Formed in 1974, Brown Winfield Canzoneri Abram Inc. (BWCA) has maintained long-standing client relationships with Fortune 500 and smaller corporations, banks, railroads, real estate developers, investors, lenders, and local government agencies such as cities, counties, redevelopment agencies, housing authorities, transportation authorities and school districts.

BWCA's practice areas include business, real estate, finance, litigation, public/private partnerships, public and municipal law, land use, eminent domain, environmental law, construction, redevelopment, residential real estate including condominium creation or conversion, affordable housing and employment law.

Our balance of public and private side representation enables the Firm to assist in creating and implementing successful public/private partnerships, which have become a hallmark of our practice.

Commitment and Reputation

BWCA's shareholders each bring to the Firm strong individual commitments to client relationships based on a strategic, result-oriented, common-sense approach to the lawyer's role.

That commitment is shared and cultivated by each member of our Firm. We carefully recruit and train lawyers with strong academic records and administrative staff members who possess the attributes and attitudes necessary to deliver on our commitment.

The result is a skilled, motivated and synchronized team, which has earned BWCA a reputation for excellence. Achieving optimum results cost effectively has permitted the Firm to maintain and expand client relationships that span over 30 years.

Strategic Approach

Our job is not to prove how much we know about the law because legal expertise is a given -- our job is to understand the client's goal and to achieve it. We have the highest level of technical expertise, but so do many of our competitors. We, however, add two unique ingredients.

The first is a commitment to listen carefully so that we understand the client's objectives and then strategically plan and implement our work to obtain the best possible result at the lowest cost. We avoid getting caught up in the law and missing the business realities and practical solutions.

The second is our mix of public and private clients and our experience in public/private partnerships. For example, in major real estate transactions we understand how each participant, whether it be a developer, lender or city, operates and thinks. Our hands-on, day-to-day understanding of the needs of each party permits us to be effective problem solvers, negotiators and facilitators. Knowing the practical and legal context and constraints that apply to all sides of the transaction gives us the ability to develop and negotiate creative win-win solutions.

Although the advantage of our strategic approach may be most obvious in the context of transactional and public/private partnership work, it is equally important in the litigation process.

We pride ourselves on creating effective, hard-hitting litigation strategies. At the same time, we creatively explore the potential and optimum timing for a settlement that enables the best projected benefit to the client based on a probable outcome and litigation cost analysis.

Our commitment includes paying attention to the "strategic carrot" as well as the "strategic stick." Reaching creative and advantageous settlements before litigation costs mount is our best marketing tool.

This practical and strategic approach has enabled us to develop expertise in a wide range of matters, such as assisting developers of office towers, retail shopping centers, high-rise condominiums, residential tracts and large master-planned communities; investors with the acquisition of institutionally-owned real estate portfolios; national railroads and telecommunications firms with land use and real estate matters; and both public and private sector clients in forging and successfully implementing major public/private partnerships.

Understanding how each side of the equation operates and their objectives and protocol permits us to become creative and cost effective team members across a broad spectrum of functions from initial planning and counseling through implementation of the game plan, as well as going to battle when litigation is the only alternative.