Joseph Spence is an associate in the Orange County office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the firm’s Real Estate and Land Use practice groups.

His practice encompasses a variety of land use and development matters as well as real estate transactions, including experience in obtaining land use entitlements, compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), subdivisions, public-private partnerships, public trust requirements, historic preservation, easement agreements, commercial leases, and acquisitions and dispositions. His clients include developers, investors, and institutional lenders, among others, and his projects involve a variety of asset classes including offices, hotels, historic properties, residential and mixed-use projects, and other commercial and industrial developments.

Joseph’s recent representations include the Golden State Warriors in the successful entitlement of a hotel and residential building on the San Francisco waterfront; Build Inc. in the successful implementation of a 1,575-unit mixed-use development project with over 15 acres of public space on the San Francisco waterfront; Treasure Island Community Developers in the ongoing implementation of the redevelopment of Treasure Island, a former U.S. Navy base, as a large new master-planned community; TMG Partners in the entitlement and implementation of a large office and mixed-use development in Oakland; Deca Companies in a public trust exchange for property on the San Francisco waterfront; and the Oakland Athletics in the ongoing entitlement of a new ballpark and mixed-use development on the Oakland waterfront.

He received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2017. While in law school, Joseph served as Senior Articles Editor of the Berkeley Business Law Journal. He received his B.S. from the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis in 2007.

Prior to law school, Joseph served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy. He deployed overseas twice, and was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal for his service.

He is admitted to practice law in the State of California.