Christopher B. Neils is of counsel in the Real Estate and Corporate Practice Groups in the firm's Del Mar office. After spending four years as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, he has spent his entire legal career in San Diego specializing in real estate, corporate and business transactions.

From the beginning of his legal career, Mr. Neils' practice has embraced a wide variety of business transactional experience, including real estate workouts, complicated corporate dealings and representation of real estate lenders. For the last eleven years, however, his practice has emphasized the representation of companies involved in major real estate development transactions.

His practice has included the acquisition and disposition of major real estate assets, including large tracts of undeveloped land, as well as land improved with commercial projects such as office buildings, industrial parks, shopping centers and hotels. He has handled a wide variety of real estate partnerships. His practice has included the financing of commercial projects such as hotels, office buildings, industrial parks and shopping centers.

Mr. Neils has worked extensively on land use and entitlement matters in connection with major developments, including hotel projects, a master planned community, and multi-phase, mixed use projects. He has handled matters under the California Environmental Quality Act, and worked with and appeared before administrative bodies, including the Coastal Commission and various resource agencies.

His practice has involved dealing with the specialized issues relating to Port Districts, as well as the special problems of tidelands and lagoons. He has worked in the formation of assessment districts and Mello Roos Districts for the financing of major public improvements, and has also handled bond financing for major private facilities.

Mr. Neils has handled such mixed used projects as Aviara, a 1,000 acre planned community development with Arnold Palmer Golf Course and a Four Seasons resort hotel located on Bataquitos Lagoon in the City of Carlsbad, and Hazard Center in San Diego, involving an office building, hotel, shopping center and future residential. Among the major commercial projects have been the twin tower San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina completed in 1987 and the San Diego Hyatt Regency. Among the bond projects is a private congregate care facility in northern San Diego.