Aris Evia & David Heckadon are respectively the eighth and ninth attorneys in San Francisco and the 17th and 18th attorneys in California to earn the distinction from the U.S. Green Building Council as Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Accredited Professionals (LEED® APs).

As LEED® APs, they counsel clients on LEED® contract documents and all aspects of the LEED® certification process, including credits, credit interpretation requests and appeals, as well as the rapidly emerging government regulations like California's Green Building Standards Code and San Francisco's Green Building Ordinance.

Mr. Evia practices in the areas of construction, green technology and climate change, real estate, environmental, commercial litigation and business transactions. With his previous work on energy and environmental issues at the California Legislature, Mr. Evia joined Gordon & Rees in 2003 with an already in-depth understanding of green and sustainable building practices.

Mr. Heckadon is the first registered patent attorney in the United States to have earned the LEED® AP distinction. His technical background is in mechanical engineering. As a key member of both the firm's Intellectual Property and Green Technology practice groups, Mr. Heckadon has extensive experience in patent applications for renewable energy and new building materials companies, green issues, and greenhouse gas legislation. As both a LEED® AP and registered patent attorney, Mr. Heckadon is ideally suited to secure patent protection for new materials, devices and processes in the green building space. Mr. Heckadon also practices trademark law and has experience drafting confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements to protect the intellectual property of companies operating in the green building space.