Lou Weller, Partner
Lou Weller leads firm’s real estate, transactions and tax practice. He previously served as National Director of Real Estate Transaction Planning and National Director, Like Kind Exchange Services at Deloitte Tax LLP and was Of Counsel to the national law firm, Bryan Cave LLP.
Lou has practiced tax and business law for more than 40 years. He has extensive experience designing and implementing strategies for real estate and business asset acquisitions, transfers, exchanges, leases, financing, work-outs, business start-ups, limited liability companies, partnership and joint venture formations, transactions involving REITs, capital raising through placement of partnership interests and stock, as well as counseling clients on achieving business and personal tax planning objectives. He also owned and for more than 20 years operated a like kind exchange qualified intermediary business.
Lou is the Real Estate Department editor of the Journal of Taxation, has published extensively in professional publications and is the past Chair of the Real Estate Committee, American Bar Association Tax Section and of that committee’s Subcommittee on Like-Kind Realty Exchanges. He is also past Chair of the Taxation Section, Bar Association of San Francisco, the San Francisco Tax Club and of the Federal Taxation of Real Estate Transactions Committee, American Bar Association Real Property, Probate and Trust Section. Lou serves as Co-Chair of the annual Jeremiah Long Advanced Seminar on Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 and has also served as a member of the State Bar of California Taxation Section Executive Committee and on the Board of Directors of the Tenant in Common Association (now the Alternative and Direct Investment Securities Association). He is an elected Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel.
Lou graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University and earned concurrent J.D. and Masters in Public Policy degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. While in law school, he served as an editor of the California Law Review and a member of the Moot Court Board.
In addition to his law practice, Lou has served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Cancer Prevention Institute of California and as chair of the Town of Tiburon Planning Commission. He lives in Tiburon, California and has one daughter. In his spare time he travels, plays mediocre golf and is trying to regain the wicked tennis backhand of his youth.Commission.
Chris Fenolio, Partner
Chris Fenolio practices real estate law and advises on income tax aspects of real estate transactions. He has over a decade of experience in real estate law, tax law, and managing real estate investments, including extensive experience in acquisitions, dispositions, transfers, exchanges, leases, financing, due diligence, developing financial models, drafting and reviewing investment memoranda, managing the closing process, contract negotiation, valuation, and asset management.
Chris previously represented flow through investment partnerships in transactional matters at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Deloitte Tax LLP. He also worked in investment management for one of the top 100 commercial real estate owner-operators.
Chris graduated cum laude with a BS in Accounting and cum laude with a Master of Business Taxation degree from the University of Southern California. He attended law school while working at Deloitte, and graduated with a JD and a legal specialization in Environmental, Real Estate, and Land Use Law.
Chris is a volunteer legal officer for the United States Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol, where he holds the rank of Captain. He is also an advocate for cancer research, and has worked with the NIH to promote pheochromocytoma and genetic cancer related research.