January 11, 2022 – Five Procopio attorneys based in downtown San Diego and Del Mar Heights have been elevated to Partner as the firm enters 2022. James Kramer, Sara Neva, Eric Plourde, Steve Serna and Juan Pablo Zaragoza are the latest to assume this role at the full-service AmLaw business, real estate and litigation law firm of nearly 200 attorneys.

“Our five new Partners epitomize Procopio’s focus on surpassing client expectations with an integrated team approach,” said Managing Partner John D. Alessio. “We recognized that each of these attorneys has proven to be a leader both in their legal fields and in our firm, and demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment during the unique challenges to the legal profession during the last two years. Their legal insights and client service focus will play a pivotal role in our firm’s growth for years to come.”

Juan Pablo Zaragoza counsels clients on a variety of matters pertaining to international law, private client, tax, and trusts and estates. The leader of Procopio’s Trusts and Estates practice, he focuses on advising domestic and foreign high-net worth individuals, families and family offices on various estate planning issues including sales to defective grantor trusts, family limited partnerships and grantor retained annuity trusts. Juan Pablo is also experienced in designing and implementing estate planning strategies for high-net worth clients from Mexico and other countries in Latin America. Named to the Best Lawyers® list for Trusts and Estates, he is a former Super Lawyers® Rising Star. He earned his LL.M. in Tax from the University of Washington School of Law, his J.D. and B.A. from the University of Arizona.

James Kramer is a member of Procopio’s Business and Technology team and a co-leader of Procopio’s Financial Services industry group. James counsels clients in a variety of industries regarding business and corporate matters, including mergers, acquisitions, financings, corporate governance matters, and licensing.  He advises technology companies, financial institutions, and financial services companies on partnership arrangements, product terms, regulatory compliance matters, and privacy and data security requirements, handles fund formations and associated regulatory and corporate matters, and in his aviation practice, James counsels clients on the purchase and sale of aircraft and the preparation of aircraft leases and agreements. He earned his J.D. from University of Southern California (USC) and has a B.S. in Accounting and a B.S. in Business Administration, both earned at USC.

Sara Neva counsels clients on real estate, finance and general business transactions. Her practice involves real estate property purchase and sale, commercial leases and easements, joint venture formation and other equity investments, financing, land use and entitlements. Sara is experienced with developers, builders, lenders, borrowers, commercial real estate investors, entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations and commercial landlords and tenants. A Super Lawyers® Rising Star, she has also been recognized by the San Diego Business Journal on five occasions (Woman of Influence in the Law, Leaders in Law Rising Star, Next Top Business Leader Under 40, Business Woman of the Year finalist, and Leaders in Law finalist), and named a Top Attorney and to the 40 Under 40 list by SD Metro. She earned her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and a B.S. in Political Science with minors in Business and History from Santa Clara University.

Eric Plourde focuses on business and commercial disputes, including those involving securities, contracts, partnerships and other fiduciary relationships, limited liability companies (LLCs), employment, trade secrets, unfair competition, class actions, shareholder derivative litigation, bankruptcy, and appeals. Eric’s clients operate in a broad array of industries, including financial services, venture capital and private equity, consulting, technology, startups, energy, construction, real estate (including REITs), government, health care, and biotechnology. A Best Lawyers® One to Watch, he earned his J.D. and B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Steve Serna represents real estate development companies, financial institutions, investors, and commercial lessors and tenants in all aspects of the acquisition, development and finance of real estate assets. His experience includes negotiating joint venture agreements, purchase agreements, loan agreements, development agreements, hotel management agreements, property management agreements, brokerage agreements and franchise agreements. Steve earned his J.D. from the University of California Los Angeles School of Law and his B.A. in International Relations from the University of California Santa Barbara. Steve has also been recognized as a Super Lawyers® Rising Star.

High-resolution bio photos of each individual partner are available for members of the media upon request.