Partner Gary W. Park specializes in complex business litigation, representing clients ranging from major financial institutions to entrepreneurs and wealthy individuals. His principal areas of expertise include:
- Banking and Commercial Litigation
- Bankruptcy Litigation
- Financial Transactions
Mr. Park has over 16 years of experience in business litigation and has extensive trial experience. He successfully represented a national bank in a high-profile trial obtaining a multi-million dollar judgment, including $2 million in punitive damages, against a developer and its owner. He also served as lead trial attorney in a five-week trial, successfully defending against a $50 million lender liability claim, and represented the prevailing party in a wrongful foreclosure action trial before the bankruptcy court, resulting in a landmark published case (Atighi v. Green (In re Atighi), 317 B.R. 792 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 2005)).
Mr. Park litigated a complex action in a federal district court for the Western District of Washington based on federal and state racketeering statutes against a ring of mortgage professionals, borrowers and others, who defrauded the banking client of several million dollars. Further, Mr. Park successfully represented a major lender in a seminal case in a federal district court for the Northern District of California addressing the application of California Civil Code Section 1632 to transactions involving non-English speaking borrowers (ING Bank v. Ahn, 758 F.Supp.2d 936 (N.D. Cal. 2010)).
Mr. Park’s broad range of experience also includes the handling of all types of secured and unsecured loan agreements, credit agreements, and loan participations. Mr. Park has effectively represented clients involved in a wide variety of development and construction projects, including active involvement in structuring, documenting, and restructuring the full range of financial transactions, including construction loans, commercial loans, and complex debt services.
Leadership/Community Activities
- Weekly Radio Show Host, 93.5 FM, produced and hosted a weekly radio show covering political and legal issues important to the Korean American business community for Radio Seoul, the largest Korean language radio station in the U.S., 2000-2005
- Commissioner, Board of Taxicab Commissioners, City of Los Angeles, 1999-2000
- Commissioner, Board of Redistricting Commissioners, City of Los Angeles, 2001-2002
- Commissioner, Board of Information Technology Commissioners, City of Los Angeles, 2004-2005.
- Board of Directors, LA’s BEST, 2009 to present. LA’s BEST provides after school enrichment program for elementary school children in the City of Los Angeles and is recognized as one of the nation’s top after school programs.
Education
- J.D., with Honors, Loyola Law School, 1994
- M.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 1990
- B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 1988
Qualifications/Memberships
- Admitted to the California State Bar Association and all California federal district courts
- Named as a “Rising Star” by Los Angeles Magazine for being one of Southern California’s top lawyers under the age 40
- Los Angeles County Bar Association, Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum, Korean American Bar Association
- Loyola Law School Dean’s Forum