Ervin Cohen & Jessup Partner Joan Velazquez And Pooja Nair Selected For Inspirational Women Awards

Ervin Cohen & Jessup announced today that Partner and Chair of its Real Estate Practice Joan Velazquez and Partner and Chair of its Food, Beverage and Hospitality Practice Pooja Nair have been selected as nominees by the Los Angeles Times for its ‘Inspirational Women Awards.’ The awards recognize female business leaders in Los Angeles for their noteworthy success and accomplishments during the last 24 months.

“Joan and Pooja are innovative problem solvers who never lose sight of their clients’ goals,” said Co-Managing Partner Barry J. MacNaughton.

The feature states Joan “is a creative problem solver and proven deal maker. She expertly mitigates her clients’ legal risks while letting them realize the business opportunity in every deal.” Joan represents real estate owners, developers, investors, lenders, contractors and asset managers in connection with a wide range of projects, including the acquisition; financing, development; leasing; management and sale of office buildings; industrial parks; mixed-use projects; industrial developments; and hotel/resort projects.

Recently, Joan was named a “Commercial Real Estate Visionary” by the Los Angeles Times.

Pooja is a go-to attorney for the food, beverage, and hospitality industries and handles partnership disputes, false advertising claims, contract  disputes. The feature states, “While she is a talented and experienced litigator, her specialty is finding creative means to ensure legal problems have practical business solutions.” For example,  Nair recently handled a partnership dispute and used her deep industry knowledge and skills to resolve the dispute favorably to her client without the need for litigation. She also excels when litigation is necessary, recently representing a a restaurant group where she  successfully stayed an insurer’s declaratory relief action in federal court.

Recently, Pooja was named “One to Watch” By Best Lawyers.