Richard D. Burstein has concentrated his practice in litigation, and for the last ten years has worked in bankruptcy-related matters. His work has included representation of chapter 7 trustees in the full range of bankruptcy litigation, including fraudulent transfer and preference claims. Richard has performed the full range of motion practice, tried cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court, United States District Court and handled bankruptcy appeals, including before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Burstein has also counseled clients on general business matters throughout his practice, and currently provides such counsel to a variety of businesses, including commercial/industrial landlords, business owners and persons involved with freight forwarding and customs brokerage.
Prior to joining Ezra Brutzkus Gubner LLP, Mr. Burstein was a partner for ten years in the firm of Danning Gill Diamond & Kollitz, LLP.
Memberships
Mr. Burstein has practiced law since 1973, when he was admitted to practice in the State of California. He is now admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States District Courts of all the federal districts within the State of California, and the courts of the State of California.
Active in the community, Mr. Burstein served as the President of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California from 1994-1996, and continues to serve on the Board of Directors. He served for many years as a volunteer Judge Pro Tem in the State Bar Court of California, adjudicating cases of alleged attorney misconduct.
Representative Matters
Among the cases that Mr. Burstein has worked on involving representation of chapter 7 trustees is In re Stern/Gill v Stern, 345 F.3d 1036 (9th Cir,2003) cert. den. 541 U.S. 936 (2004) in which the debtor’s chapter 7 trustee sought unsuccessfully to avoid a transfer to a retirement vehicle. Other cases have involved the defense of clients sued by trustees seeking to recover sums transferred in the alleged course of Ponzi schemes. Mr. Burstein has also represented chapter 7 trustees in large preference portfolios and voluminous claims objections. In 1975, Mr. Burstein handled a case of first impression in Krystal v BOAC, 403 F. Supp. 1322 (CD Cal, 1975), which has since been abrogated by Eastern Airlines, Inc. v Floyd 499 U.S. 530 (1991) concerning the compensation for emotional damages sustained by passengers on hijacked aircraft.
Education
Mr. Burstein graduated from UCLA magna cum laude in 1970 with a BA degree and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1973, he obtained his JD from the Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley, where he served on the Moot Court Board.