OC Register Metro
September 2014

JUST OVER A YEAR OLD, THE RAPIDLY GROWING Orange County litigation firm Greenberg Gross LLP won a seven-figure verdict in July on behalf of a client who a jury found to have been defrauded out of his share of the $43 million sale of a chain of dialysis centers.

In the two-week jury trial in Orange County Superior Court, the Greenberg Gross team proved the existence of an oral contract, and that the owner had committed fraud.  According to the client, the Greenberg Gross trial team was an unstoppable force in the courtroom.  “I am very thankful that I had the very best representation in a case where anything less would have put me at risk of losing what I had earned.”

Formed by Alan Greenberg and Wayne Gross in April 2013, Greenberg Gross already ranks among the elite firms in the region.  With an impressive list of clients and a string of victories, the firm has been ranked in the 2014 edition of “Best Law Firms” by U.S. News Media Group for the practice areas of commercial litigation and white-collar defense.

Before opening their firm, the partners were litigation shareholders at the global law firm of Greenberg Traurig LLP, where they made national headlines in 2011 for winning a $50 million jury verdict in a partnership dispute regarding iconic Hollywood properties, including the world-famous Hollywood Palladium.

Prior to working together at Greenberg Traurig, Greenberg and Gross had enjoyed considerable success as trial lawyers in their own right.  Greenberg, after commencing his legal career as a transactional attorney on Wall Street, moved to Orange County in 1990, where he worked for other top law firms before joining Greenberg Traurig in 2007, winning multiple seven-figure verdicts and ultimately serving as co-chair of the Greenberg Traurig’s litigation group in the Irvine office alongside Gross.  Gross served as a federal prosecutor for the Office of the United States Attorney, where he successfully tried cases of national and international significance, ultimately becoming the chief of the Orange County Division before entering private practice in 2007.

In opening their own firm, the duo drew upon their extensive experience to incorporate the best of what each had learned into the firm.  Determining that it should be located at the heart of Orange County’s business and arts community, they took offices on the 17th floor of the Center Tower in Costa Mesa.  They adopted as the firm’s logo a pair of interlocking Gs to symbolize that the firm’s lawyers always work hand-in-hand with not just each other, but also the clients.  Greenberg explains: “We are an extremely client-centered firm, which means that when we take your case, you essentially become part of the firm.  That’s what the logo means.”  In addition to the logo, the firm’s lobby, just like the lobby of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, features an American flag, serving as a constant reminder to all who walk through the doors of Greenberg Gross that the mission of the firm is to pursue justice.

But an impressive office space and a compelling logo are not enough to create an elite law firm.  The most important ingredient, according to Greenberg, is its team; Greenberg Gross has hired a team of star lawyers from highly respected firms, such as O’Melveny& Myers and Irell & Manella.  And all of such lawyers are required to dress in courtroom attire five days a week.  “We are not fans of casual Fridays.  Every business day our lawyers dress in a manner that reflects the firm’s sense of purpose.  This is not about fashion or trends; it’s about lawyers accurately conveying to the world in how they speak, act and dress that they are striving for excellence in their pursuit of justice,” says Gross.

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