Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Litigation co-chairperson Patricia Glaser was born in 1947 in Charleston, West Virginia. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from The American University in 1969 and her Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University in 1973. At Rutgers, she served on the Law Review and as the President of the Student Bar Association.

After law school, Glaser clerked for Federal District Judge Hon. David W. Williams in the Central District of California. In 1973, she was admitted to the California State Bar and associated with the law firm of Wyman, Bautzer, Christensen, Kuchel & Silbert. Glaser became a partner at the Wyman firm in 1979, remaining there until the 1988 formation of the Firm.

Glaser serves as head of the litigation department and finds her litigation practice at Glaser, Weil to be "exciting, dynamic, and intellectually stimulating." She is a business trial lawyer, and she provides general legal advice to publicly and privately held companies in such areas as real estate, contracts, antitrust, entertainment, banking and securities.

She was the litigation partner for a Federal Court Receivership involving over a $100 million in cash and real estate; she served as the coordinating partner in the MGM Grand Hotel Fire Litigation; she served as co-trial counsel in the MGM Grand Hotel Retroactive Insurance Litigation (which settled, after the jury was impaneled, for approximately $76 million); she served as lead trial counsel representing a major film laboratory against claims of toxic chemical exposure involving numerous employees; and, as lead counsel for a major motion picture company, she successfully avoided an involuntary bankruptcy proceeding which several key creditors were attempting to force on the company. Also, she served as lead trial counsel in a variety of other matters, such as the case against Kim Basinger in which the jury rendered a multi-million dollar verdict, a federal securities case where the jury awarded a multi-million dollar verdict, a case against Lucasfilm where a jury, again, awarded several million dollars and a case defending The Walt Disney Company where the jury rendered a defense verdict.  Glaser has also served as lead counsel defending public companies and/or their officers and directors in shareholder class actions, derivative lawsuits, and government proceedings, including SEC investigations and enforcement matters.

Glaser's other activities include:  Governor on the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Board of Governors; the National Board of Directors of D.A.R.E.; the Board of Directors for the Legal Division of the Jewish Federation; the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Music Center Theatre Group; the Board of Trustees for The National Judicial College; the Board of Directors of the Geffen Theater; the Presidency of the Western Region of the American Friends of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; the UCLA Israel Studies Program Advisory Board; and a producer of legitimate theatre productions. In 1998, Glaser was appointed by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court to serve on the Judicial Council Task Force on the Quality of Justice. She also serves as a CLE lecturer and has received a variety of honors, including membership in a variety of Who's Who and has repeated recognition as one of California's "100 most influential attorneys." In addition, Glaser raises funds for certain charities and political candidates.

Glaser resides in Malibu and in Century City with her husband, Sam.  Sam is an active entrepreneur and amateur athlete. Glaser has two children by marriage.

Areas of Practice

• Administrative Law
• Alternate Dispute Resolution
• Antitrust & Trade Regulation
• Bad Faith Insurance
• Business & Commercial Law
• Business Litigation
• Business Organizations
• Civil Rights
• Constitutional Law
• Corporate Governance
• Criminal Law
• Employment Law -- Employer
• Energy Law
• Entertainment, Sports & Leisure Law
• Estate Planning
• Family Law
• Gaming Law
• Insurance Law
• Intellectual Property Law
• Litigation & Appeals
• Professional Malpractice Law
• Real Estate Law
• Securities Law
• Toxic Torts

Representative Cases

• AGV Productions, Inc. v. Metro-Goldwy-Mayer, Inc., F.3d 2002 WL 1342896 (2nd Cir. N.Y. 2002)
• U.S. v. City of Los Angeles, Cal., 288 F.3d 391, (NO. 01-55182, 01-55453) (9th Cir. (Cal.) 2002)
• Valentino v. Maximum Holdings, Inc., 2002 WL 576273 (Cal. App. 2 Dist. 2002)
• Hartwell Corp. v. Superior Court, 27 Cal.4th 256, (NO. S082782) (Cal.Sup.Ct. 2002)
• Kajima Egineering and Const., Inc. v. City of Los Angeles, 95 Cal.App.4th 921, (NO. B149642) (Cal.App. 2 Dist. 2002)
• Schapiro v. Morgan Creek Productions, Inc.,, 2001 WL 1589165 (Cal. App. 2 Dist. 2001)
• Viner v. Sweet, Cal.Rptr.2d 426,112, (NO. B138149) (Cal.App. 2 Dist. 2001)
• Styne v. Stevens, 26 Cal.4th 42, (NO. S086787) (Cal.Sup.Ct. 2001)
• Hartwell Corp. v. Superior Court, 88 Cal.Rptr.2d 486, (NO. A085477, A085488) (Cal.App. 1 Dist. 1999)
• Marsu, B.B. v. Walt Disney Co., 185 F.3d 932, (NO. 97-56547, 98-56151) (9th Cir. (Cal.) 1999)
• MGM Grand Fire Liability and Property Litigation
• Cohn v. Rosenfeld
• Styne v. Stevens, 92 Cal.Rptr.2d 655, (NO. B121208) (Cal.App. 2d Dist. 2000)
• Film Asset Holding Co. v. Weintraub
• Universal Financial Receivership
• MGM adv. Telemundo
• MGM Involuntary Bankruptcy Proceeding
• MGM Lab Litigation
• Taft & Main adv. Old Stone
• MGM Grand Retroactive Insurance Litigation
• MGM v. Warner Bros.

West Practice Categories

Administrative Law, Administrative Hearings & Adjudication, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Arbitration, Mediation, Mini-trials, Private Judging, Antitrust & Trade Regulation, RICO Act, Unfair Competition, Bad Faith Insurance, Civil Rights, Age Discrimination, Disability & Illness Discrimination, National Origin Discrimination, Race Discrimination, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Class Actions -- Plaintiff, Constitutional Law, Affirmative Action, Freedom of Press, Criminal Law, Employment Law -- Employer, Affirmative Action -- Employer, Americans with Disabilities Act -- Employer, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) -- Employer, Employee Rights -- Employer, Employment Contracts -- Employer, Employment Discrimination -- Employer, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) -- Employer, Federal Employer's Liability Act (FELA) -- Employer, Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA) -- Employer, Sexual Harassment -- Employer, Whistleblower -- Employer, Wrongful Termination -- Employer, Entertainment, Sports & Leisure Law, Art, Entertainment, Sports, Estate Planning, Family Law, Collaborative Law, Insurance Law, Intellectual Property Law, Copyrights, Trade Dress, Trade Secrets, Trademarks, Litigation & Appeals, Complex Litigation, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Trial Practice, Multidistrict Litigation, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Professional Malpractice Law, Legal Malpractice, Real Estate Law, Securities Law, Securities Fraud & Insider Trading, Securities Regulation, Toxic Torts, Transportation Law, Mass Transit

Bar Admissions

• California, 1973
• U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1973
• U.S. District Court Southern District of California, 1976
• U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 1977
• U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 1988
• U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1976
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1984

Classes and Seminars

• Panelist, Law, Ethics and the Media, Selling Yourself and Your Client in the Press, Women Lawyers of L.A., April 28, 1995
• Panelist, Trial Tales and Recollections -, American Inns of Court, May 4, 1995 - July 1, 1995
• Speaker, Trial Masters Series, April 16, 1996
• Speaker, Entertainment Film Seminar, Pepperdine University, October 9, 1997
• Speaker, Legends of Litigation, Consumer Attorneys, October 13, 1997
• Speaker, Resolving Entertainment Disputes Through Mediation and Arbitration, UCLA Extension, February 21, 1998
• Speaker, "Writs & Receivers", ADR, April 8, 1998
• A Review of Recent Supreme Court Precedent Appellate Practice, UJF, January 23, 2001
• Speaker, The Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing - How it Applies in the Entertainment Context Under California Law - MGM Studios Provider, MCLE, February 15, 2001
• Seminar, Trial Techniques, Rutter Group, 2002
• Seminar, Complex Court Symposium' Lessons Learned, LACBA
• Seminar, Beyond Common Experience; Persuading Juries With Expert Testimony, ABTL
• Seminar, A Review of Recent Supreme Court Precedent, UJI
• Seminar, The Civility Tightrope, ABA/Section of Criminal Justice & Federal Bar
• Seminar, Law, Technology & Change, Women Litigators Conference, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, 1999
• Seminar, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, LACBA
• Seminar, Resolving Entertainment Disputes Through Mediation, UCLA Extension
• Seminar, Law Ethics and The Media, Women Lawyers of L.A.
• Seminar, Trial Tales and Recollections, American Inns of Court
• Seminar, First Party - Bad Faith, The Rutter Group

Past Employment Positions

• Wyman Bautzer Rothman Kuchel & Silbert, Lawyer, 1973 - 1988

Education

• Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey School of Law - Camden, Camden, New Jersey, 1973
  J.D.
  
  Law Review: Rutgers Law Review, 1971 - 1972
• American University, 1969
  B.A.
  Major: Government/International Relations

Address

10250 Constellation Boulevard
19th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90067

Phones

(310) 282-6217

Faxes

310-556-2920

Emails

pglaser@glaserweil.com

Websites

http://www.glaserweil.com