Bay Area Business, Land Use & Real Estate Law
Preventing disputes and resolving your legal issues
Dedicated, Down-to-Earth
We’re a small firm dedicated to delivering high-quality legal work for clients we care about. A team of dedicated, down-to-earth professionals with all the brains, energy, and experience of big firm lawyers, we enjoy forging strong client relationships and focusing intently on identifying and then achieving client goals.
We specialize in smart, efficient solutions to legal challenges that can range from setting up your business to resolving disputes in court.
Our specific areas of expertise include business, land use, and real estate law, but we are available to our clients for other questions as well. Get to know our work and our team.
Areas of Expertise
Your General Counsel
We provide small and mid-sized businesses and non-profit organizations with the kind of legal services typically provided by in-house counsel. Our practice includes:
- Creating and organizing business entities or organizations, including
- Creation of corporations, LLCs, and partnerships
- Registration with the Secretary of State
- Creation of nonprofits and registration of 501(c)3 status
- Creation of Buy-Sell Agreements
- Selling a Business
- Reviewing and creating contracts
- Resolving contractual disputes
If your accountant has told you that you need an entity for tax purposes or liability protection, we can help you. And if you’ve been in business for a while and are interested in formalizing your business and its operating agreements, we can help with that, too.
Businesses with more than one owner are particularly advised to create legal contracts establishing clear relationships, expectations, and outcomes in the case of disputes.
Tip: Online LLC services do not generally cover the specific circumstances of a business, and business owners often find that the off-the-shelf operating agreement does not give them the tools or guidelines necessary when they encounter challenges.
Protecting Your Property Rights
- Navigating federal, state, and local permitting requirements for development projects
- Clarifying boundaries, easements, and other property rights
- Resolving property disputes
Navigating Real Estate Transactions & Shared Ownership Arrangements
- Co-tenancy and co-ownership agreements, including those required for fractional loans
- Real estate transfers without agents between parties who know each other
- Seller financing, promissory notes, and deeds of trust
The People You'll Work With
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Greg Harper
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Greg Harper, Founding Partner
Greg founded Harper Law in 1984, after his efforts to negotiate the purchase of the artists’ warehouse where he lived very quickly made him an expert in housing, contracts, limited equity housing cooperatives, nonprofit formation, easement disputes and small business law. (A tenant of the building was a small business that went on to hire Greg as their ongoing counsel.) The die was cast. The son of a small business owner, Greg was particularly struck by how limited legal resources were for small businesses. He’s proud to have established a firm that has served smaller clients and local businesses for the past three decades. Greg now divides his time between the practice, his family, and fly fishing. He holds a BS and BA from the University of Urbana-Champaign in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science with a minor in Math and Statistics. He earned his JD from the University of California, San Francisco School of Law (formerly UC Hastings). -
Shona Armstrong
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Shona Armstrong, Partner
Shona has been a lawyer at Harper & Armstrong since 2011 and a partner since 2016. A veteran of corporate firms, Shona prefers the varied and more personalized work she does now. She began her career at a boutique law firm practicing land use, real estate, and environmental law in San Francisco, worked for five years as a staff attorney at the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeal, practiced at Morrison & Foerster, and worked in-house at a solar energy development company, but she always hoped one day to “hang out a shingle” and operate her own firm. When she met Greg Harper at what was then known as Harper & Associates, she found a legal home. Now, as the managing partner, she relishes work that is rewarding and valuable. Shona explains: “Clear property and contract rights are the cornerstone of democracy and a functioning economic system!” A parent and active member of her Oakland public school community, Shona also enjoys spending time in the wilderness. 2023 was her third year as a timer and rest stop volunteer for the Yukon Quest dog sled race. Shona holds an AB in History of Science from Harvard College and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.
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Kathryn Rauber
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Kathryn Rauber, Associate Attorney
Katherine is a sharp, thorough, and strategic lawyer, with experience in litigation, contracts, and entity formation. She enjoys representing individuals and working through complex issues to make a difference for her clients, particularly if they find themselves in litigation. Balancing the constraints of a case with the many different ways a case can be resolved is a challenge Kathryn relishes. She’s also been involved in nonprofit formation and looks forward to working with more nonprofit clients. When she’s not in the courtroom, Kathryn can be found out on the ski slopes. She holds a BA in English from Brown University and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. She has worked with Harper & Armstrong since 2018.
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Melanie Tang
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Melanie Tang, Associate Attorney
Melanie practices land use and environmental law, commercial litigation, real estate litigation, contracts, and incorporation. A member of the Harper & Armstrong team since 2016, Melanie is especially interested in negotiating different stakeholder interests. When she’s not researching and writing legal documents, she pitches in to support her Berkeley public school community, and enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, and getting outdoors. Melanie holds a BA in religious studies and a BS in journalism from Boston University, an MTS from Harvard Divinity School and a JD from University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings).
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Andrew Brimmer
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Andrew Brimmer, Senior Counsel
Andrew started his career as Clerk for the Hon. Milton L. Schwartz, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California. He came to Harper & Armstrong in 2019 after over two decades as a partner at large firms Stoel Reeves LLP and Donahue Fitzgerald, where he practiced civil litigation with an emphasis on real estate and environmental litigation. He then worked as Senior Counsel at SSL Law Firm LLC. Andrew applies his expertise in complex, commercial, large development projects to complex litigation and real estate/land use compliance and litigation for regular people. Andrew notes: “We’ve got the experience and the wisdom but we don’t do it the big firm way.” Andrew advises people on complex private, public, and commercial property disputes. When he’s not on a case, Andrew enjoys swimming, skiing, fishing, traveling, and spending time with his family. He holds a BA in History from the University of Virginia, a JD from University of California, Davis and is Martindale Hubble AV rated.
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Mariko Kamiya
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Mariko Kamiya, Paralegal & Office Manager
A member of the Harper & Armstrong team since 2016, Mariko is the anchor of the firm. As both paralegal and business manager, she handles the billing and other internal operating systems, while also supporting attorneys with everything from drafting to filing pleadings to workflow. She’s the staff member most likely to run up to your car window with a clipboard for a “drive-by” signature. Outside of the office, Mariko spends her time reading, backpacking and traveling the world. She holds an ABA Paralegal Certification from San Francisco State and a BA from Sarah Lawrence College.
Greg Harper, Founding Partner
Shona Armstrong, Partner
Shona has been a lawyer at Harper & Armstrong since 2011 and a partner since 2016. A veteran of corporate firms, Shona prefers the varied and more personalized work she does now. She began her career at a boutique law firm practicing land use, real estate, and environmental law in San Francisco, worked for five years as a staff attorney at the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeal, practiced at Morrison & Foerster, and worked in-house at a solar energy development company, but she always hoped one day to “hang out a shingle” and operate her own firm. When she met Greg Harper at what was then known as Harper & Associates, she found a legal home. Now, as the managing partner, she relishes work that is rewarding and valuable. Shona explains: “Clear property and contract rights are the cornerstone of democracy and a functioning economic system!” A parent and active member of her Oakland public school community, Shona also enjoys spending time in the wilderness. 2023 was her third year as a timer and rest stop volunteer for the Yukon Quest dog sled race. Shona holds an AB in History of Science from Harvard College and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.
Kathryn Rauber, Associate Attorney
Katherine is a sharp, thorough, and strategic lawyer, with experience in litigation, contracts, and entity formation. She enjoys representing individuals and working through complex issues to make a difference for her clients, particularly if they find themselves in litigation. Balancing the constraints of a case with the many different ways a case can be resolved is a challenge Kathryn relishes. She’s also been involved in nonprofit formation and looks forward to working with more nonprofit clients. When she’s not in the courtroom, Kathryn can be found out on the ski slopes. She holds a BA in English from Brown University and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. She has worked with Harper & Armstrong since 2018.
Melanie Tang, Associate Attorney
Melanie practices land use and environmental law, commercial litigation, real estate litigation, contracts, and incorporation. A member of the Harper & Armstrong team since 2016, Melanie is especially interested in negotiating different stakeholder interests. When she’s not researching and writing legal documents, she pitches in to support her Berkeley public school community, and enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, and getting outdoors. Melanie holds a BA in religious studies and a BS in journalism from Boston University, an MTS from Harvard Divinity School and a JD from University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings).
Andrew Brimmer, Senior Counsel
Andrew started his career as Clerk for the Hon. Milton L. Schwartz, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California. He came to Harper & Armstrong in 2019 after over two decades as a partner at large firms Stoel Reeves LLP and Donahue Fitzgerald, where he practiced civil litigation with an emphasis on real estate and environmental litigation. He then worked as Senior Counsel at SSL Law Firm LLC. Andrew applies his expertise in complex, commercial, large development projects to complex litigation and real estate/land use compliance and litigation for regular people. Andrew notes: “We’ve got the experience and the wisdom but we don’t do it the big firm way.” Andrew advises people on complex private, public, and commercial property disputes. When he’s not on a case, Andrew enjoys swimming, skiing, fishing, traveling, and spending time with his family. He holds a BA in History from the University of Virginia, a JD from University of California, Davis and is Martindale Hubble AV rated.