on general, commercial, tax, and real estate litigation, Gere brings significant experience in successfully representing a variety of individuals and businesses in utility law, complex real estate transactions, landlord/tenant disputes, breach of contract lawsuits, construction law, and torts. He maintains an extremely diverse client base and executes on collaborative strategies necessary to deliver comprehensive legal service. Gere completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Washington and later earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Washington School of Law.
Joel Newell (Litigation and Dispute Resolution) — Newell’s private practice focuses on commercial, probate, and corporate restructuring litigation. He addresses the full range of litigation risks that a business might encounter, first proactively counseling clients on how to avoid unnecessary litigation and then thoughtfully and aggressively utilizing the full range of dispute resolution methods to defend them up to and through appeal when necessary. Newell has previously served as chair of both the State Bar of Arizona and Maricopa County Bar Association bankruptcy sections and has significant experience in the complex landscape of bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings. He completed his undergraduate studies at Anderson University and earned his Juris Doctor from Western Michigan University’s Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
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