Allen Matkins Elects Yale Kim, Alain R'bibo and David Stone to Partnership

LOS ANGELES – April 10, 2012 – Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP, a leading California real estate, business and litigation law firm, announces that attorneys Yale Kim, Alain R'bibo and David Stone have been elected to the firm partnership. The election is effective as of July 1, 2012.

"We are delighted to welcome Yale, Alain and David into the partnership. They exemplify – personally and professionally – the qualities Allen Matkins nurtures and promotes," said David Osias, Managing Partner of Allen Matkins. "This is an exciting time at Allen Matkins. Our fiscal year 2011 was our second best in the 34 year history of the firm, and our new partners further our strategic plan to grow and expand our pre-eminence in assisting the real estate industry with all of its transactional and litigation needs."

Yale K. Kim

Yale Kim is a member of the Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights Department in the firm's Los Angeles office. His practice focuses on bankruptcy case representation of creditors and litigation, with a particular emphasis on real estate related matters, including both commercial and residential. For commercial real estate matters, he assists clients with receiverships and foreclosures, guaranty litigation, and representation of secured creditor rights in chapter 11 and 7 cases. For residential real estate matters, he assists clients with foreclosure defense litigation, loan dispute litigation, including loan origination, servicing, and modification issues, and representation of secured creditor rights in chapter 13 cases. Yale serves as lead counsel to a number of financial institution clients in bankruptcy and litigation proceedings.

Yale practices in all Federal District and Bankruptcy Courts of California, the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Yale's practice also extends to Federal Bankruptcy Courts outside California. Yale served from 1996 to 1997 as a judicial law clerk to The Honorable Barry Russell, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California, Los Angeles Division, and Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.

Yale received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and his J.D. from the Santa Clara University School of Law, where he served as Technical Editor of the Santa Clara University Law Review.

Yale is a member of the Financial Lawyers Conference, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

Alain M. R'bibo

Alain R’bibo is a member of the Real Estate Department in the firm's Century City office. Alain advises clients on a broad range of real estate matters, with an emphasis on the acquisition, disposition, leasing and day-to-day management and operation of commercial real estate across the country, including office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties. Clients represented include REITs, pension funds and several of the leading institutional property owners and operators in the country, as well as private individuals and closely held entities. He has successfully negotiated and closed acquisitions and dispositions valued in excess of $1 billion and commercial leases totaling several million square feet. He also serves as lead counsel for leasing and day-to-day operational matters on several institutional portfolios comprising several million square feet.

Alain is a member of the Real Estate and Commercial Law Sections of the State Bar, and is an active member of the Urban Land Institute Young Leaders Group, the UCLA Real Estate Alumni Group and the Jewish Federation Real Estate and Construction Young Leaders Division. In 2010, he earned his accreditation as a LEED Green Associate, and in 2012 was recognized by Super Lawyers as a Southern California Rising Star.

Alain earned dual B.A. degrees in Philosophy and Jewish Studies from UCLA, and his J.D. from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles. While at Loyola, Alain secured multi-year placement on the Dean’s Honor List, and served on the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, first as a Staff Writer, and later as an Articles Editor. He also served as judicial extern to the Honorable Lawrence W. Crispo.

David B. Stone

David Stone is a member of the Real Estate Department in the firm's Los Angeles office. David's practice concentrates on commercial real estate transactions with an emphasis on complex lease and purchase and sale transactions. David has extensive experience providing legal counsel for buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants of office, retail, industrial, medical, shopping center and mixed-use projects throughout California, Arizona, Colorado, Washington and various other states. In addition, David’s practice includes representing institutions and individuals in connection with the financing and development of commercial office portfolios, as well as retail and industrial centers located throughout the United States.

In 2009, David was named to Real Estate Southern California's 30 under 30 list of the region's rising stars of commercial real estate. David was also recently named Outstanding Young Lawyer by the Real Property Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. David is also a member of BOMA Los Angeles, the Urban Land Institute and is past Co-Chairman of the ULI Young Leaders' Partnership Forums.

David received his B.A., cum laude , from the University of Pennsylvania, College of Arts and Sciences and his J.D., from Loyola Law School Los Angeles. During law school, David served as the Articles Editor for the Loyola Law Review. He was also on the dean’s list and received a Loyola Scholar Scholarship.

ABOUT ALLEN MATKINS

Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP, founded in 1977, is a California-based law firm with approximately 220 attorneys with offices in four major metropolitan areas of California: Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and San Diego. The firm's core specialties include real estate, real estate finance, construction, land use, natural resources, environmental, corporate and securities, intellectual property, joint ventures, taxation, bankruptcy and creditors' rights, employment and labor law, and dispute resolution and litigation in all these matters. For more than 30 years, Allen Matkins has helped clients turn opportunity and challenge into success by providing practical advice, innovative solutions and valuable business opportunities.