Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Page 3
Jones Day Litigation Partner Bertzyk Defects to Greenberg Traurig
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Former Jones Day litigator Scott Bertzyk has joined the Santa Monica office of Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder in the firm’s real estate litigation practice.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to be here,” Bertzyk told the MetNews today. The move reunites him with Eric Rowen, his former partner at Jones Day, who chairs Greenberg Traurig’s real estate litigation practice in the western region.
“The biggest factor for me is the opportunity to partner with my friend Eric Rowen,” Bertzyk explained. Rowen left Jones Day for Greenberg Traurig about a month ago, and asked Bertzyk to join him, Bertzyk explained.
“Scott is among the best litigators in the nation,” Rowen said in a release. “He thinks creatively and brings extensive knowledge, skill and experience to bear in representing clients. He will add tremendous depth and breadth to our group, and be an invaluable asset . . . . It will be great to work together again . . . . ”
Jeff Scott, co-managing shareholder of the firm’s local office, added, “Eric and Scott make a formidable litigation team that provides important value to our highly regarded real estate and secured finance practices.”
Bertzyk told the MetNews that one of the matters he will be working on involves the ownership of the lease to the Mariners Village apartment complex in Marina del Rey.
At Jones Day, Bertzyk successfully represented a number of counties in a series of class actions seeking increases in retiree pensions, Greenberg Traurig noted in a relase. The counties’ combined exposure exceeded $10 billion.
He also represented Los Angeles and Ventura Counties in litigation against the State of California involving the rights to certain tax revenues. Los Angeles County became entitled to a refund of more than $135 million. Ventura County was assured of $30 million in refunds and funding, the release noted.
Other Bertzyk clients have included the State of California, Baldwin Builders, Village Properties, Goodrich Corporation and Bridgestone/Firestone.
Bertzyk graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Texas Law School and summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin — Eau Claire, with a joint degree in accounting and business administration. While attending law school, he passed all phases of the Certified Public Accountant’s exam in the first sitting. He has taught appellate advocacy at Loyola Law School.
Greenberg Traurig, which began with three members in Miami, Fla. in 1967, is now one of the largest firms in the United States, with over 1,500 attorneys and government affairs professionals in the United States, Europe and Asia. The Santa Monica office opened in 2000 and currently has 96 attorneys.
“This firm is run in a way I didn’t think was possible for a large firm,” Berzyk told the MetNews. “It’s efficient . . . . [It] really has its act together in terms of supporting its attorneys and building practices.”
Copyright 2006, Metropolitan News Company