The Chicago Bears mounted a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the San Francisco 49ers in the latter’s regular-season debut at the team’s new $1.3 billion stadium in Santa Clara, California, in September, but the game was still magical for 49ers fan Alan Gennis.

The co-managing partner of Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass and his colleagues had worked for a decade to make the 68,000-seat Levi’s Stadium a reality, representing the 49ers in legal matters ranging from the environmental review to parking agreements.