Customized solutions for community asociations.
Founding Principals
Jake Harle, Katie Janics, and Karen Kannen
Jake Harle is a founding principal of Harle, Janics & Kannen. He brings a seasoned perspective to community association law as he represented homebuilders for eight years before focusing his practice on community associations in 1995. A frequent panelist and guest speaker at events and programs presented by community association industry organizations, Jake is active with the Orange County Regional Chapter of the Community Associations Institute and the California Association of Community Managers. He currently serves on the Publications Committees of CAI-OC and the Legislation Committee of CACM. Jake also authors articles on various areas of interest as they relate to community associations.
A magna cum laude graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles, Jake received his law degree from the UCLA School of Law in 1987, where he served as managing editor for the UCLA Law Review. He is a member of the California State Bar.
Principals
As a founding principal of Harle, Janics & Kannen, Katie brings strong legal expertise having worked with community and homeowner associations for almost 20 years. As an active member of the Orange County chapters of both the California Association of Community Managers and the Community Associations Institute, Katie served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of CAI, as well as serving on and chairing various committees. In addition to her participation in these industry trade groups, Katie has participated in industry presentations and is a frequent provider of customized in-house client seminars.
Katie received both a bachelors and a masters degree from the University of Southern California. In 1990, she graduated cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law where she served as an intern for the Honorable Richard Huffman, at the Fourth District Court of Appeals, and as a associate editor of the Journal of Contemporary Legal Issues. Katie is a member of the California State Bar.
With almost 20 years of experience as a practicing attorney, Karen Kannen is a founding principal of Harle, Janics & Kannen and brings great depth of understanding to the area of homeowner association law. She is widely recognized as an authority in the field and is frequently called upon to participate in industry and client panels, presentations and workshops. Karen’s large national law firm experience provided strong training in both litigation and corporate law assisting her to serve her clients with depth and expertise in the area of community association law.
Karen is a graduate of Cornell University and received her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law, graduating cum laude, in 1990. She is a member of the California and Colorado State Bars. Karen is also a member of the Orange County Regional Chapter of the Community Associations Institute and the California Association of Community Managers. She has served on the board of trustees of the Tri-County chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and is currently on the Board of the German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County.
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Michael C. Fettig became a member of the California State Bar in 2001. He graduated cum laude with the degree of Bachelor of Science from Arizona State University in 1995. He earned his Juris Doctor Degree from Whittier Law School in 2001. Prior to joining Harle, Janics & Kannen, Mr. Fettig was an associate attorney practicing in Irvine, California and handled various community association, general civil, business and real property litigation and transactional matters. Mr. Fettig also has experience handling entity formation and estate planning matters.
Mark Hopkins is a senior associate of Harle, Janics & Kannen and has represented homeowner associations in Southern California since 1991, serving as corporate counsel and senior litigation attorney in the enforcement of CC&Rs and related architectural rules and regulations. A cum laude graduate of Southern Methodist University, Mr. Hopkins earned his law degree at Pepperdine University School of Law where he was awarded first place in the Dalcimer Moot Court for best brief and best oral advocate team, as well as conducting a teaching fellowship in legal research and writing. Mr. Hopkins has attained the highest rating given to attorneys by the Martindale-Hubble peer rating service. He is a member of the Community Associations Institute and the California Association of Community Managers and has served on committees of both organizations. Mr. Hopkins has been a featured speaker and panelist at educational programs on a broad range of issues affecting California community associations.
Kris J. Geiger has been a member of the California State Bar since 1994. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree, graduating with honors from California State University at Fullerton, and graduated magna cum laude from Southwestern University School of Law, where she received her Juris Doctor Degree. During law school, she was a Member of and Research Editor for the Southwestern Law Review, and served as an intern with the Honorable Ronald S.W. Lew of the United State District Court, Central District of California. Prior to joining Harle, Janics & Kannen of counsel in 2003, Ms. Geiger specialized in the representation of public agencies in personnel, employment and labor law matters. With experience in litigation, Ms. Geiger primarily handles general association transactional matters, in addition to general corporate counsel and estate planning matters.
Associates
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