Ben Hamburg | Mediator, Attorney, Advisor, Advocate
Legal Experience
2004-present Principal, Hamburg Law and Mediation | Neutral mediation of business disputes. Private practice of law specializing in business and real estate matters
2001-2004 Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Primecore Funding Group | Managed all legal affairs of publicly-held construction lender with $300 million portfolio and 1,400 shareholders, including litigation, bankruptcy matters, loan documentation and workouts, dispute resolution, securities compliance oversight, and advice to Board of Directors
1994-2000 Partner, Freeland Cooper LeHocky & Hamburg | Handled commercial litigation and dispute resolution involving real estate, loan workouts, employment, general business, and title insurance
1980-1993 Partner, Dinkelspiel Donovan & Reder | Commercial litigation and dispute resolution
1979-1980 Law Clerk, Law and Motion Department, San Francisco Superior Court | Clerk to the Hon. Ira A. Brown, Jr., Hon. Robert Dossee and other law and motion judges
Other Legal Experience and Affiliations
- Judge Pro Tem, Contra Costa Superior Court
- Mediator, United States District Court, Northern District of California
- Mediator and Settlement Mentor, Contra Costa and Alameda Superior Courts, and San Francisco Bar Association
- Arbitrator, San Francisco Superior Court
- Memberships: California Mortgage Association, National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, San Francisco Bar Association, State Bar Real Property and Litigation Sections, California Land Title Association
- Admitted: California; Northern, Eastern, Central Districts of California; Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal; United States Supreme Court.
Community Engagement
- Chair and Board of Directors, Center for Youth Development Through Law, 2008-Present
- Board of Directors, Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the East Bay, 2005-2012
- Board of Directors, The Mediation Society
Education
University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. J.D. 1979.
University of California, Los Angeles, B.A. (With Honors), Phi Beta Kappa, 1975.
Articles
“Liquidated Damages Provisions in Real Estate Purchase Contracts,” California Real Property Journal, Spring 1998
“Loose Lips: Computer Generated Memos, Messages and Voicemails Can Come Back to Haunt You,” California Law Business, November 1998
“Defect Defense: Lenders That Act Within Traditional Roles Will Not Bear Burden of Faulty Construction” California Real Estate Journal, 1999