FRED M. WHITAKER, P.C.

Fred M. Whitaker, P.C., joined Cummins & White, LLP as an associate in 1990. His practice focused on environmental insurance coverage and real estate matters. In 1993, Mr. Whitaker left Cummins & White and joined the Southern Counties Oil Companies of Orange, California as Vice President/General Counsel, and later became Chief Operating Officer of their Northwest Division. In 2000, Mr. Whitaker returned to Cummins & White as a partner and head of its transactional practice. Mr. Whitaker presently serves as Cummins & White's managing partner.

Mr. Whitaker's practice concentrates in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, commercial real estate, tax and risk management. He counsels clients in all aspects of business transactions, from financing and due diligence to corporate governance and ownership structure, as well as the estate and tax planning that results. Mr. Whitaker's creative interest focuses on risk management techniques and tools to facilitate transaction closings.

Mr. Whitaker is keenly aware of the need to manage transaction risk properly. He knows that return on investment analysis never factors in future litigation costs, nor should it. As a former executive in a large, but privately-held company, he understands that due diligence must be thorough. Everything from environmental assessments to cash flow projections, and the effect on the owner's estate plan, must be analyzed. Issues must be identified and addressed up front, so that the parties can agree to risk allocation, rather than litigate it later. To be profitable, deals can only be done once.

Mr. Whitaker is a member of the State Bar of California. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Mr. Whitaker is a member of the Orange County Bar Association. He enjoys Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory's highest "AV" rating for lawyers.

Mr. Whitaker serves on the Republican Party of Orange County/Central Committee, and served as Vice Chairman from 1995-1998 and from 2005 to the present. He is also a member and former board member of the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA), the California Independent Oil Marketer and the Orange Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Whitaker currently serves as a board member of the Republican Lawyers Association of Orange County and the Santiago Canyon College Foundation. He served as a member of the Young Presidents' Organization, Pacific Northwest Chapter, and the American Corporate Counsel Association.

Mr. Whitaker received a B.A. in Political Science with Honors from the University of California at Berkeley (1987). He earned a J.D. from Loyola Marymount University (1990), where he graduated in the top 15% of his class and was installed as a member of the St. Thomas More Law Honor Society. He was a Staff Writer for the International and Comparative Law Journal, and an Associate Justice on the Scott Moot Court Honors Board. He is a life member of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity and the Federalist Society.

Mr. Whitaker was born in Glendale, California. He and his family reside in the historic district of Old Towne Orange, California.

Mr. Whitaker can be reached directly via e-mail at fwhitaker@cwlawyers.com.