James C. Bastian Jr. - Irvine, CA

James C. Bastian, Jr., is a partner resident in the Irvine and Riverside offices. Mr. Bastian heads the firm's Bankruptcy and Reorganization Practice Areas and serves as the firm's Director of Marketing. Mr. Bastian joined the firm in 1995 after serving as a judicial law clerk for one year to the Honorable Kathleen Thompson, U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge for the Central District of California. Mr. Bastian received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from UCLA in 1991 and his Juris Doctor from Southwestern University School of Law in 1994.

Mr. Bastian has represented nearly every type of party in a Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, including bankruptcy trustees, debtors-in-possession, creditors' committees, purchasers of assets, individual creditors, secured creditors, plaintiffs and defendants in avoidance actions, plaintiffs and defendants in discharge actions, directors and officers and interest holders. As lead counsel, Mr. Bastian has successfully confirmed over 30 plans of reorganization on behalf of Chapter 11 debtors or other estate representatives. While based primarily in Southern California, Mr. Bastian has represented parties in interest in every district in the State of California and has been specially admitted to represent parties in over 10 additional jurisdictions nationwide.

Mr. Bastian also has extensive experience representing trustees, estate representatives and defendants in avoidance actions and other litigation matters that arise in bankruptcy proceedings. Mr. Bastian has represented parties in hundreds of these matters, the overwhelming number of which settled before trial. Mr. Bastian also devotes a large part of his practice to out-of-court workouts and restructurings, helping dozens of companies and individuals avoid bankruptcy. Mr. Bastian has developed a niche practice of representing construction related companies and their principals who are involved in public and private construction projects and are in financial distress.

Mr. Bastian also has utilized alternative dispute resolution and mediation to resolve these and other contested matters in bankruptcy proceedings and has mediated dozens of contested matters and adversary proceedings throughout his career, including serving as mediator to successfully resolve several matters. Mr. Bastian also serves on the panel of arbitrators with U.S. Arbitration and Mediation Midwest, Inc. Mr. Bastian has built a reputation as a consensus builder and analytical mediator who can break down each party's position on a given issue and provide an honest assessment of each party's strengths and weaknesses to drive them to a successful resolution and avoid costly litigation.

Over the years, Mr. Bastian has served as a panelist or moderator in over 35 Continuing Legal Education seminars. Mr. Bastian has published several articles, including in the California Bankruptcy Journal, the Orange County Business Journal, the San Diego Business Journal and numerous trade publications. From 1997-2003, Mr. Bastian served on the board of directors for the Orange County Bankruptcy Forum, including serving as its youngest-ever president in 2002. Mr. Bastian also served on the board of directors of the California Bankruptcy Forum from 2000-2003. Mr. Bastian is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Orange County Bar Association Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section.

Mr. Bastian has long been committed to community service dating back to when he received the Chancellor's Service Award while an undergraduate at UCLA. He is currently chairman of the board of directors of Lion's Heart, a national youth volunteer organization, just completed a 9 year term as a member of the board of directors of the Mission Hospital Foundation, where he served as Chair in 2015-16, served as President of his local Rotary Club in 2007-2008, is past president of the Bell Tower Foundation, has recently been named to the Mission Hospital Community Ministry Board and has served as a youth sports coach for over 25 years. Mr. Bastian is also active in helping to raise money for numerous charitable organizations, including CHOC, the American Heart Association, Education for the Children, Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, The Public Law Center, local schools, churches and other organizations.