Hollywood International Regional Center

Mr. Divine has represented and assisted employers and other parties in some of the largest immigration enforcement investigations and prosecutions as well as private RICO actions. He provides strategic advice and training for employers in their immigration compliance efforts. Mr. Divine also has litigated significant business matters, including contract, commercial, product liability, antitrust, ERISA benefits and business torts (including RICO, misrepresentation, Consumer Protection Act).

By presidential appointment, Mr. Divine served in Washington, D.C., from July 2004 until November 2006 as Chief Counsel of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the world's largest immigration services agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. From July 2005 until July 2006, he served as Acting Director and then Acting Deputy Director of USCIS, spearheading the USCIS Transformation Program, testifying in Congress about the E-Verify system, enhancing operational security, and increasing transparency of rules and procedures. In early 2004 he served as an expert retained to assist the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in its congressionally mandated study on the expedited removal process. He has testified as an expert on immigration law for courts in the United States and abroad.

Mr. Divine represents many business developers in creating, managing and using "Regional Centers" that can create indirect jobs toward the 10 new U.S. jobs whose creation can give rise to EB-5 permanent residence for investment in the developers' projects. He was elected Vice President of the national industry association of "EB-5" Regional Centers, Association to Invest in USA (IIUSA). He represents developers similarly using other parties' Regional Centers. He coordinates this work with attorneys supporting securities law compliance in offerings to investors, with economists identifying "targeted employment areas" and projecting indirect job creation, with licensed securities brokers coordinating offerings, and with attorneys obtaining U.S. Government (OFAC) licenses to serve investors from restricted countries (Iran). He also represents individual investors in obtaining conditional permanent residence and in removing conditions from permanent residence.

Since 1994, Mr. Divine has authored Immigration Practice (Juris Publishing, 2010 – 11 ed.), a well-regarded 1,700 page practical treatise on all aspects of U.S. immigration law, which is republished each year to incorporate the constant changes in the field.

Mr. Divine is a frequent speaker on U.S. and international immigration rules, policies and procedures, and regularly appears before employers, investors, individuals, policy makers, other immigration lawyers and foreign governments. He also authors numerous alerts on immigration-related topics and maintains the Firm's Immigration Blog.

Mr. Neuman is considered to be one of the preeminent land-use, environmental and government law attorneys in Los Angeles as evidenced by his 2009 recognition as the leading lawyer and 1st tier placement for California (Southern) Land Use & Zoning practice for Legal 500. In 2006, he was also selected as the Real Estate Lawyer of the Year by the Los Angeles Business Journal. He has experience in governmental, land use, real estate, environmental, administrative, and public finance law.

The services Jerry provides range from managing the entire entitlement process, including overseeing technical consultants and presiding as primary negotiator with governmental agencies, to reviewing previously negotiated entitlement documentation with a view towards identifying problem areas which may affect the timing of the project's development. He has provided these services to a number of the nation's largest developers and corporations.

Jerry also has extensive experience in all aspects of compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). He works closely with consultants, clients and lead agencies to ensure adequacy of their EIRs, negative declarations, addendums, exemptions, and more, and defending the resulting CEQA document against challenge by project opponents.  Jerry has successfully represented clients in obtaining federal and state permits from, among other agencies, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the California Department of Fish & Game (CDFG), the Air Pollution Control District (APCD) and the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB).

Jerry is and has been the lead negotiator and project coordinator for many of Southern California's most important real estate, green energy, infrastructure, and governmental procurement projects, including the Millennium Partners', Capitol Records proposed 1.2 million square foot development, the multi-module retail/entertainment center at Hollywood and Highland, the Walt Disney Company's Grand Central Terminal Corporate Campus, the 110 acre Burbank Empire Center, the Airbus A380 airport readiness program, Element Powers efforts to create the world's largest combined solar and wind facility, and the multi-modal transit facility at Del Mar Station. As part of his "value-add" approach, Mr. Neuman recognizes the need to find ways of both expediting the process and obtaining governmental assistance to enhance projects; as such, he has been a key player in negotiating incentive packages with government agencies who are seeking to increase their business community and related work force.

Jerry is currently appointed to the State of California's Economic Strategy Panel in which he currently holds the longest standing seat and was selected by Mayor Villaraigosa to the Mixed-Income Housing Technical Advisory Committee for the City of Los Angeles and he is also a founding director of Mission Valley Bank and is on the Executive Boards of many of Los Angeles' most important Civic and Charitable Organizations.

Mr. Neuman is a frequent speaker on real estate and development topics.

Education

• J.D., Columbia University School of Law, 1987
• B.S., University of Arizona, 1984, with honors

Admissions

• California

Kevin represents a wide array of clients, including private equity and opportunity funds, investment advisors, institutional developers, public pension funds, REIT's, joint ventures, partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies, and individuals involved in phases of real estate-related transactions.

The following is a representative list of Kevin's recently completed transactions:

• Represented Lincoln Property Company and ASB Capital in connection with the acquisition of The Campus at Playa Vista and the right to 800,000 square feet of commercial office product located in Playa Vista, California;
• Represented Kearny Real Estate Company and Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund in connection with the acquisition of Nissan Corporate Headquarters located in Torrance, California;
• Represented Kearny Real Estate Company, Prologis, and Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund in connection with the redevelopment of the Los Angeles Air Force Base and a related land swap;
• Represented Broadreach Capital Partners in connection with (i) the acquisition of the Park Place Business Park in Culver City, California, and the subsequent disposition of the individual buildings, and (ii) the acquisition financing of a large portfolio of office properties located throughout Southern California;
• Represented Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. in connection with (i) the sale of a portfolio of thirteen hotels located throughout the United States, (ii) the acquisition of the La Jolla Embassy Suites, (iii) the acquisition of the Del Mar Marriott, and (iv) the financing and refinancing of a large portfolio loan with a national life insurance company;
• Represented McCarthy Cook & Co. and Stockbridge Capital Partners, LLC in connection with the disposition of an office portfolio located in California valued in excess of $800 million;
• Represented PLC Land Company, Rockpoint Group, Starwood Capital, and Fieldstone Communities in connection with the acquisition, financing and development of the Monrovia Nursery Property located in Azusa, California;
• Represented Lennar Partners and affiliates in connection with the acquisition and financing for the former El Toro Marine Corps Base;
• Represented Barker Pacific Group, Angelo Gordon & Co., and The Rising Real Estate Group in connection with the acquisition of Union Development Company and its real estate portfolio located in California; and
• Represented Hamilton Capital Partners in connection with the formation of a private equity fund and the raising of capital from investors located throughout the U.S.

Kevin has received numerous awards and recognition from his clients and peers. For example, the Los Angeles County Bar Association named Kevin as one of the Outstanding Young Lawyers in 2006. In addition, he was recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the Top 20 Young Real Estate Professionals in Southern California. Chambers & Partners also recognized Kevin as one of the outstanding real estate attorneys in the United States.

Kevin graduated on the Dean's List from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in 1994, where he received his Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service. He received his J.D. from the University of Southern California in 1997, where he served as the Chairman of the Phillip C. Jessup International Moot Court Program.

Mr. Su has extensive experience in international trade, business development, marketing management, and strategic planning. Prior to founding Artisan Business Group, Mr. Su served Illinois governor Jim Edgar and assisted him in his trade mission to China in 1996 and helped him host a numbers of Chinese government and trade delegations.

Before coming to the U.S. in 1989, Mr. Su worked as a marketing manager for China Non-Ferrous Metals Import and Export Corporation. He has a MPA degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield in the U.S., and a Bachelor degree in English from Guizhou University in China. He is fluent in Chinese Mandarin and English. His extensive network of Chinese government and business connections, together with the amalgam of his Chinese background, U.S. education and multinational work experience, leave him well placed to bridge the business knowledge gap between the two cultures. Mr. Su is able to give his clients a unique inside view of what is happening in China found nowhere else. Mr. Su is also a public speaker, speaking on a wide range of China/Asia-related business and culture topics.

Mr. Su has facilitated many business and trade missions to China, and also assisted Chinese trade missions and government delegations to the U.S. He has won the trust and appreciation from clients both in China and the U.S. Mr. Su's clients include Armbruster Manufacturing Co., New Horizon Aircraft, SSJ Law Firm, The Law Firm of Michael Dye, Blackhawk Partners, LLC, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Ministry of Commerce PRC., The Morgans Hotel Group, American Airlines, the State of South Dakota, Illinois Soybean Association, the City of Hangzhou, the City of Chongqing, Nami Enterprises LLC., Midstates Enterprises Corp., The Public Safety Specialists Group, Exclusive Visas, Inc., The Law Office of Larry Behar, and various small business enterprises in both China and the U.S.

Mr. Su is a leading authority of U.S. EB-5 investment projects marketing and promotion in China and Asia. He operates the EB-5 China Marketing and Field Support Center with staff in Guangzhou, Nanjing, and Hong Kong. Mr. Su has advised a large number of executives and attorneys on marketing their programs to global investors. His EB-5 clients include Los Angeles Regional Center, Cleveland International Fund Regional Center, Florida Gold Coast Regional Center, Northern California Regional Center, Palm Coast Regional Center, Lake Buena Visit Resort Regional Center, Idaho State Regional Center, Idaho EB-5 Regional Center (pending), The Alexander Company, Vermont State Regional Center, Twin Development Regional Center, California Energy Investment Center, CommerCenters Regional Center (pending), Century American Regional Center (pending), New York Proton Regional Center, and many more regular EB-5 investment projects. As a result of Mr. Su's work, over 10,000 job creations for Americans have been committed by EB-5 projects he advised and assisted in 2010.

Mr. Su is also the president of the EB-5 China Market Council which serves as a collective voice and representative for China based migration companies that promote the U.S. EB-5 Regional Center program.

Mr. Su is an invited speaker for the 28th Annual Conference of the Association of Small Business Development Centers (September 2008), the Florida EB-5 Foreign Investor Seminar (October 2008) and the Greater Orlando Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (January 2009). He has been hosting and organizing EB-5 seminars and events around country and China such as Chicago, Las Vegas, Houston, San Diego, New York, Boston, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai etc. Mr. Su has been interviewed by Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg/Newsroom, Christian Science Monitor, Reuters, PBS, News Week, China Daily, South China Morning Post, China Press, etc.

Dr. Barnhart has consulted on cases ranging from stock valuation and ownership disputes to violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, to personal injury and wrongful birth. He has also applied Input-Output models (RIMS II) to study the impacts of EB-5 regional center businesses. Dr. Barnhart teaches Corporate Finance, Financial Institutions and Investments. His research interests are in the areas of mutual funds, futures markets, corporate governance, exchange rates and the application of econometrics in testing financial theories. His research has been published in the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Empirical Finance, the Journal of Banking and Finance, Financial Review, the Journal of International Money and Finance, the Journal of Futures Markets, and other finance and economics journals.

With more than 30 years experience in the industry, Mr. Baltin is frequently called upon to offer expert testimony in hospitality and real estate-related litigation matters in the areas of valuation and allocations of value. He oversees long-term consulting engagements with several municipalities and private sector clients to provide advice on design, financial, and management structure for major hospitality projects.

He is a graduate of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. He began his career as an operations analyst with the Sheraton Corporation and has been a Lecturer in Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. He has served as the National Director of Management Advisory Services for PKF.

He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and is on the Executive Advisory Council-Center for The Collins School of Hospitality Management at California Polytechnic Institute, Pomona. He is also a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC).

Mr. Baltin has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a lecturer at colleges and universities, including the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Cal Poly-Pomona, The University of Southern California, and the UCLA Extension Division. He is regularly quoted in local and national media on hospitality and tourism topics.

Mr. Tronson has transacted on many of Hollywood’s most recognizable icons such as:

• Former ABC Studios Facility on Vine
• El Capitan Office Building
• Broadway Hollywood
• Historic Hillview Apartment Building
• The Palladium
• Fredericks of Hollywood Building
• First National Bank Building
• Capital Records Building

His recent civic contributions include:

• Chairman of the Board of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce where he chaired Economic Development and Membership Committees
• President of the Hollywood Entertainment District where he chaired Security, Renewal and Nominating Committees
• Member of the Board of Directors of the Hollywood Chamber Foundation

These positions allow Mr. Tronson unique insight into the evolution of Hollywood’s commercial business community.

Additionally, Mr. Tronson is a member of the Urban Land Institute and The CORE Network.

Mr. Tronson graduated from California State University Northridge in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Health Science. During his four years at CSUN he earned three varsity letters in men’s soccer, and All-American Honors in 1986. He was also a member of the team representing CSUN at the National Collegiate Water Ski Championships.

Mr. Tronson currently resides in Woodland Hills with his wife, Pam, and their two daughters, Emily and Avery.

California DRE License #01153636