Richard B. Gullen

During the course of a complicated $2M+ development project in the Town of Los Gatos, I retained the services of attorney Rick Gullen from the law offices of Rossi, Hamerslough, Reischl & Chuck in response to neighboring property owner’s lawsuits objecting to the project, as well as a breach of contr...act. Additionally, despite the project being permitted, there was increasing obstruction by City administration in response to these lawsuits that required Rick and his firm to intervene. The scope and breadth of the litigation required the involvement of California Fish and Wildlife, US Army Corp of Engineers, California Water Board, Air Quality Management District, County of Santa Clara, Town of Los Gatos Town Attorney, as well as surveyors, engineers, arborists, and hydrologists. In addition to his years of personal, in-depth real estate law knowledge and litigation experience, and a large firm behind him specializing in complicated real estate matters, Rick brought to the table personal connections with experts ranging from former city Planners, structural and geotechnical engineers, aerial photography firms, surveyors, specialized insurance attorneys, property title experts, traffic engineers, etc. The litigations spanned issues including easements, access right of ways, public vs private roadway right of ways, lot line disputes stemming from titles and maps from the 1800’s, and he also successfully won an arbitration award for liquidated damages, arguing against a complex claim of unmarketable title due to appurtenant easements and junior vs senior deeds of trust. During the course of the litigation and negotiations with the City, Rick’s counsel and direction was always with our best interests in mind. As contentious as it became, Rick’s demeanor with all involved parties, allowed for the possibiltty of an amicable compromise where appropriate. Conversely, he successfully and forcefully argued points where there would be no compromise. Our project could not have been successful without the help and guidance of Rick Gullen and the offices of Rossi, Hamerslough, Reischl & Chuck

My family and I highly recommend Rick Gullen for real estate disputes. He not only provided excellent legal representation on all fronts (strategy, negotiations, court, etc.) for a real estate dispute, but also helped us through an emotionally difficult time and became our friend in the process. Rick... has earned my family's trust and will be our attorney for real estate matters for many years to come.

On a quiet Sunday afternoon about six months ago, I was served with a civil complaint contesting the ownership of one of my residential rental properties in San Jose. I was concurrently noticed of an “ex parte” hearing scheduled for 8:30 am the following Tuesday morning at which time the allegedly a...ggrieved Plaintiff would seek a court order to immediately place my property into receivership and begin collecting all of the rents etc. I literally had only hours to formally rebuke this craven, contumelious assault and to affirm my ownership position in this property! I contacted RHRC early Monday morning and found the firm’s initial response professional and sympathetic to the absolute urgency of my plight. Rick Gullen quickly agreed to re-arrange his calendar and meet with me that afternoon to review the complaint and formulate an appropriate response. By the start of our meeting, there were less than eighteen hours before the “ex parte” hearing scheduled for the next morning! Rick, his assistant, and I worked diligently for the remainder of that afternoon and evening to prepare our formal response. We were ultimately successful in this endeavor and the Judge denied all elements of the receivership motion. In the ensuing weeks and months, the complaint response and a counter suit were filed and the discovery process was initiated. Recently, this case was resolved through mediation with an executed settlement agreement very much to my benefit. As a successful entrepreneur and retired tech executive, I have had considerable experience dealing with dozens of attorneys during the past several decades. I have retained or otherwise engaged attorneys on three continents who specialized in litigation, corporate law, contract law, employment law, family law, patent law, intellectual property law, and international law. All of these attorneys were competent in their respective fields – some were even exceptional. Never however, had I prevailed upon any of my counsel to respond to an issue with such immediacy as I did with Rick. He willingly rose to the challenge as my advocate and successfully countered the opposition at every turn. For the duration of this case, Rick consistently demonstrated his broad knowledge of the law and his experience in resolving real estate ownership conflicts. His recommendations regarding the strategies and tactics most likely to successfully engage the opposition were very insightful. Rick’s sage advice on the legal options available not only to me as the Defendant, but equally important, the various options likely to be pursued by the Plaintiff, were particularly significant in my management of this case. His pensive, amicable demeanor combined with his tenacity and dedication to defending his client and prevailing in the case, were indeed exemplary. Should the need ever arise in the future, I would not hesitate to call on Rick for assistance. I am certain however, that he would very much appreciate having more than eighteen hours notice to prepare a formal response and appear in Court on my behalf! I can unequivocally recommend Rick Gullen as an advocate who always represents his clients’ best interests and as a consummate professional in the practice of real estate law.

I have been a Client and have worked with Rick Gullen for a period of two years, so far. I am very pleased with the results that I have seen thusfar. I have no need to seek "counsel" with any other law firm because I personally believe that I have retained the best attorney within the Silicon Valle...y area. He has helped me achieve payment in multiple cases and his win-loss ratio is at a 100% win status. How many lawyers have that ratio? I know that I actually asked that question upon out first meeting. Because Mr. Gullen was so professional and never lets "the cart go before the horse" he managed my expectations from the onset. He continues to do so today (not that he needs to because he always wins!). He is always professional and timely with all of his responses. I have never asked him a question that he didn't have the appropriate answer for. In my opinion, he is an EXPERT in contract law. I also believe that the working relationship is very successful because we are of similar personality types. He is a BULLDOG! Once he "takes a bite he doesn't let go". We are the same in this capacity and this is exactly what is needed in my industry, on many occasions, which is Construction. It is a very trying industry and people are always trying "to take a bit out of the Little Guy". Rick never lets this happen. He doesn't like to see people taken advantage of. You could easily describe Rick's potential and viability with one line .... As they say in the War movie G.I. Jane, at the end of the movie, "O'Neil I'd go to war with you any day!" and I totally would and do, on a regular basis, with Rick. I completely feel this way about Mr. Gullen. You require a certain level of Bulldog and Grit that are required to make people PAY for the wrongs that they have committed against others. If you hire Rick you WILL BE protected! You will be served with the utmost professionalism. You will be happy with the continuous results that you would achieve by having hired him. I know I sure am. He is worth every penny spent! I am grateful to be able to continue working together.