Josh is the head of the firm’s real estate practice, advising clients across all phases of property acquisition, due diligence, development, financing, leasing, and disposition. He represents purchasers, sellers, developers, landlords, tenants, and lenders in a variety of real estate transactions, including negotiating purchase and sale agreements, leases, easements, and other key documents critical to property ownership, development, and use.

With a lifetime passion for real estate, Josh provides counsel on diverse projects spanning the energy, infrastructure, industrial, retail, public, and residential sectors.      His experience includes energy projects such as solar, wind, hydropower, gas, battery storage, and transmission facilities; infrastructure projects including transit, utility, and port facilities; industrial projects including large distribution centers and warehouses; a wide variety of retail projects ranging from single sites to destination shopping centers; public projects involving housing and other civic facilities; and residential developments ranging from infill projects to master-planned communities.

As head of the VNF real estate team, Josh is dedicated to guiding clients through complex real estate matters with effective solution-oriented counsel.

  • Experience
    • Represents both purchasers and sellers in sophisticated real property purchase and sale transactions, including 1031 exchanges involving multi-family and retail properties
    • Represents a broad range of clients including franchisees, medical professionals, manufacturers and consultants in asset purchase and sale transactions
    • Represents clients in business entity formation and maintenance matters
    • Represented major national insurance companies and financial institutions in complex title disputes
    • Represented homeowners and condominium owners associations, advising on a wide variety of management and property issues including owner/association rights and obligations under Washington law and federal regulations, amending association documents, addressing delinquencies, and resolving disputes involving owners and boards of directors
    • Represented a multi-location franchisee in dispute with national franchisor over territorial restrictions
    • Represented real property purchasers in disputes with sellers over terms of purchase and sale agreements
    • Represented business management consultant tenant in dispute with landlord over lease terms
    • As lead trial associate, represented multiple defendants in a multi-million dollar real property dispute involving claims of fraud, breach of contract and rescission
    • Represented multiple product manufacturers in disputes arising from alleged violations of state product regulations
    • Represented a sovereign guarantor of a foreign bank in complex fraud and breach of contract claims in excess of $1 billion
  • Professional Affiliations

    King County Bar Association

    Washington State Bar Association

  • Awards & Honors
    "Washington Super Lawyers Magazine"
    Rising Star, 2016, 2017
    Chambers USA
    Real Estate - Washington State: 2024-2025

    2013 ACLU Community Service Pro Bono Award

    Participation in an investigative report on curbing excessive force in Los Angeles county jails.
  • Bar & Court Admissions
    California State Bar
    Washington State Bar
  • Government Service

    U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California

    Judicial Extern, Hon. Oliver W. Wanger, 2008
  • News & Presentations

    News

    Presentations

    Title Law: A to Z(12/18/2017)
    Co-presenter, "Drafting Documents to Cure Defects"
    National Business Institute
    Seattle, WA
  • Thought Leadership

    Publications

    The Rating Agencies: Where We Have Been and Where Do We Go From Here(10/1/2009)
    Pepperdine Journal of Business, Entrepreneurships & the Law, Vol. III Issue I

Areas of Focus

Education

Pepperdine University School of Law J.D., 2010, cum laude, Order of the Coif, The Order of Barristers, Dean's List

California State University, Fresno B.A., 2005, summa cum laude, Dean's List, President's Honor List, Radin Community Service Scholar Award