Anthony Cataldo brings over 15 years’ experience in commercial architecture including retail, office, medical, and industrial projects to Lowney Architecture. He is a Licensed Architect in the State of California as well as a LEED AP, and has been actively involved with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and was President of the East Bay Chapter in 2012. Building Design and Construction magazine named Anthony one of the top 40 under 40 in 2014.

Anthony understands, and is perfectly aligned with, Lowney Architecture's culture of design excellence, professional collaboration and community engagement

Preston Hoopes is an Operations Manager for the Swinerton’s Bay Area Special Projects team, with an emphasis on Silicon Valley. Preston has oversight into many different projects and teams working on interiors, tenant improvements, adaptive reuse, seismic upgrades, campus projects, and more. In past roles, Preston has worked as both a General Contractor and Developer on many high density Multi-Family projects across California, Washington, and Colorado.

Chris Burton is Deputy Director, Office of Economic Development. Chris leads San

Jose's Business Development Team, which is housed in Office of Economic

Development, and is responsible for the City's relationship with its major corporate

employers, largest revenue generators, and fastest growing emerging technology

start-ups. Beyond his citywide business development responsibilities, Chris provides

project management and strategic policy support in areas including land use, the

economic strategy and public/private partnerships. In 2012, Chris co-founded the

Silicon Valley Manufacturing Roundtable, a multi-jurisdictional collaborative that

brings together industry, academia and the public sector to address issues facing the

regions manufacturing ecosystem.

Prior to joining the Office of Economic Development, Chris worked in the City's

Planning Division as an industrial project manager, working on over 200

development projects in San Jose's major employment centers.

Prior to this, Chris served as a sales and marketing associate with BEST Direct

Network, an internet communications start-up, and headed up the UK office before

transitioning to Silicon Valley.

Chris holds a first class honors degree in Human Geography from the University of

Westminster, London.

Matthew James is a shareholder [effective January 1, 2019] in Hopkins &

Carley’s San Jose office and is a member of the firm’s Real Estate

Practice. Matt has extensive experience in all phases of construction and

real estate matters, including contract negotiation, alternative dispute

resolution, and trial.

Matt’s clients include commercial and residential property owners, prime

contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, architects, engineers,

and bonding companies, who he regularly assists on matters involving:

 Contract drafting and negotiation

 Complex, multi-party construction defect litigation

 High end residential construction disputes

 Large scale public works claims

 Mechanics liens, stop notices and bond claims

 Collection matters

A licensed real estate broker since 2006, Matt uses this experience in a

variety of real estate related disputes, including tenant improvement

projects and litigation related to breaches of real estate purchase

agreements.

Matt also lectures on new developments in construction and real estate

law and best practices.

Representative Experience

 Obtained a multi-million dollar award related to defective

construction work after a trial lasting approximately 100 days.

 Obtained a judgment defeating a half-million dollar material

supplier claim against a large prime contractor on a sizeable public

works project.

 Obtained a defense judgment on behalf of a contractor creditor

following a bench trial in a bankruptcy preference action.

 Represented owners against a contractor’s claim for payment,

resulting in an arbitration awarding damages against the

contractor.

 Following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the owner of a large

high-rise condominium project, obtained payment on behalf of his

subcontractor client through contract and mechanic’s lien

litigation.

Professional Activities:

 Business Network International, Member since 2018

 First Community Housing, Board Member since 2016

 Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce Ambassador since 2014

 Happy Hollow Foundation, Board Member since 2011.

Derek K. Hunter, Jr. (Deke) is the President of Hunter Properties, Inc. and

Managing Member of Hunter/Storm, LLC. Hunter Properties is a 55-year old real estate

development and property management company currently with 27 different assets,

totaling 3,500,000 square feet. The family-oriented company developed well in excess

of 8,000,000 square feet during its history. Mr. Hunter is involved with all new project

developments, property management, leasing, and oversight of Bay Area Self Storage.

Deke joined the company in 1982 after working for CBRE in San Francisco.

Mr. Hunter is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, Urban

Land Institute, the Policy Advisory Committee for Fisher Center of Real Estate & Urban

Economics, and Self Storage Association.  Deke annually participates as an instructor

for the Urban Plan program at San Jose State University and local area high schools.

Current projects include: CityLine (Sunnyvale), Coleman Highline (San Jose),

Gateway Crossings (Santa Clara) and iStar (San Jose).

Deke is the President of the Rio Blanco Ranch in Colorado. He is an active

fisherman, skier, swimmer, golfer, and beekeeper.

For over 30 years, Paul Zeger has been the definitive source of information for new construction sales and marketing in the Bay Area. His leadership in identifying and capitalizing on residential development opportunities is unparalleled. Paul’s client relationships include some of the most successful real estate development firms on the west coast – TMG Partners, Emerald Fund, Lennar Urban and Wilson Meany to name a few. Paul believes in making commitments to his clients, and building trust by delivering on his commitments. Paul earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics at Colgate University and a Masters in Business Administration from the Darden School at the University of Virginia.

As the President of Openpath, James runs operations and leads marketing, public relations and partnerships for the company. A serial entrepreneur, James has built and sold three successful technology companies (EdgeCast Networks, KnowledgeBase and Virtualis) over the past 17 years. While at Edgecast, James helped to build the company’s global network to carry more than seven percent of global internet traffic. Prior to Edgecast, James built KnowledgeBase into a profitable, industry-leading company that was ranked by Forrester as the Industry Leader in eService. James received the E&Y's 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year award for the greater Los Angeles area, is an investor in and advisor to tech startups and VC/PE funds, and is active in various community and philanthropic organizations.

Maria Bellafronto is Co-chair of Hopkins & Carley’s Real Estate Practice.

Her litigation practice focuses on real estate, commercial and trust and

estate disputes. She has more than 20 years of experience in jury and

bench trials, and also serves as a Judge Pro Tempore for the Santa Clara

County Superior Court.

Maria regularly represents property owners and developers, as well as

buyers and sellers in commercial disputes involving:

 Purchase and sale transactions

 Real estate investment fraud

 Commercial landlord-tenant disputes

Maria’s strength in litigation is built on her relentless inquisitiveness.

She worked as a private detective during law school and honed her

investigative skills prior to joining Hopkins & Carley when she worked as

an associate for an insurance fraud claims law firm and as in-house

counsel for Farmers Insurance Group.

Representative Experience

 Successfully defended a commercial real estate developer against

allegations of fraud and breach of contract in a six week jury trial

in Shasta County. Client was awarded all of its attorney fees and

most costs to defend the action.

 Successfully defended high tech startup company in a commercial

eviction lawsuit brought by its landlord in San Francisco, claiming

that the client’s office lease was illegal because the City of San

Francisco’s zoning ordinances did not permit “office” use. Client

was awarded all of its fees and costs incurred in defending the

eviction action in trial.

 Represented a shopping center commercial landlord in a

settlement of $3.5 million after its anchor tenant, a major grocery

chain, ceased operations and abandoned the premises.

 Represented client in a probate court trial against the client’s

sister, invalidating the sister’s power of attorney on grounds of

lack of capacity and enabling client to receive half of the estate.

 Won a $250,000 claim in binding arbitration for client against

former girlfriend for failing to repay him for improving her

property.

Professional Activities

 Santa Clara County Superior Court, Judge Pro Tempore

 Santa Clara University Real Estate Advisory Board

 Thirty One Women, Co-founder

 Graceful Giving, Co-founder

 De Anza Force Soccer Club, Former Board Member

 Little Italy San Jose, Advisory Board Member

 ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers)

 SVBA (Silicon Valley Bar Association)

 Santa Clara County Bar Association

 American Bar Association.