Greenberg Traurig Continues Orange County Expansion With Addition of Gino Bianchini

IRVINE, Calif., June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The international law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP announced that Gino Bianchini has joined its Orange County office as a shareholder in the firm's Tax Practice where he will concentrate on public and private Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Real Estate Funds and other real estate companies.  Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig, Bianchini was a Principal with Ernst & Young LLP.

Bianchini's practice is focused on federal tax issues affecting the real estate industry, including real estate investment vehicles such as partnerships, REITs and private equity funds. In addition, he represents taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service and state tax authorities at the examination and appeals levels. While at Ernst & Young, Bianchini practiced in the area of real estate taxation and focused on land development and homebuilding activities, REITs, pass-through entities, the taxation of transactions involving such entities and blocker structures for offshore investors investing in U.S. real estate.

"Gino brings an important level of federal tax experience to our real estate, REITs and real estate funds practice groups in Southern California," said Sandy Presant, chair of Greenberg Traurig's Real Estate Funds Practice Group.

"With the addition of Gino to our real estate and tax groups, we can better serve the growing needs of our clients in Orange County," said Raymond Lee, managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig's Orange County office.

Bianchini holds a J.D. and an LL.M. (Tax) from Golden Gate University School of Law and a B.A. from the University of San Diego.

Greenberg Traurig's international Tax Practice Group advises U.S. and international clients on the tax implications of their real estate investments.  Its members also assist clients on the tax aspects of real estate transactions, from property acquisitions and sales, to 1031 or "like-kind" exchanges, to structuring condo-hotels, club membership programs and other ancillary service programs. They also advise on the tax-efficient use of special purpose vehicles, such as real estate investment trusts (REITs) and counsel clients regarding securitizations, including real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs) and exotic asset securitizations.

Greenberg Traurig's Real Estate Funds team is multidisciplinary and its members unite the knowledge and experience of the firm's Real Estate, Corporate & Securities and Tax practices. Team members focus on a variety of legal disciplines, including joint ventures, corporate finance, financial services regulatory requirements, securities regulations, international and domestic tax and ERISA. They regularly help clients address the many facets of their real estate private equity ventures.

Bianchini is the most recent hire in the trend of strategic expansion throughout Greenberg Traurig's California offices. The others include Orange County Environmental Shareholder Greg Trimarche; the Orange County Real Estate team led by Shareholders Bruce Fischer and Scott Morehouse, Los Angeles Labor and Employment/Class Action Defense Shareholder Mark Kemple; Los Angeles Corporate Shareholder Mark Kelson; and Silicon Valley Real Estate Shareholder Vivek Chavan.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, full-service law firm with approximately 1,800 attorneys serving clients from more than 30 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. In the U.S., the firm has more offices than any other among the Top 10 on The National Law Journal's 2011 NLJ 250. In the U.K., the firm operates as Greenberg Traurig Maher LLP. Greenberg Traurig has a strategic alliance with the independent law firm, Studio Santa Maria in Milan and Rome. The firm was Chambers and Partners' USA Law Firm of the Year in 2007 and among the Top 3 in the International Law Firm of the Year at the 2009 The Lawyer Awards. For additional information, please visit www.gtlaw.com.

SOURCE Greenberg Traurig, LLP