Professional Experience:
Ira Rosenblatt, Founder + Managing Partner, represents businesses, high-net worth individuals, and entrepreneurs. He advises clients on matters involving business formation, operations, growth, advisory matters (think outside general counsel), and strategy. Mr. Rosenblatt serves as de facto outside general counsel to small and mid-market private companies, has assembled and sat on Advisory Board of Directors in a further effort to support and facilitate his clients’ strategic goals in a host of industries, and offers a suite of strategic consulting services.
Mr. Rosenblatt has been named a “Southern California Super Lawyer” and recognized as “one of the top” lawyers in Southern California by his peers in Los Angeles Magazine, Law & Politics Media, Inc., and Super Lawyer publications every year since 2004, the first year the publications began to recognize California lawyers for such honors. He has also earned the highest rating (“AV”) for legal ability and ethics by Martindale-Hubbell and is listed in Martindale- Hubbell’s Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers and recognized and named as one of “The Top 25 Lawyers of the Valley” by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.
Mr. Rosenblatt is a business lawyer, business owner, and counselor in the truest sense of the word. He routinely finds practical, creative, or “real world” solutions to the challenges facing his clients. Due to his even-temperament and high ethical standards, Mr. Rosenblatt is also called on to mediate business disputes by and between shareholders, partners, and family owned businesses.
Although Mr. Rosenblatt currently leaves active litigation to his partners, he has significant litigation experience, having successfully litigated state and federal cases (including bench and jury trials) in Northern, Central, and Southern California, as well as in Arizona, argued before appellate courts in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, and represented employers before the California Labor Commission. Despite, or perhaps because of, his litigation successes, Mr. Rosenblatt is acutely sensitive to the financial and often emotional burdens litigation clients face. As a result, he continually seeks creative and cost-saving opportunities designed to achieve his clients’ defined objectives with the least financial and emotional expense.
Mr. Rosenblatt is admitted to practice before all state courts in California; the Central, Southern and Eastern Districts of the U.S. District Court, California; the U.S. District Court, District of Arizona; and the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
AREAS OF PRACTICE:
- Business Transactions
- Advisory Counsel
- Business Litigation (Overseeing and Advising on Matters)
- Strategic Consulting Services
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS:
Business Transactions / General Corporate
- Regularly represents businesses, entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth individuals handling both garden-variety and unique legal needs including consulting and constructing agreements relating to formation, buy-sell, leases, purchase/sale, governance, licensing, manufacturing, dealers, confidentiality, joint ventures, restrictive covenants, employment, corporate housekeeping, sponsorships, handbooks, and vendor relations to name some.
- Involved in a host of stock and asset deals, involving both strategic and financial buyers, ranging in value as low as $2,000,000 to north of $400,000,000 (two staged).
- Represented and counseled founding and controlling shareholder in sale of minority interest of Sub-S corporate shares in deal valued at over $70,000,000.
- Represented one 50% founding shareholder and company in take out of co-founding 50% shareholder in tax free IRS 355A structured transaction valued in the eight figure range.
Business Litigation
- Teamed with co-counsel to secure a multi-million dollar recovery on behalf of a recognized Hollywood producer client in federal court litigation against universally known celebrity couple falsely claiming to have owned, created and produced a highly successful, transformative television series. Causes of action included breach of implied contract, joint venture, conversion, breach of loyalty, and fraud.
- Successfully represented high-net worth individuals in civil suits against an International accounting firm for claims of breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and negligence, resulting in significant eight figure settlement through private mediation.
- Teamed with co-counsel to secure multi-million dollar recovery for a high-net worth individual investor in state court litigation involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair business practices, fraud, conversion, and related causes of action arising from stock-swap acquisition by a publicly traded company. Defendants included promoters, stock transfer agent, and an individual director.
- Successfully defended a national retailer in defense of consumer class action suit involving allegations of invasion of privacy, misuse of private information, violation of the Song Beverly Act, and related causes of actions. The judge ultimately granted defendants motion to dismiss, resulting in the entire case being dismissed with prejudice and judgment entered for our national retailer client.
- Secured affirmative injunctive relief and monetary judgment on summary judgment on behalf of high-net worth client in view obstruction case by and between neighbors involving adjacent, multi-million dollar beach-front properties.
- Successfully represented real estate developer in dispute with seller involving real estate condo development with projected worth in excess of $30 million dollars post-development. Causes of action included specific performance, or in the alternative, breach of contract.
- Represented a host of business clients in garden-variety business disputes by and among partners, vendors, competitors, and the like, involving claims of unfair business practices, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of loyalty, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and derivatives thereof, disputes with current and ex-employees and executives, frequently involving claims of sexual harassment, discrimination, defamation, tortuous interference with prospective economic advantage, etc.
Mediation/ADR
- Mediates disputes by and between partners, executives, competitors, and shareholders.
Publications, Lectures, News, and Speaking Engagements:
Mr. Rosenblatt has authored articles or been quoted, depicted, mentioned, or featured in a variety of business, legal, and entertainment publications, including the following:
- Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine
- “Legally Speaking,” a recurring business legal column he authored for San Fernando Valley Business Journal
- Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers
- The Daily Journal
- Los Angeles Magazine
- Entertainment Weekly
- Super Lawyer Magazine
- Presenter at UCLA extension on corporate and business law
- Presenter at National Retailers corporate HQ on loss prevention issues
- Presenter of Sexual Harassment Training for Supervisors
EDUCATION:
- Bachelor of Arts, Business Economics, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Juris Doctorate, McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific
MEMBERSHIPS AND ACTIVITIES (current and past):
- State Bar of California
- Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL)
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- San Fernando Valley Bar Association
- Board of Directors for West Valley YMCA
- Entrepreneur Organization (EO)
- The Boardroom Associates
- Member of 2005 United States Tennis Association (“USTA”) Men’s 4.5 National Championship team
PERSONAL:
Mr. Rosenblatt is a Los Angeles native who grew up in the San Fernando Valley. An avid sports enthusiast, he enjoys hiking, basketball, competitive tennis. pickleball, UCLA and University of Michigan basketball and football, and is a longtime Dodger season ticket holder. He also enjoys rock docs, and sharing good music, food, company, and conversation with friends. Mr. Rosenblatt and his wife are blessed with two adult daughters, and make their now “empty-nest” home in Westlake Village with their dog, Penny Lane.