January 10, 2023 By: Michael Flynn The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget has released the Fall 2022 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Agenda) reports on the actions administrative agencies plan to issue in the near and long term. Included is the CFPB’s regulatory agenda for 2023. The CFPB agenda may be found HERE. Below are the activity summaries provided by the CFPB, organized under Final Rule Stage Activities, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) Proposed activities, and Pre-Rule Activities...
Buchalter
Main Contacts

Adam J. Bass
Shareholder
Matthew S. Covington
ShareholderOffices
Overview
Buchalter is a full-service business law firm that has been teaming with clients for eight decades, providing legal counsel at all stages of their growth and evolution, and helping them meet the many legal challenges and decisions they face. Our clients are engaged in a diverse global economy governed by complex laws and regulations, and they trust us as advisers and business partners because we are involved in their world. They rely on our forward-thinking to help them resolve problems before they arise.
At Buchalter, we practice in that spirit.
Our founding principle-providing our clients with the best business solutions-continues to lead us. We value each client relationship, recognizing that their success is our success. Our overarching goal-getting the best results for the client in a timely manner with sensitivity to cost-has engendered client loyalty, and the firm has grown from that loyalty.
Our lawyers are accessible, resourceful, skillful and adept at responding to change. Our technological capabilities keep case law and rule changes at our fingertips and client communications current, enabling us to create efficient, superior outcomes.
We strongly believe that technology is a tool that furthers the practice of law and have used that belief to develop a cutting edge platform for our firm. We use a meshed (NVPN) network to facilitate work among offices, Cisco VoIP telephony and Video-over-IP conferencing. Sharing documents is seamless through FileSite, which is also utilized to create our Client Extranets. To support our litigation matters, we use Concordance and Opticon, as well as LiveNote and Sanction. Unlike many firms, we have the capacity to process e-Discovery in-house, reducing client costs.
Buchalter lawyers are also active members of the communities in which they live and work. Leadership is a value the founding partners practiced and passed on to the current generation of attorneys. Our lawyers sit on the boards of prominent organizations, teach and lecture frequently. We actively participate in many associations and groups including the Public Law Center, San Francisco Legal Aid Society, Practicing Law Institute, California State Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the LACBA Domestic Violence Project, the Sojourner Center, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Phoenix and many others.
Buchalter is consistently ranked among the leading law firms by Chambers and Partners, Best Lawyers, The Daily Journal and the Los Angeles Business Journal. It is also ranked among the leading firms nationally by American Legal Media and the National Law Journal.
Buchalter's commitment to reflecting and enhancing the rich diversity of the clients and communities in which we practice is more than eight decades strong. The firm's diversity of attorneys and staff provides clients with a greater array of creative talent and alternative thinking, benefiting all.
Areas of Practice
Professionals
Partners

Valerie Bantner Peo
Shareholder
Peter G. Bertrand
Shareholder
Faith K. Bruins
Shareholder
Shawn M. Christianson
Shareholder
Matthew S. Covington
Shareholder
Jason Croft
Shareholder
Kirsten J. Day
Shareholder
Denise H. Field
Shareholder
Manuel Fishman
Shareholder
Alicia Guerra
Shareholder
Benjamin M. Heuer
Shareholder
Jeffrey Judd
Shareholder
Jenni Krengel
Shareholder
Sharon Morrissey
Shareholder
Gwenneth O'Hara
Shareholder
Mitchell J. Olejko
Partner Emeritus
Jay L. Paxton
Shareholder
Josiah R. Reid
Shareholder
Nora Sheriff
Shareholder
Thomas M. Sherwood
Shareholder
Douglas C. Straus
Shareholder
Marlene J. Williams
Shareholder
Dylan W. Wiseman
Shareholder
James B. Wright
Partner Emeritus
Glenn P. Zwang
ShareholderAssociates

Alexander Davis
Attorney
Lotus Fung
Attorney
David A. Goldstein
Attorney
Samir A. Hafez
Attorney
Braeden J. Mansouri
Attorney
Christopher Parker
Attorney
Lillian Rafii
AttorneyOf Counsel

Jean L. Bertrand
Of Counsel
Brandon Carr
Senior Counsel
Jeanine M. Donohue
Of Counsel
John Epperson
Of Counsel
Bukola Mabadeje
Senior Counsel
Julian (Pete) Mack
Of Counsel
Randall L. Manvitz
Senior Counsel
Peter W. McGaw
Of Counsel
Tiffany F. Ng
Senior Counsel
Cecily Anne O’Regan
Of Counsel
Melissa Richards
Of Counsel
Steven H. Winick
Special CounselArticles
CFPB Proposes That Non-Bank Consumer Finance Companies Must (1) Register all Federal, State and Local Regulator Enforcement Orders and Court Judgments; and (2) Have an Annual Attestation from an Executive that Each Order and Judgment Has Not Been Violated
January 5, 2023 By: Michael Flynn Registration of Regulator Orders and Court Judgments On December 12, 2022, the CFPB issued a proposed rule regarding non-bank consumer finance firms registration of all settlements and enforcement orders. The proposed rule would require covered non-bank consumer finance firms to register with the CFPB all consent orders, judgments and other enforcement actions from any regulator, federal, state or local, with the registry to be made available to regulators and the public. The proposed rule may be found here. The CFPB has indicated that the registry and the filing requirements would not be implemented until at least January 2024...
Press
Shareholders Mercedes O. Martin and Philip Nulud Selected as 2023 Leaders of Influence: Minority Attorneys by the Los Angeles Business Journal
Buchalter is pleased to announce that Shareholders Mercedes O. Martin and Philip Nulud were both recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as 2023 Leaders of Influence: Minority Attorneys. In this issue, The Los Angeles Business Journal has profiled those standout minority attorneys considered to be particularly impactful on the legal scene while serving as trusted advisors in the LA region. Mercedes O. Martin specializes in real estate transactions, with an emphasis on real estate secured transactions, tax credit finance and equity investments. She Co-Chairs the firm Community Development Finance group...
Mark T. Cramer Quoted in Business Law Today
Time for Associates to Step It Up: 6 Things Law Firm Associates Can Do Today to Secure Their Jobs in a Recession January 20, 2023 By: Lana J. Manganiello "To be an appreciated team member, learn partners’ styles and preferences. When it comes to communication, ask at the onset how they prefer to be communicated with: Do they want you to just call when you have a question, send a text, ask via email, schedule time to discuss? Do they have a writing style you can learn from their redlined drafts? Do they prefer single spaces after sentences, or do they avoid using adjectives or adverbs? “The associates that I enjoy working with the most write intentionally ‘for me,’” said Mark T...
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