Scott Shannon is an associate at Russ August & Kabat, where he is a member of the firm’s real estate and mergers & acquisitions/corporate departments. Scott counsels a variety of stakeholders, including property owners, lenders, developers, and tenants in the purchase and sale, financing, development, and leasing of raw land, shopping centers, office buildings, residential developments, and industrial sites, among other assets. His practice focuses on drafting and negotiating real estate contracts, advising on title and survey matters, and providing strategic advice to assist his clients in efficiently and effectively accomplishing their goals.
Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Scott practiced in the corporate and business transactions department of Morgan Lewis & Bockius, where he advised private equity firms, real estate investment trusts, public companies, joint ventures, and middle-market and institutional lenders in their interests concerning the acquisition, disposition, financing, and development of real estate assets in the energy, life sciences, medical, hospitality, manufacturing, fashion, and entertainment industries.
Scott earned his law degree from USC Gould School of Law and received his B.A. in History with a minor in Psychology from Occidental College.
Tiffany Gudkova is an associate at Russ August & Kabat, where she is a member of the firm’s real estate and corporate departments. Ms. Gudkova counsels and assists real estate clients through a variety of transactions, including the acquisition, development, and purchase and sale of real estate in diverse portfolios. Her practice also focuses on guiding clients through a broad range of complex business and partnership disputes. Some of the clients Ms. Gudkova has assisted include real estate developers and landlords.
In addition to her practice, Ms. Gudkova operates a non-profit animal rescue organization she founded in 2016. Ms. Gudkova is also fluent in Russian.
David Taran is a partner at Russ August & Kabat. David handles a wide range of real estate litigation matters, including issues related to sale and acquisition, leasing and lease enforcement, development and construction, ADA accessibility, disclosure, fraud, and common interest developments. David has represented clients in Federal Court, State Court, arbitration, mediation, and other ADR proceedings. David also represents clients in real property transactions and his litigation experience is instrumental in drafting and structuring documentation to protects his clients’ interests. David is also a licensed real estate broker.
David has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers Magazine every year since 2016.
Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, David was a partner at Clark Hill.
Jacob Agi is a partner at Russ August & Kabat, where he is a member of the firm’s corporate & finance, mergers and acquisitions/private equity and real estate groups. Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Jacob practiced at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where he represented top-tier private equity fund sponsors and corporate clients in significant financing and private equity fund formation matters. Jacob has also assisted clients by providing strategic advice in a variety of corporate matters.
Jacob was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2021 – 2025 Editions) for Real Estate Law. He was named a “Rising Star” by the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine in 2023 and 2024.
Jacob received his law degree from the USC Gould School of Law. He received his B.A. in Business from Brandeis University.
Christine Shin is a partner in the corporate group at Russ August & Kabat and chair of the mergers & acquisitions/private equity practice.
Christine has represented U.S. Fortune 500 companies, international conglomerates and global private equity firms in their significant transactions. She has extensive experience in M&A, private equity, public company representation, cross-border investment, multi-jurisdictional deal execution and related corporate transactions. Ms. Shin leads and executes transactions for private equity funds active in the middle market and counsels their portfolio companies on operational matters.
Ms. Shin has negotiated and closed transactions ranging from less than $10 million to over $3 billion, including representing clients in the automotive, cosmetics, energy, entertainment, fashion, financial services, gaming, healthcare, medical, online gaming, real estate, retail, technology and pharmaceutical industries. She has worked closely with boards of directors in making critical strategic decisions for cross-border expansion in the US and overseas.
In 2022, Ms. Shin was recognized among the Los Angeles Business Journal‘s Women of Influence: Attorneys. She was also named a Super Lawyer Rising Star by the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine from 2022-2024. In 2020 and 2021, Ms. Shin was named “A Leader of Influence” among 2020 Private Equity Investors & Advisors by the Los Angeles Business Journal.
Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Ms. Shin was part of the corporate practice at Latham & Watkins LLP. She earned her J.D. from Yale Law School and graduated with honors from Wellesley College where she majored in English and Economics.
Recent Matters:
- Phillips Edison in its $1 billion sale of real estate assets to Phillips Edison Grocery Center Operating Partnership.
- Guidance Software in its $240 million sale to OpenText.
- Air Medical Resources Group in its $750 million sale to Air Medical Group Holdings, a KKR portfolio company.
- ArcLight Capital Partners in its acquisition of hydroelectric power assets from TransCanada Corporation for $1.065 billion.
- Onex Partners in its $3.55 billion acquisition of Thompson Reuter’s intellectual property and life sciences business.
- Acquisitions and dispositions for Oaktree Capital Management, Odyssey Investment Partners, Clearlight Partners, Mondi AG, Nestlé, Motorcar Parts of America, Boeing, Shinseggae Co., Ltd. and the National Pension Service of Korea.
- Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Duff & Phelps, Moelis, Stifel and other investment banks as financial advisors in a wide range of public company M&A transactions.
Steven M. Siemens is of counsel at Russ August & Kabat, where he practices in the corporate and finance department, with a focus on real estate matters.
Mr. Siemens has extensive experience representing landowners, developers and lenders in connection with the purchase and sale, financing (including debt restructuring), construction, leasing and development of commercial, retail and residential properties.
Mr. Siemens’ practice also includes land use, entitlement and administrative law in the area of real property.
Mr. Siemens has represented clients such as Ahmanson Commercial Development Corp., Urban Pacific, Sovereign/Ring Management, Inc., Tribune California Properties, Inc., The Robert M. Bass Realty Group, Foothill Thrift and Loan, Michigan National Bank, The State of Ohio, PCS Development, Inc. and numerous individual property owners.
While at Hastings Law School, Mr. Siemens was a member of the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly. He began his legal career as an associate at Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg & Tunney, and eventually founded his own firm, Kelly, McAuliffe, Siemens & Ryan (1985-1991), prior to joining Russ August & Kabat.
Mr. Siemens is a member of the Beverly Hills, Century City, Los Angeles County and California State Bar Associations, Business and Real Property Sections. He is involved in a number of community and political activities.
