Introduction

Alan spent over twenty years as a big firm litigator handling a variety of disputes from intake to trial. He has expertise in real estate, consumer finance, employment, and securities and has litigated a wide variety of complicated business disputes. Since 2018, Alan has been a full-time mediator. Always prepared, Alan resolves disputes relying upon problem-solving techniques drawn from his many years of litigating and trying cases. He uses both a facilitative and evaluative approach to narrow the issues and focus the parties on settlement.

Alan strongly believes that every case can and should be resolved. He works with the parties to find common ground and simplify the issues in dispute. He listens, evaluates, and, at times, cajoles the parties into settlement.

One attorney commented: “Alan is an excellent mediator who understands the psychology of the parties and arrives at a practical solution for all parties involved. He is very focused on problem-solving for both sides and knows how to reconcile the desires and needs of both parties that enter the process as adversaries.”

Practice Areas

• Business/Commercial
  • Banking/Finance
  • Contractual
  • Lemon Law
  • Securities
• Cannabis
  • Cannabis Industry
• Employment
  • PAGA
  • Wage and Hour
  • Wrongful Termination
• Intellectual Property
  • IP Trade Secrets
• Probate
  • Estates/Trusts
• Professional Malpractice
  • Medical Malpractice
• Real Estate
  • Property Damage
  • Real Property
• Tort
  • Business Torts
  • Personal Injury
  • Premises Liability

Experience Summary

Below is a sampling of the various matters Alan S. Petlak, Esq. handled as a practicing attorney or neutral.

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Hobbies & Interests

Alan enjoys spending time with his wife and three children. An avid sports fan, he enjoys playing basketball and watching the Dodgers, Lakers and Rams.

Website

https://www.petlakmediation.com/

Testimonials

"You had your work cut out for you yesterday, but you rose to the challenge and helped navigate a resolution with a very emotional plaintiff. My clients had their own emotions to work through, but you helped them to feel good about the process and ultimately satisfied with the outcome. "
- Attorney Named Top Lawyer by Sacramento Magazine

"I have included your name in my firm’s list of preferred mediators. I look forward to another opportunity to work with you."
- Experienced Trial Attorney in Los Angeles

"Definitely a pleasure. Every attorney thinks they can bring/defend these types of cases. It is a pleasure to work with someone that knows the agency/disclosure arena. "
- Managing Shareholder at a Top Firm Regarding a Real Property Transaction Case

Links and Articles

• Attorney at Law - Judicate West Adds Neutral Alan S. Petlak in Los Angeles - December 2022
• Law360- Ex-Ballard Spahr Litigator Joins Calif. Arbitration Provide - December 2022
• The Recorder - On the Move - December 2022
• Daily Journal - On the Move - December 2022
• Judicate West Adds Neutral Alan S. Petlak In Los Angeles

Experience Summary

Legal Career

• Full-time Neutral, Judicate West (2022-Present)
• Private Mediator (2018-2022)
• Panel Mediator, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (2018-Present)
• Mediator, L.A. Superior Court Civil Mediation Vendor Resource Program (2020-2022)
• Litigation Attorney, Ballard Spahr LLP; Real Estate, Securities, Consumer Finance, Employment, Personal Injury, Partnership Disputes (2010-2018)
• Litigation Attorney, Pircher, Nichols & Meeks LLP; Real Estate, Securities and General Business Litigation (2005-2010)
• Litigation Attorney, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Securities, Real Estate and Employment Litigation (1997-2005)
• Litigation Attorney, Jones Bell Abbott Fleming & Fitzgerald LLP; Securities and General Business Litigation (1995-1997)

Education & Professional Affiliations

• J.D., University of Southern California, Gould School of Law (1995)
• B.A., University of California at San Diego (1992)
• Pepperdine Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution (2022)
• Arbitrator Training, American Arbitration Association (2019)
• Mediation Training, Los Angeles County Bar (2018)
• Arbitrator Training, FINRA (2018)
• California Lawyers Association (CLA) Real Property Law, Executive Committee Member (2023)
• Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA), Member
• Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL), Member
• Temple Beth Am of Los Angeles, Board Member
• Builders of Jewish Education, Board Member and Secretary

Achievements & Awards

• Publications include: "California’s Residential Foreclosure Overhaul Signed Into Law," Ballard Spahr Alert; "Borrower May Sue Over Lender’s Failure To Contact Prior to Foreclosure, California Appellate Court Rules," Ballard Spahr Alert; "MERS Has Power To Assign Interest in Deed of Trust, California Appeals Court Rules," Ballard Spahr Alert; "Going After a Guarantor of a Real Property Loan," The Daily Journal (Los Angeles); "Can One Ever Restrict a Partner, Member or Director from Engaging in a Competing Business?” California Real Estate Journal
• Authored numerous blogs about mediation

Legal Experience

• Business/Contractual
• Consumer Finance
• Employment
• Personal Injury
• Professional Negligence
• Real Estate
• Securities

Representative Case Information

• Business/Commercial
• Cannabis
• Employment
• Intellectual Property
• Probate
• Professional Malpractice
• Real Estate
• Tort