Ms. West began her career at 24 when she graduated from Vanderbilt Law School in 2000. She launched her own firm at 31 in 2007 after learning the ropes locally at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Weintraub Genshlea Chediak. In January of 2010, she united with the founding partners of Pillsbury Winthrop's Sacramento office, John Cooluris, Cleve Livingston, and Steve Saxe.
Ashley started her career in a large Mid-Western law firm Blackwell Sanders Pepper Martin. She benefited from education and training by some of America's best attorneys.
Ashley has volunteered in Sacramento at a number of organizations but she is best known for her dedication to the mission and services of WEAVE. West first became involved with WEAVE in 2005 when she completed the Peer Counseling Training Program and volunteered as a Sexual Assault Response Team advocate supporting victims during the evidentiary examination and detective interviews at UC Davis Medical Center. That same year, West joined the WEAVE Board of Directors. She has served as Secretary (2006 – 07), Vice President (2008), and President and Board Chair (2009 to present). She created the Fund Development Committee, chaired WEAVE’s wildly successful Jeans for Justice Runway Show and donated over $300,000 in pro bono legal work to WEAVE’s "New Home, New Hope" Capital Campaign to raise $4 million to build a new Safehouse for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. On May 28, the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, a statewide organization, recognized West as the 2008 Outstanding Board Member of the Year for her service to WEAVE. On October 30, 2009, the Volunteer Center of Sacramento named Ashley West "Board Member of the Year" for 2009.
She has also served on the board of directors of the Barristers' Club of Sacramento, an affiliate of the Sacramento County Bar Association dedicated to providing educational and networking opportunities to new and young lawyers in Sacramento County from 2004 to 2008 (Treasurer, 2005 & 2006; Executive Vice President, 2007). She volunteered with the Sacramento Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (2005), worked at a weekend retreat in Paso Robles for the YMCA Model Youth and Government Program (2005), and spoke at the California Bar Foundation of Legal Heritage Institute Program July 12, 2005 on Lawyers and the Rule of Law. Ashley is a member of the Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, the Midtown Business Association, and the Association of Commercial Real Estate (ACRE).
Mark Whitney is a corporate and real estate attorney with extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, general corporate governance, contract negotiation and drafting, and managing litigation. Mark served as the General Counsel of GenCorp Inc. (NYSE:GY) from 2003 to 2009, and Corporate Counsel with Tyco International Ltd from 1996 to 2003.
While at GenCorp, Mark closed the transfer of three major business segments representing revenue of approximately $1 billion. He regularly advised the Board of Directors, Board Committees, and senior management regarding various legal and strategic matters, including corporate governance matters. He directed all legal aspects of the Company’s divestitures and acquisitions and managed outside counsel on significant litigation, including toxic torts, environmental matters, and insurance claims. He successfully obtained multi-million dollar recoveries against insurance carriers attempting to deny coverage in various matters. He negotiated and drafted commercial contracts, real estate leases, power purchase agreements, transition agreements, access agreements, consulting agreements, purchase agreements, and non-disclosure agreements. He also prepared and reviewed ’34 Act securities filings, including 10K, 10Q, 8K, and proxy statements, and supported the finance and treasury departments, by, among other things, reviewing documentation for bank agreements, $130 million public equity offering, and two private placement debt offerings totaling approximately $275 million.
At Tyco, Mark closed over 160 private and public acquisitions ranging in size from $100 thousand to $9.5 billion. He also closed Tyco’s $750 million asset and stock acquisition involving 20 simultaneous domestic and international closings. He represented Tyco in all legal aspects of acquisitions, including conducting due diligence, negotiating and drafting acquisition documentation, coordinating Hart-Scott-Rodino, European Commission, Canadian Competition Act, and other antitrust filings, and resolving post-closing disputes. He also negotiated, drafted, and reviewed commercial contracts, including construction contracts, real estate leases, employment agreements, consulting agreements, distribution agreements, and supply agreements.
Mark earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine and his Juris Doctorate from Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire. Mark is admitted to practice law in California (pending), Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Mark lives in East Sacramento with his wife and three kids.
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