Mr. Galuppo has been involved in the real estate industry since 1975 as a principal, builder, real estate broker, mortgage broker, developer, and attorney. From 1989, Mr. Galuppo has been practicing law, emphasizing both transaction and litigation matters relating to real estate, finance, construction, development, environmental and land use. Mr. Galuppo serves as general counsel for various real estate, development, construction, and mortgage lending companies. He is licensed to practice in all courts of the State of California; including the four Federal District Courts. Previously, Mr. Galuppo was a partner in the real estate law firm of Peterson & Price.

A few years ago, he was awarded the distinction of an “AV” rating with the lawyer rating service of Martindale-Hubbell. The AV® certification mark is the highest level of rating accomplishment awarded by Martindale-Hubbell. It is a testament to the fact that the lawyer's peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence. Knowledge and skill derived from extensive experience are usually prerequisites for an AV rating. The standard of excellence is determined by the lawyers practicing in that particular area.

Mr. Galuppo is also the Director of the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego (“USD”). He has taught Legal Aspects of Real Estate in the School of Business Administration at USD as a professor starting in 1998. In 2004, in the Masters of Science of Real Estate (“MSRE”) he started teaching Real Estate Law, Ethics and Public Policy. Also in the MSRE program, Mr. Galuppo teaches Real Estate Transactions and the Land Use Process.

Furthermore, he actively speaks, writes and performs research on issues affecting the real estate community and sustainability and is currently involved with the San Diego Chapters of the National Association of Industrial & Office Properties, the Institute of Real Estate Management, the Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute, Urban Land Institute, Building Industry Association, the San Diego Association of Realtors, and the North San Diego County Association of Realtors. Mr. Galuppo is also a member of the honorable Lambda Alpha International Society for the advancement of Land Economics.

He received his Bachelor of Science Degree, with an emphasis in finance, from San Diego State University. After several years working as a real estate professional, Mr. Galuppo returned to school, receiving his Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law in 1989. While in law school, Mr. Galuppo was part of the staff of Law Review and interned with the Superior Court of California in San Diego and with the Fourth District Court of Appeals, Division One.

In the early 1990’s, Mr. Galuppo served on an advisory group to the Housing Commission for the City of Encinitas. During the early 2000’s, he was a Director for CCIM, San Diego Chapter. Mr. Galuppo was a Board Member for the New School of Architecture, as well as a Board Member for the San Diego Community College Real Estate Advisory Committee.

Mr. Galuppo was born and raised in Southern California. He has been married over 20 years to Kathryn; and they have two children.

Mr. Blechschmidt’s legal practice currently emphasizes real estate and business litigation. In addition, Mr. Blechschmidt routinely handles real estate transactions and land use matters. He has been awarded the distinction of an “AV” rating with the lawyer rating service of Martindale-Hubbell. The AV® certification mark represents the highest rating level awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, and is a testament to the fact that the lawyer's peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence.

Mr. Blechschmidt started his legal career at a small law firm representing trucking companies in litigation throughout the state of California. Mr. Blechschmidt has since practiced law with several prestigious law firms in San Diego and South Lake Tahoe, California. In addition to private practice, he has also served as General Counsel for Pars Assets LLC, a real estate investment company and Microskills, LLC, a computer training school.

Mr. Blechschmidt received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Washington State University and earned his Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law in 1993. Mr. Blechschmidt is licensed to practice law in both California and Nevada. He is married to his wife Alicia and has two lovely daughters, Sierra and Madison and a son Kyle.

Mr. Berton, a native Southern Californian, has been a trained mediator since 1997 and a practicing attorney in San Diego for nearly five decades. He has vast expertise in the areas of commercial and residential real estate purchase/sale transactions, leasing, land development, construction defect, estate planning and probate and trust law. Mr. Berton held a Certificate of Specialization from the California State Bar in Probate, Trust, and Estate Planning. He has successfully represented clients in mediation, arbitration, and civil court litigation.

Mr. Berton received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1959. He then received his Juris Doctor in 1962 from UCLA School of Law. In 1963 he attended University of Southern California (USC) School of Law for post graduate legal studies.

Mr. Berton received Mediation Skills training from the National Conflict Resolution Center in 1997 and 2007. He has served as a Superior Court Arbitrator. He is also a former Mediator for the American Arbitration Association in Probate and Trust matters with an 80% resolution rate in cases conducted.

He was appointed by the Governor of California to serve on the California Law Revision Commission, and was elected its Chairman. He is a past President of the Jewish Family Service of San Diego, and Congregation Beth Israel of San Diego. He is a widower with four adult children and six grandchildren.

Since 1979, Mr. Berton has been peer rated by Martindale-Hubbell at AV, which is the highest rating possible.