Stefanie L. Forsey, vice president and general counsel of Watson Land Co. (Courtesy photo)Watson Land Company Reveals New General Counsel Who Started Same Time as Pandemic
Stefanie L. Forsey stepped into the vice president and general counsel role at Watson Land Co. on March 1, although the Los Angeles-based industrial real estate developer announced the leadership change this week. More companies are making their top lawyer appointments public after a slowdown amid the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent crisis.
July 17, 2020 at 11:48 AM
3 minute read
Formerly in-house counsel at Public Storage, Stefanie L. Forsey has stepped into the vice president and general counsel role at Watson Land Co.
She started March 1, although the Los Angeles-based industrial real estate developer announced the leadership change this week. More companies are making their top lawyer appointments public after a slowdown amid the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent crisis.
Developing industrial office space throughout Southern California with a history stretching over two centuries, Watson acquired distribution buildings in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, in 2016 to expand the business to the East Coast. Watson boasts of developing and owning close to 20 million square feet of industrial distribution buildings within master-planned centers between the two major regions. Several of Watson's customers have transformed their spaces to produce medical supplies amid the pandemic, according to its corporate blog.
Forsey succeeds Bradley D. Frazier, who was general counsel and chief administrative officer. His Watson profile says he joined the company in 1993 from real estate law firm Cox, Castle & Nicholson. The company did not mention Frazier's next move.
Forsey most recently served as deputy general counsel of Los Angeles-based real estate investment management firm American Realty Advisors, according to her LinkedIn profile. She also was a senior real estate and corporate counsel for Public Storage, the self-storage real estate investment trust headquartered in Glendale, California.
"I initially admired Watson Land Company for its long and unique history dating back to the 1784 Spanish land grant, its commitment to high-caliber performance, and its vision for future expansion," said Forsey in the media release. "But what most attracted me is Watson's culture: its ethical perspective, the company's dedication to the community, and its overall commitment to every employee. This is demonstrated by Watson's remarkably long employee tenure and the collective passion each staff member has for the Watson brand."
Forsey received her juris doctor from Boston University. An active member in the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, she's married to Stephen Smerek, a litigation partner at Foley Lardner, and they're raising three children.
"Watson's talented team of professionals have an unprecedented record of achievement and are well-positioned to continue to drive Watson's tremendous momentum," Forsey added. "I am honored to join the team and support Watson's employee-centric, customer-focused business model."
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