David J Petersen

Practice Areas

David is Co-Chair of Tonkon Torp’s Business Department and immediate past chair of its Real Estate & Land Use Practice Group. He specializes in advising families and family-owned businesses on all aspects of their real estate portfolios. David helps families grow generational wealth by streamlining both the day-to-day legal management of their properties and by facilitating important transactions at the transition points of a multi-generational enterprise.

David also specializes in land use and local government law. Existing developments bearing his fingerprints include big box stores, utility infrastructure, office buildings, parks, residential subdivisions, hotels, apartments and short-term rentals. David has worked with many clients to bring utility-scale wind and solar facilities online in Oregon, California, and elsewhere. David has represented clients before, and has served as a hearings officer for, the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council. He is a member of the firm’s Energy Law Practice Group and often writes on land use topics as they relate to renewable energy.

Beyond land use, David has a robust real estate transactional practice, representing owners and developers in a wide range of title, finance, transactional, leasing, and regulatory matters. He has handled the real estate aspects of several complex mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies, including the $1.2 billion sale of 146 senior housing facilities arising out of the bankruptcy of Sunwest, at the time the nation’s largest privately-held senior housing provider.

Career

David is admitted to practice in the following states and courts:

Oregon State Bar

State Bar of California

Washington State Bar Association

U.S. District Courts, Central, Eastern, and Northern Districts of California

U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit

Professional Memberships

Multnomah Bar Association

Education