Adam Bass is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Buchalter. Mr. Bass began his career at Buchalter as a junior associate before becoming a Shareholder and eventually joining the firm’s Board of Directors. As Buchalter’s President and Chief Executive Officer since 2013, Mr. Bass has led the firm to substantial growth, with more than 500 lawyers across 12 offices. Under Mr. Bass’s leadership, the firm has expanded into Napa Valley, Sacramento, Seattle, San Diego, Portland, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Nashville. Because of the firm’s growth and success, the media regularly seeks Mr. Bass’ insight and perspective on the legal industry and law firm management.

Mr. Bass has received a number of prestigious awards, including:

• “LA500” – Most Influential People in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2017-2024
• “Top 100 Lawyer,” Los Angeles Business Journal
• “LA Visionaries: CEO,” LA Times B2b Publishing
• “Leader in the Law Nominee,” Los Angeles Business Journal
• “Top 40 Under 40,” Los Angeles Daily Journal
• “2023 State Bar of California DEI Leadership Bronze Seal designee” Cal LAW Pathways

Under Mr. Bass’ leadership, Buchalter has consistently received numerous recognitions, including:

• Advanced 16 spots on The American Lawyer’s “AmLaw 200 Survey,” as the 131st largest law
• Moved up 13 spots on Law360’s 400 largest law firms in the nation, the “Law360 400 Survey,” as the 114th largest law firm
• 100 out of 100 Score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index
• 100 Best Law Firms for minority attorneys and Top Firms with the Most Diverse Equity Partnership, Law360
• Excellence in Diversity Award, California Lawyer Association
• Mansfield Certification by Diversity Lab

In his law practice, Mr. Bass represents businesses and financial institutions in transactional and litigation matters. Mr. Bass’ experience and expertise is wide-ranging and encompasses corporate matters, loan workouts, creditors’ rights, real property transactions and litigation, leasing, public contracting, regulatory compliance at the local, state, and federal levels, and government procurement. For his many corporate clients, Mr. Bass serves as a trusted advisor on general business and strategic matters and lends his extensive experience in all aspects of real estate including, purchase and sale agreements, lease negotiations, receiverships, and judicial foreclosure.

Mr. Bass is a member of the American, California, and Los Angeles County Bar Associations, and has served as an arbitrator for the Los Angeles Superior Court and worked with the Dispute Resolution Section. In addition, Mr. Bass served as a member of the committee advising the Los Angeles Superior Court on issues concerning receiverships.

For many years, Mr. Bass has served on the University of San Diego School of Law Board of Visitors.

Since 2021, Mr. Bass has served on the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce’s CEO Council. He also serves on the North America Regional Council Regional Council of World Services Group, and on a number of private company Boards of Directors.

Mr. Bass has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the California Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Directors of the California Mortgage Bankers Association, the American Financial Services Association, the Civil Justice Association of California, the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice, and the Residential Board of Governors of the National Mortgage Bankers Association.

Bar Admissions

• California

Education

• University of San Diego School of Law
• University of San Diego Graduate School
• University of San Diego

• Represented senior secured ABL lender in connection with its $80 million pre-petition ABL facility and $80 million DIP ABL facility in the pre-packaged chapter 11 case of iQor.
• Represented senior secured lender and asset purchaser of Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes, and represented asset purchaser of Hot Dog on a Stick.
• Represented as debtor’s counsel six different publicly traded and privately owned national retailers, a developer of a high-end residential resort community with nearly $1 billion in liabilities, and a publicly traded manufacturer of “Class A” motor homes.
• Represented trustee of a commercial real estate developer, including in litigation with the co-owners of the real estate holding companies and in the sale of the commercial real estate.
• Represented defendants in two different multi-billion dollar fraudulent transfer cases.
• Represented in approximately fifty appeals a debtor in mass asbestos bankruptcy case.
• Represented 420-bed acute care hospital debtor in appeals from its chapter 11 plan confirmation order, and represented purchaser of assets of aerospace and defense company debtor in appeal from bankruptcy court sale approval order.
• Represented hedge fund in connection with $1.6 billion note in the Lehman Brothers case.

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