ANN RANKIN

Ann Rankin has extensive successful experience representing homeowners' associations and other property owners in disputes and transactions involving both residential and commercial real property. She is a 1978 honors graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law, D.C. Berkeley.

Ms. Rankin has recovered millions of dollars on behalf of owners of apartment buildings, commercial buildings, and condominium complexes in connection with defective construction and design methods. Major successes have included:

A thirteen million dollar recovery on behalf of Watergate Community Association in Emeryville, CA;

A four million, six hundred thousand dollar recovery for The Gardens of Sunnyvale, CA; and

A four million, two hundred thousand dollar settlement on behalf of Mission Springs Homeowners Association in Fremont, CA.

Ms. Rankin is a member of the legal panels of Community Associations Institute (CAI); Executive Council of Home Owners (ECHO), Council of Condominium Home Owners (COCHA) and California Association of Community Managers (CACM). She regularly speaks at seminars organized by these groups, and regularly writes articles on legal topics of interest to homeowners associations and managers which are published in the newsletters of these organizations.

Ms. Rankin is also an affiliate Member of the Certified Commercial Investment Members' (CCIM) group within the National Association of Realtors, and she is a licensed California Real Estate Broker. Ms. Rankin has successfully represented real property investors, syndictors and developers in transactions involving Section 1031 Exchanges and group investments. She has also successfully litigated securities cases involving real property syndications. In addition, Ms. Rankin has a long history of her own real estate investments and rehabilitation projects. The Law Offices of Ann Rankin is housed in a property owned and rehabilitated by Ms. Rankin, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Ms. Rankin's real estate investment and development activities have given her "hands on" experience which has proved valuable to her clients.

Ms. Rankin founded the Law Offices of Ann Rankin in 1986 to provide affordable, high-quality legal services to common interest development associations. Since that time, the firm has grown.

In 1987, Ms. Rankin purchased the Locke House in Oakland, California. She performed extensive renovations on the building and succeeded in having it converted to commercial use, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Law Offices of Ann Rankin is now housed in this building. Ms. Rankin has rehabilitated several other buildings as well. This kind of _'hands on" experience has given her special insight into practical problems facing owners and associations who must deal with problems arising out of improper building design and construction.

 

TERRY WILKENS

TERRY WILKENS has been a successful trial attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1987. He has won numerous jury verdicts for clients and has successfully handled more than 100 arbitrations and mediations in cases involving construction defects, personal injury and products liability.

 Prior to attending law school, Mr. Wilkens practiced as a civil engineer, performing design and field engineering work in a variety of settings, both in the United States and overseas. He graduated from Boalt Hall School of Law, U.C. Berkeley, and was admitted to the California Bar in 1985. He practiced construction litigation at the major firms of Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold and Pettit & Martin before joining the Law Offices of Ann Rankin. His successful trial experience and engineering expertise provide our clients with a huge competitive advantage over opposing counsel.

EILEEN LARKIN MCCAULEY

EILEEN LARKIN MCCAULEY has many years of successful legal experience, both in litigation and in transactional matters. Prior to joining Law Offices of Ann Rankin, Ms. McCauley handled real property and construction litigation matters for the Oakland firm of Martin, Ryan & Andrada, beginning in 1987. Ms. McCauley then joined the Alameda County Superior Court as a Research Attorney, where she advised the Superior Court judges on complex law and motion matters. In that setting, she obtained invaluable experience and insights "from the other side of the bench," which give her a huge advantage in representing clients.  

Eileen's successful experience in transactional law practice began when she worked as an attorney for a local software company. 

In 2004, Eileen joined Law Offices of Ann Rankin, where our clients benefit from her years of successful experience in litigation and transactional legal work. 

Eileen's practice includes:

•  Analyzing and revising governing documents for common interest development. associations,
  

•  Preparing opinion letters,

Keeping our clients up to date on the latest statutory changes affecting their interests,

Successfully mediating disputes before they get out of control and result in expensive litigation, and 

...Representing clients in arbitration and litigation matters.

 Our clients tell us that Eileen is professional, effective and efficient.  

Also see: HOA Articles