Donna Seyle

Exceptional Legal Freelance Services

Location
santa cruz, CA (US)
Work Category
Legal
Interests
Business partnerships
Email
Currently working on...
Researching social media and legal issues

About Me

I am an experienced freelance attorney providing legal research & writing services to real estate and business attorneys. I am also an avid blogger and social media/networking researcher and advocate.

Professionally, my 22 years of experience in real estate and business law is a unique blend of traditional firm practice (litigation and transactional), business and real estate entrepreneurship and commercial lease management. My strength and passion is legal research and drafting, including pleadings and motions, pre-trial and trial documents, business formation documents, purchase and sale agreements, contracts, real estate agreements, residential and commercial leases, landlord-tenant forms and other related documents.

I am relentless in my research, creative in my thinking, talented in the art of written persuasion and a perfectionist in my composition. I bring to the practice not just a solid foundation in legal analysis and writing, but also a practical perspective in drafting transactional documents that facilitates ways to get around objections to language and ease of understanding, all leading to positive outcomes.

Work Experience

  • Jun 2009 - present
    santa cruz, CA (US)
    Attorney/Owner
    Freelance Law Firm
    Freelance Law Firm was founded to serve as an experienced and reliable resource for lawyers and law firms who find themselves without the resources to take on new business or respond to matters needing immediate attention, and to in-house counsel faced with a temporary overload of projects.

    The firm's mission is to provide real estate and business firms or practitioners and in-house counsel with cost-effective, time-saving, high quality legal services so they can increase their billings without increasing their overhead.

    Freelance Law Firm is a fully functioning law firm incorporating all the resources necessary to serve you and your clients as your choice for outsourcing your work. These resources include comprehensive online research through Lexis/Nexis and malpractice insurance.

    What differentiates Freelance Law Firm is how it works. It is a Virtual Law Office that functions via a highly secure online platform. The technology that links to our server houses all communications, documents preparation, document review by both attorney and client, scheduling, invoicing and all transactions in a secure digital environment. The system is easy to use and requires no training.

    The extraordinary benefit of this system is that you can easily access online all of the matter-related materials at any time by logging into our secure server. It's the same as reviewing a paper file in a brick and mortar office, except that it is available to you and your client for review any time of day, any day of the week. You have instant access to the exact status of your matter anytime. This makes handling projects that you have outsourced to us extremely cost-effective and efficient.



  • Sep 2006 - Mar 2009
    watsonville, CA (US)
    Lease Administration Manager
    West Marine Products, Inc
    • Drafted new leases, lease amendments, SNDAs, Tenant Estoppels and Notice and Default letters to Landlords related to new stores, renewal options, and other commercial tenancy issues for over 350 locations nationwide.
    • Interfaced with financial analyst and construction team related to site identification, compliance issues and budget proposals.
    • Performed year-end reconciliations of commercial NNN leases. Analyzed lease terms and audited reconciliations to apply correct application of lease. Negotiated Landlord disputes.
  • Apr 1994 - Sep 2006
    capitola, CA (US)
    Broker/Attorney
    Thunderbird Real Estate
    • Represented buyers and sellers in residential real estate transactions, both independently and as partner with several top producers.
    • Performed market analyses, marketed properties for sale, negotiated contracts and managed the escrow phase of transactions.
    • Represented law clients in business and real estate transactional matters, including real estate investments with self-directed IRA funds.
    • Actively invested in residential and commercial real estate for resale or rental purposes, both locally and nationwide.
  • May 1988 - Mar 1994
    capitola, CA (US)
    Attorney
    Newman, Marcus & Clarenbach

    • Reviewed, researched and litigated a wide variety of real estate transactions and disputes.
    • Researched and resolved development, boundary, and ownership interest issues.
    • Assisted clients in foreclosure and short sale proceedings.
    • Drafted numerous legal documents, including letters of analysis, and a wide range of motions and trial documents.
    • Formed corporations, partnerships, trusts and equity sharing agreements.
  • Jun 1985 - May 1988
    los angeles, CA (US)
    Attorney/Law Clerk
    Rucker & Clarkson
    • Conducted legal research and drafted contracts
    • Completed entity-formation documents for REITs and LLPs involved in the acquisition and development of commercial real estate projects.
    • Participated in strategic planning for both litigation and transactional projects.

Education

  • 1983 - 1986
    Other - Law
    Southwestern University School of Law

Courses & Certifications

State Bar of California, 1987
Broker, California Department of Real Estate, 1994
CEB Courses for both law and real estate

Clubs & Organizations

LinkedIn
Martindale Connected
JD Supra

Hobbies & Interests

Social networking, social media marketing, blogging, yoga & going to Hawaii