Coast Magazine
October 2015

Greenberg Gross LLP ranks among the elite law firms in California, regularly called upon by large companies, senior executives and even top law firms to handle their most significant legal battles. The firm has triumphed equally in pursuing and defending high-stakes business cases, scoring multimillion-dollar verdicts on the one hand, while also defeating company-endangering lawsuits on the other.

Alan Greenberg, the firm’s managing partner, explained: “Wayne Gross and I left Big Law to form a completely new firm because we no longer wanted to limit ourselves to helping only those that Big Law defends. We wanted to pursue justice for those clients in need of the very best legal talent, whether on the plaintiff or defense side.”

It is fitting that the creation of this top trial firm was sparked by a trial.  In 2011, founding partners Greenberg and Gross, then both litigation shareholders in one of the largest law firms in the country, made national headlines for winning a $50 million jury verdict in a partnership dispute regarding the world famous Hollywood Palladium and other iconic properties.  The verdict was remarkable not only for its size, but also because Greenberg and Gross obtained punitive damages—$30 million—on a cross-complaint for defendants.  “We were delighted to turn the tables on a plaintiff who victimized and unfairly sued our clients,” Gross said.

In forming Greenberg Gross, the founding partners set out to create a firm whose lawyers would pursue justice with the same skill, determination and imagination for all clients.  “We are extremely selective in our hiring because we know our team is vital to our success,” explained Greenberg. The firm’s lawyers come from top law schools, such as Yale and the University of Chicago, and often possess experience reflecting a desire to perform trial work at the highest level, such as federal judicial clerkships and litigation positions at top national law firms.

This commitment to excellence has enabled the firm to secure blue-chip clients for extremely high-stakes matters, including AIG, the New York-based insurance giant, Cavotec, a Switzerland-based global engineering firm, Frontline Corporate Services, a London-based manager of billions in private and publicly held assets, and important local clients, including the Automobile Club of Southern California and Goodwill of Orange County.

The firm also represents numerous high-level executives in high-stakes matters, including a former in-house lawyer of Broadcom. Last year, the firm won a seven-figure verdict for a former chief operating officer who had sued a chain of dialysis centers for defrauding him out of his share of the $43 million sale of the centers. This year, the firm, representing a company that had been sued by a former officer, not only defeated the lawsuit but won millions—including punitive damages—against the officer, once again enabling a client unfairly sued to turn the tables.

With its string of victories, the firm is listed in “Best Law Firms” by U.S. News Media Group.  Partners routinely are selected by their peers as SuperLawyers and “The BestLawyers in America.”  ”While we have no interest in becoming Big Law,” Greenberg said, “we produce big results for those who need us.”

View the Article in Coast Magazine (PDF)