Charles D. Cummings

Partner

A partner in the firm since 1980, Mr. Cummings is a trial lawyer, whose practice emphasizes real estate, eminent domain and business litigation. He also regularly counsels clients on all types of real estate negotiations and transactions including issues related to purchase and sale, leases, title, deeds of trust, liens, foreclosures, broker commissions, construction disputes and boundary disputes. Mr. Cummings was part of a team responsible for the review and overhaul of all real estate transaction forms used by a major brokerage and property management firm located in Los Angeles. Mr. Cummings has served as a guest speaker for the Appraisal Institute and the International Right of Way Association's Annual Valuation Seminar.

Mr. Cummings obtained his juris doctor, cum laude, from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles in 1974 and was a member of the St. Thomas More Law Honor Society. Mr. Cummings was admitted to the California State Bar in 1974. In addition to the California State Bar, Mr. Cummings is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the U.S. District Court for the Easter District of California, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Cummings is currently a member of both the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the American Bar Associations.

Mr. Cummings is a former member and chair of the Civil Service Commission for the City of San Gabriel. He has also served on a number of educational and charitable boards including the Board of Directors for Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and the San Gabriel Mission High School and Elementary School Board. Mr. Cummings has had a long term relationship with Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy. He was a member of its Advisory Board for nine years and its Board of Directors for eight years.

Mr. Cummings is rated AV-Preeminent 5.0 out of 5.0 by Martindale-Hubbell.

Gary A. Kovacic

Partner

Mr. Kovacic concentrates his law practice in the areas of eminent domain, land use, and zoning litigation. His eminent domain practice includes well over 500 cases for clients that range from Fortune 500 companies to family businesses; from owners of shopping centers, golf courses, and large tracts of land to tenants of small commercial parcels.

Mr. Kovacic has been a licensed California attorney since 1976 and a partner in the firm since 1981. In addition to the California State Bar, Mr. Kovacic has been admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court (Central, Eastern, and Southern Districts of California), U.S. Court of Appeals (Ninth Circuit), and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Kovacic obtained his undergraduate degree in history cum laude from UCLA and his juris doctor, cum laude, from Southwestern University School of Law, where he was a note and comment editor for the law review. Mr. Kovacic taught real property law as an adjunct professor at the University of La Verne College of Law and has served as a guest lecturer on eminent domain law at both the University of Law Verne College of Law and Southwestern University School of Law. From 1990-1992, Mr. Kovacic chaired the Los Angeles County Bar Association Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Committee. He has also been a featured speaker at the American Planning Association Zoning Institute, American Planning Association National Planning Conference, CLE International Regulatory Takings Conference, Appraisal Institute, and International Right of Way Association Annual Valuation Seminar. In addition to his speaking engagements, Mr. Kovacic has co-chaired the CLE International Annual Eminent Domain Conference in Southern California since 2003. He has also been a contributing author for Nichols on Eminent Domain, the nation's leading treatise on eminent domain law.

In addition to the practice of law, Mr. Kovacic is a member of the City Council of the City of Arcadia, California, having served over 16 years as a City Council Member including five terms as Mayor. He is currently the Mayor Pro Tem of Arcadia for the 2014-2015 term. He has also chaired the City's Redevelopment Agency Board and Planning Commission, and is a current member of the Oversight Board of the City's Successor Agency, positions that concern numerous development, zoning, and land use issues. Mr. Kovacic has been very involved with Arcadia's public school district as a board member of the Arcadia Education Foundation, coach of Arcadia High School's national championship Constitution Team, and chair of the school district's successful $218 million school bond campaign. He is President and CEO of the Arcadia Performing Arts Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports arts education and the new state-of-the-art Arcadia Performing Arts Center. He also serves as a member of the board of directors of Foothill Unity Center, a regional food bank.

Mr. Kovacic is rated AV-Preeminent 5.0 out of 5.0 by Martindale-Hubbell and has been consistently listed in Southern California's Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers for Eminent Domain Law.

Karyn A. McCreary Jakubowski

Partner

Karyn A. McCreary Jakubowski is a partner at the law firm of Sullivan, Workman & Dee, LLP in Los Angeles. Ms. Jakubowski's practice is primarily dedicated to eminent domain and real estate litigation, and has represented both condemning agencies and private property owners. Ms. Jakubowski has engaged in lease reviews, drafted purchase and sale agreements for real property transactions, coordinated escrows, reviewed and drafted leases, conducted due diligence regarding title disputes, litigated easement disputes, and litigated both commercial and residential landlord and tenant disputes. Ms. Jakubowski also represents clients in California employment litigation arising under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and the California Labor Code.

Ms. Jakubowski received her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 2003. She has been a member of the firm since July, 2003, and was elevated as a partner of the firm in 2006. Ms. Jakubowski is currently admitted to the State Bar of California and the United States District Court for the Central District of California. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Chapter 67 of the International Right of Way Association, and is currently serving on the steering committee for the Eminent Domain and Inverse Condemnation Subsection of the Real Property Law Section of the California State Bar Association.

Ms. Jakubowski has co-authored articles on the role of ethics in eminent domain for the CLE International Conference in Eminent Domain held annually in Los Angeles, California and is a contributing author to the California State Bar Real Property Law Sections' e-Bulletin. Ms. Jakubowski also served as a contributing author for volumes 8 through 10 of Nichols on Eminent Domain, the leading national treatise in the field of eminent domain. She has also been a guest lecturer at the University of La Verne College of Law and the Real Property Section for the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

D. Daniel Pranata

Partner

Mr. Pranata is a litigator and transactional attorney who focuses his practice on real estate, eminent domain, business, and civil litigation, and estate planning. He obtained his juris doctor from Loyola Law School in 2001 and has been a member of the firm since 2001. In addition to the State Bar of California, Mr. Pranata is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He is also a member of the American Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association, and Chapter 67 of the International Right-of-Way Association.

In his real estate practice, Mr. Pranata has advised clients regarding boundary disputes, encroachments, and easement rights and liabilities. He has also conducted extensive due diligence with regard to lease terms for clients including a group acquiring a chain of supermarkets. In his eminent domain practice, Mr. Pranata advises property owners, business owners, and agencies in all phases of the acquisition, valuation, litigation, and relocation process.

Mr. Pranata also serves on the Montrose Shopping Park Board of Directors, representing the interests of over 200 member merchants.

Theresa M. Pranata

Partner

Theresa M. Pranata joined Sullivan, Workman & Dee, LLP as a partner in 2011. Ms. Pranata chairs the firm's Elder Law, Trust & Estates practice area, which includes estate planning, special needs trusts, Medi-Cal planning, conservatorships, trust administration, and probates.

Ms. Pranata graduated Order of the Coif from Loyola Law School in 2001 and was admitted to the California State Bar that year. Prior to that, Ms. Pranata attended Loyola Marymount University, where she graduated magna cum laude and was a member of Alpha Sigma Nu National Jesuit Honor Society.

Ms. Pranata is an active member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Trust & Estates Section, Pasadena Bar Association Probate, Trust & Estates Section, and San Gabriel Valley Bar Association. She has also served on the Los Angeles County Superior Court's Probate Volunteer Panel, accepting court appointments to represent elders and developmentally disabled adults in probate court proceedings. Ms. Pranata is a member of the Board of Directors of the Pasadena Senior Center and serves on its Executive Committee.

Roger M. Sullivan

Retired

Mr. Sullivan practiced as an eminent domain and land use trial lawyer for over 50 years, handling several hundred eminent domain trials as lead counsel. He is past chair of the eminent domain committees of the American Bar Association, California State Bar, and Los Angeles County Bar Association, and also published many articles on eminent domain law including a cover article in Los Angeles Lawyer magazine. When California redrafted its comprehensive Eminent Domain Law, Mr. Sullivan testified in support of the legislation on behalf of the California State Bar. He also served on the American Bar Association committee that drafted the Uniform Eminent Domain Code. After service as a naval aviator, Mr. Sullivan obtained his law degree from Loyola Law School where he founded the St. Thomas More Law Society. He is past president of Loyola Marymount University's Board of Visitors and received Loyola Law School's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1989. He is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Henry K. Workman

Retired

Mr. Workman chaired the firm's trusts, wills, estates and probate practice, and also handled appeals and eminent domain trials. He received his undergraduate degree from USC, where he captained the school's first national championship baseball team in 1948, and received his law degree from Loyola Law School. Mr. Workman came to the firm after military service in World War II, six years as a professional baseball player (including a stint with the 1950 World Series champion New York Yankees), and three years as a deputy in the California Attorney General's office concentrating on eminent domain litigation.

Thomas E. O'Sullivan

Of Counsel

As a former Revenue Agent for the Internal Revenue Service, Mr. O'Sullivan brings a practical approach and perspective to his sophisticated tax, estate planning and probate practice. He received his undergraduate degree from USC and his law degree from Loyola Law School. Mr. O'Sullivan served in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II and a personal essay about his experience as a German POW can be found in More Visions of Arcadia: A Community Anthology published in 2013.

Sherrill Y. Tanibata

Of Counsel

Ms. Tanibata is an experienced trusts, wills, estate planning and probate lawyer. She also negotiates and drafts business agreements and contracts. Sheri is a graduate of UCLA and received her law degree from Loyola Law School.