As much as San Francisco has changed in the last decade, much remains the same, according to Venable partner James Nelson, who helped launch the firm’s San Francisco office a little more than 10 years ago.

“In my experience, the San Francisco marketplace is about relationships, historical ties and all sorts of things that really go back to the people that inhabit the communities and are part of the market,” said Nelson, who is partner in charge of the firm’s San Francisco office.