Fulfilling a long-term strategic goal for the Haynes and Boone, LLP San Antonio office, veteran real estate and business lawyer Frank Ruttenberg has joined as partner along with two experienced of counsel, Elizabeth Breazeale and Andrew Baumgardner.
Ruttenberg has been practicing law in San Antonio for more than 30 years, having studied business finance and tax law before moving into commercial and real estate law. He brings to Haynes and Boone a rich and diverse expertise in commercial transactions.
“Frank and his team are a perfect match for Haynes and Boone and our San Antonio office,” said San Antonio Office Administrative Partner Lamont Jefferson. “His expertise in real estate, business law and water law are tremendously valuable skills in today’s legal market. Most importantly, all three of these fine professionals share in our firm’s teamwork culture and each will make a wonderful fit.”
Haynes and Boone Managing Partner Terry Conner said the arrival of Ruttenberg, Baumgardner and Breazeale demonstrates the firm’s strong commitment to serving Central Texas. “As San Antonio has grown into the second largest city in Texas, it has become home to an increasingly dynamic set of corporations and clients,” Conner said. “We expect the coming years will bring to the region a substantial rise in opportunities for major business transactions and commercial litigation, and Frank’s team will be vital to meeting the demand.”
Ruttenberg’s real estate and commercial law practice includes the representation of clients in commercial real estate transactions, commercial leasing transactions, project development transactions, the development and operations of student housing, entertainment venues, as well as the formation and capitalization and operations of closely held or family owned or businesses. He is the currently serving as the co-chairman of the Texas Bar Association Business Law Committee on Limited Liability Companies and Partnerships, chairman of Las Casas Performing Arts Organization, and on the Executive Board of the San Antonio Zoo. Ruttenberg, a graduate of St. Mary’s University School of Law and New York University School of Law where he received his LLM in Law.
As a part of his commercial practice, Ruttenberg has also become known for assisting clients with the purchase, sale and lease of water rights, water development, water supply agreements and public private joint ventures for these capital projects. That focus is expected to become increasingly important to clients as the state’s critical water infrastructure needs are addressed.
Breazeale has been a real estate, construction and finance lawyer since 1990. She handles general real estate matters, including the sale, purchase and operation of income producing office and multi-family properties, commercial leasing, easements, homeowner association declarations, leases and commercial transactions with governmental entities. In addition to handling acquisition and development of real property, Breazeale has focused on the acquisition, development and leasing of groundwater and surface water rights throughout Texas, including the negotiation and drafting of documents relating to the purchase and sale of various groundwater and surface water rights, development of municipal leasing/acquisition programs, “water farm” agreements, and other development agreements for water generation and supply facilities. She is a graduate of the University of Texas Law School. Breazeale serves in a leadership role at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio.
Baumgardner has experience representing sophisticated private and institutional parties, including regional developers with respect to the acquisition, disposition, leasing, financing and development of all types of commercial properties. He has also served as the vice president and general counsel for a regional commercial real estate advisory firm where he managed legal services for a real estate portfolio of retail, office, medical office and land development projects. Baumgardner is also a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and has served in various civic leadership roles in San Antonio.
