about the firm
We founded Bergman and Allderdice in 2005 out of the desire to work closely with organizations that are committed to making a difference in our community. Having worked at large firms, we decided we preferred the personalized service of a smaller, women-owned law firm dedicated to providing high quality and cost effective legal services. We are team players who work closely with our clients, providing practical solutions to complex legal matters and helping them maximize self-sustainability. We pride ourselves on our reputation in the nonprofit and community development arena, both locally and nationally, and find that our clients' loyalty speaks for itself. Our areas of expertise include affordable housing, community development, tax-exempt bond financing, CDFI- and CDE- source financing, compliance, management, public/private partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, nonprofit and for-profit formation and qualifying organizations for tax-exempt status.
Attorneys
About Beth Bergman
Ms. Bergman represents numerous local and national tax-exempt organizations, affordable housing developers, charter schools, community development financial institutions, institutional lenders and government agencies; her practice areas include corporate, real estate, real estate financing, affordable housing, economic and community development, tax-exempt governance and tax-exempt financing.
Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Bergman was Assistant Housing Coordinator to Mayor Bradley. After the 1994 Northridge earthquake she was a counsel to the Los Angeles Housing Department facilitating real estate loans between the City and nonprofit corporations, utilizing tax credits, bonds and City subsidies to help rebuild the City's housing stock.
Ms. Bergman currently serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations and she has served as associate editor for the ABA AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT JOURNAL. Articles Ms. Bergman has authored have appeared in numerous legal and not-for-profit association journals. Her publications include Rebuilding Los Angeles – One Year Later: The Bitter Aftermath and Lessons Learned, published in the ABA JOURNAL OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LAW, Spring 1993, and New Markets Tax Credits for Equity and Low-Interest Loans for Capital Developments, THE NONPROFIT ADVISOR, December 2006.
Ms. Bergman lectures in the areas of tax-exempt formation, nonprofit subsidiaries, affordable housing, joint ventures and social enterprise. She has also taught Constitutional Law at Loyola Law School and Environmental Law at Glendale School of Law.
Ms. Bergman is a graduate of Brown University, Phi Beta Kappa, and of Harvard Law School, J.D. She attended a fellowship program at Stanford University Medical School. She was an Associate Editor for the Stanford Law Review and Clerk to the Hon. Chief Judge Consuelo B. Marshall, U.S. District Court, Central District of California.
Ms. Bergman is a member of the California, D.C. and New York State Bar Associations and her memberships include the American Bar Association, Sections on Affordable Housing and Nonprofit Law and the National Association of Bond Lawyers.
About Michael Allderdice
Mr.
Allderdice represents the community development departments of several
cities, including Long Beach, San Diego and Sierra Madre, as well as
tax-exempt organizations, affordable housing developers and residential
developers. His practice areas include real estate finance, redevelopment
law, land use and planning, affordable housing, relocation and CEQA.
Mr. Allderdice has extensive experience with virtually every type of
real estate matter, including property management, leasing, purchases
and sales, construction and take-out financing, bond financing, construction
contracts, formation of joint ventures, general and limited partnerships
and limited liability companies, zoning review, entitlement, subdivision,
development and title matters.
Recent projects in Long Beach include CityPlace, The Promenade, West Gateway and Shoreline Gateway; recent projects in San Diego Centre City include 10th and B and Cedar Gateway affordable housing projects.
Mr. Allderdice is the author of When is 'Fair Market Price' the same as 'Fair Reuse Value', Redevelopment Journal, February 2003, and has lectured in the areas of nonprofit subsidiaries, nonprofit governance, joint ventures and social enterprises. Mr. Allderdice serves on the board of directors of the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation.
Mr. Allderdice is a graduate of Washington & Lee University, B.S. and of George Washington University, National Law Center, J.D., where he graduated with honors.
Mr. Allderdice is admitted to the bar in California and Washington, D.C., is a member of the California Bar Association and the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and is "AV" rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
About Francisca Gonzalez Baxa
Francisca
Baxa is of counsel to the firm. She is a transactional and real estate
business attorney who has been providing legal services to community
based organizations, nonprofits and small businesses for over 20 years.
Ms. Baxa's real estate practice is focused on providing counsel to nonprofits developing affordable housing or mixed used projects using bond financing, low income housing tax credits, historic tax credits, MHP funds, CDBG funds, HOME funds, Trust Funds or conventional financing.
Her business assists entrepreneurs to protect and increase their assets and comply with legal requirements and includes drafting business plans, forming corporations, LLCs or partnerships, drafting and negotiating buy-sell agreements, commercial leases and reviewing and negotiating business loan documents.
Her capacity development work with community based organizations and nonprofits includes strategic planning, board development, incorporation and tax exemption applications, social entrepreneurship projects and maintaining nonprofit tax exempt status.
Ms. Baxa received her BA in political science from USC in 1982 and her J.D. from UC Davis in 1985. She has been a licensed attorney since 1985 and has practiced in the Eastern and Central District Courts as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
She has published the following articles: How to Fund Your Community Economic Development Work, ClearingHouse Review Vol. 37 NOS 3-4, July-August 2003; Creating, Preserving, and Improving Housing through Community Economic Development, ClearingHouse Review Vol. 33 NOS 11-12, March-April 2000; Helping Low Income People Get Decent Jobs, Vol. 33 NOS 5-6, September-October 1999.
Ms. Baxa is a board member of Habitat for Humanity of Orange County; an advisory council member of the National Hispanic Business Women Association, and a member of the National Latina Business Women Association.
About David Rosman
David
Rosman is of counsel to the firm, and is a transactional real estate
attorney, including commercial acquisitions, sales, leases and syndications;
Mr. Rosman also has over 30 years experience as a trial and appellate
litigator, primarily in contract, commercial and real estate matters,
including unlawful detainers, and has extensive experience with alternative
dispute resolution. Mr. Rosman has handled judicial foreclosures, as
well as non-judicial foreclosures (with experienced trustee/foreclosure
services), and has also worked with receivers.
Mr. Rosman taught general business law at the UCLA Extension program and Insurance Law at West Los Angeles School of Law, and serves as judge pro tempore on small claims appeals.
Mr. Rosman received his B.A. from Yale University, cum laude in 1975, and J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 1978. He is a member of the California and Los Angeles County Bar Associations. Published opinions include Abdul-Jabbar v. General Motors (Ninth Cir. 1996) 75 F.3d 1391. Mr. Rosman is the author of Without the Possibility of Parol, Los Angeles Lawyer, March 1998.
Mr. Rosman is admitted to the bar in California.
Jennifer Post
Jennifer
Post is of counsel to the firm. Jennifer has extensive experience in
secured lending, private and public securities offerings, capital markets
transactions and venture capital financings. Jennifer assists companies,
investors, lenders and strategic parties in a variety of corporate
transactions including entity formation, capital raising, lending and
credit documentation, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions and
general commercial and intellectual property agreements. Jennifer's
practice includes compliance activities under federal and state securities
laws including SEC and blue sky registrations, reporting and compliance,
as well as stock listings and quotations. She has been practicing exclusively
in the areas of corporate, finance and securities law for over twenty
years and has lead transactions of all sizes and involving a variety
of foreign jurisdictions.
Ms. Post was a partner with the major Boston law firm Edwards & Angell (now Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge) before moving to California. Since relocating to California, she has served as counsel to a boutique venture capital firm in the San Francisco Bay area and with Richardson & Patel in Los Angeles.
Ms. Post holds a B.A. from Brandeis University, and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School. She has been a panelist, speaker and facilitator at numerous educational and industry events and has authored articles in the areas of securities, venture capital, insolvency and fiduciary duties.
Ms. Post is admitted in the State of California and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Nicole Ramirez-Seijas
Nicole Ramirez-Seijas is of counsel to the firm. Ms. Ramirez-Seijas has experience in complex real estate transactions, representing developers and lenders in a range of projects, including condominium, office and single family. She has also represented clients in connection with the acquisition and disposition of improved and unimproved properties and has extensive experience in the drafting and negotiating of purchase agreements and loan documents, and reviewing due diligence materials, including title and survey, leases and contracts.
Prior to relocating to California, Ms. Ramirez-Seijas was an associate in the Miami office of Holland & Knight LLP. Since relocating to California, she has been an associate in the Irvine office of Jackson DeMarco Tidus & Peckenpaugh and has served as a contract attorney at Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP.
Ms. Ramirez-Seijas obtained both her J.D. and LL.M. in Real Property Development from the University of Miami School of Law and has a B.A. in International Affairs and Latin American Studies from George Washington University. She resides in Santa Monica with her husband and is actively involved in various community organizations.
Ms. Ramirez-Seijas is admitted to practice law in both the State of California and the State of Florida.