Criminal Law

• Wrongful Death
  Mr. White is of counsel to the firm.  He is one of Los Angeles’ top trial and appellate attorneys.  He has over thirty-five years of experience representing injured parties and trying cases before juries, judges, and administrative tribunals throughout the state and country, including in state trial courts all over Southern and Northern California, the California Courts of Appeal, the California Supreme Court, United States District Courts, United States Bankruptcy Courts, and in the United States Court of Appeals throughout the United States.  Mr. White has extensive experience handling complex civil litigation matters as lead trial counsel, including numerous multi-million dollar personal injury, wrongful death, employment, and business litigation actions.  Mr. White began his legal career working for the federal government, through which he, among other things, successfully advanced the government's position in a series of cases which ultimately clarified and expanded the rights of union shop stewards in the Circuit Courts and, eventually, in the United States Supreme Court.  Subsequently, he was lead counsel in the Labor Board’s prosecution of the Western Conference of Teamsters for unlawful picketing during the union’s attempt to organize container freight operations in the Los Angeles harbor.  Mr. White served as assistant counsel for the California Teachers Association, the largest union in California, where he prosecuted cases before administrative agencies and courts, including the California Supreme Court, which dramatically expanded the rights of public employees.  He has also worked in the entertainment industry as assistant counsel for the Writers Guild of America, representing screenwriters in disputes with major studios and other industry employers.  He has received an AV® rating by Martindale-Hubbell (Peer Review Rated)*, the highest peer review rating for skill and integrity.  Mr. White graduated from Yale University (B.A., 1976) and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) (J.D., 1979). He co-authored the faculty-student Post-Bakke Report, participated in a student-initiated proceeding before the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, relating to faculty hiring practices, worked on initiative campaigns for the United Farm Workers, and worked as a volunteer law clerk for the Asian Law Caucus.  Mr. White has participated in instruction of judges at the Judicial College on the topic of settlement negotiations, is a regular lecturer for the National Business Institute, and has frequently lectured and conducted workshops for other attorneys on trial practice and litigation skills. 

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  Mr. New is associated with the firm and has over twenty-five years of experience in both business litigation and corporate law.  Mr. Ne
• Mergers and Acquisitions
  Special areas of the firm's expertise include commercial leases, corporate and limited liability company formation, mergers and acquisitions, real estate sales and exchanges, nonprofit organizations, trusts and wills, and civil litigation.
• Business Disputes
  Cum laude graduate of Loyola Law School and is a member of the Order of the Coif and the St. Thomas More Law Honor Society.  He is also the recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award in Torts and Legal Writing.  Mr. New obtained his bachelor's degree from California State University at Los Angeles in 1980.  Mr. New is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Business and Corporation Law Section and Commercial and Bankruptcy Law Section.  Mr. New served on Cityvote, a task force appointed by the City of Pasadena.  Mr. New has consulted on the Continuing Education of the Bar publications "Selecting and Forming Business Entities," and "California Employment Law Practice."  Mr. New has also consulted for the Business Law Practitioner and has contributed to Insights, a publication by the Los Angeles Radiological Society.
• Business Transactions
  Prior to commencing her legal career, she was an analyst for the Los Angeles Community College District, with responsibility for contracting and for administering the district's risk management and insurance programs.  Ms. Chuck has over 35 years of legal experience in complex corporate and business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions and operational matters for diverse businesses ranging from Fortune 500 companies to closely held corporations, nonprofit organizations and public entities.  She handles litigation matters and advises clients on employment law, intellectual property and tax exemption issues.  She also handles commercial leasing matters as well as other real property transactions.  Her estate planning practice includes succession planning for her business clients.  Ms. Chuck served as an appointee to the Committee on Nonprofit Corporations and Unincorporated Associations of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar.  She also served on the Executive Committee of the Business & Corporations Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and is a past Editor-in-Chief of the Business Law Update, a publication of the Business & Corporations Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
• Intellectual Property
• Unfair Competition
  W's unique blend of litigation and corporate experience has proved invaluable in representing business owners, developers and commercial office building owners in complex litigation and corporate matters.  Mr. New specializes in unfair competition, contract and employment law issues on which our clients consult.  Mr. New's successes include winning a $15 million judgment in a federal anti-trust lawsuit on a motion for summary judgment.  Mr. New is a 1989

Employment Law

• Employment Contract
  Handling the full range of corporate and business  transactional matters, including corporate formations, mergers and acquisitions, sales of assets, service agreements, employment agreements, business financing, trademarks, licensing, equipment leasing and other operational matters for manufacturing, retail, and service businesses, professional practices and public entities;
• Employment Litigation
  Mr. Sunada is of counsel to the firm.  Mr. Sunada practices business and real estate litigation in both California and Federal courts.  Mr. Sunada has received an AV® rating by Martindale-Hubbell (Peer Review Rated)*, the highest peer review rating for skill and integrity.  He has extensive experience representing business owners concerning fraud, breach of contract, directors and officers liability, unfair competition claims, intellectual property litigation and employment disputes as well as substantial experience in complex contract litigation, real estate, commercial leasing, environmental, construction and development disputes.  He has also represented parties in international trade transactions, advising on choice of business entity and representing business venturers in importing and exporting goods throughout the United States.  Mr. Sunada has extensive mediation, arbitration, trial and appellate experience, and has appeared before courts, planning commissions, city councils and administrative agencies representing clients in a variety of land use issues.  He is admitted to the State Bar of California as well as the Bars of the United States District Courts for the Central, Southern and Eastern Districts of California and the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  He was a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Bench and Bar Committee and has served as a moot court judge for numerous national moot court competitions.  Mr. Sunada is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Japanese American Bar Association, the South Bay Bar Association, the Japan America Society, and is involved with various charitable organizations in the South Bay.  He earned his juris doctorate degree from Loyola Law School in 1988, where he was honored as a member of the State Moot Court Team for his advocacy skills.  He earned his bachelor's degree in business from the University of Southern California in 1985.  Mr. Sunada serves as a court appointed mediator and Judge Pro Tempore.  He also serves on the boards of the Asia America Symphony Association and the Palos Verdes Tennis Club. 

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  McBirney & Chuck, PC -  Craig S. Sunadatel: (213) 688-9100 ext. 214email: csunada@mcbirneychuck.com Mr. Sunada is of counsel to the firm.  Mr. Sunada practices business and real estate litigation in both California and Federal courts.  Mr. Sunada has received an AV® rating by Martindale-Hubbell (Peer Review Rated)*, the highest peer review rating for skill and integrity.  He has extensive experience representing business owners concerning fraud, breach of contract, directors and officers liability, unfair competition claims, intellectual property litigation and employment disputes as well as substantial experience in complex contract litigation, real estate, commercial leasing, environmental, construction and development disputes.  He has also represented parties in international trade transactions, advising on choice of business entity and representing business venturers in importing and exporting goods throughout the United States.  Mr. Sunada has extensive mediation, arbitration, trial and appellate experience, and has appeared before courts, planning commissions, city councils and administrative agencies representing clients in a variety of land use issues.  He is admitted to the State Bar of California as well as the Bars of the United States District Courts for the Central, Southern and Eastern Districts of California and the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  He was a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Bench and Bar Committee and has served as a moot court judge for numerous national moot court competitions.  Mr. Sunada is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Japanese American Bar Association, the South Bay Bar Association, the Japan America Society, and is involved with various charitable organizations in the South Bay.  He earned his juris doctorate degree from Loyola Law School in 1988, where he was honored as a member of the State Moot Court Team for his advocacy skills.  He earned his bachelor's degree in business from the University of Southern California in 1985.  Mr. Sunada serves as a court appointed mediator and Judge Pro Tempore.  He also serves on the boards of the Asia America Symphony Association and the Palos Verdes Tennis Club.
• Construction Litigation
  McBirney & Chuck, PC -  Bruce H. McBirneytel: (213) 688-9100  ext. 218email: bmcbirney@mcbirneychuck.com Mr. McBirney is a real estate attorney with over thirty-five years of experience handling major real estate transactions in Southern California, including commercial leasing transactions, acquisitions and sales of office, retail and industrial properties, multi-party tax deferred exchanges, construction and redevelopment agreements, and real estate financing transactions.  His special areas of expertise are representing owners, managers, and major tenants in leases of office buildings, telecommunications facilities, industrial projects and shopping centers, and representing both buyers and sellers in major real estate sale transactions.  In negotiating hundreds of millions of dollars in commercial leases, sales and exchanges, his emphasis has been on "making the deal" by solving legal obstacles, rather than simply raising them, and on drafting clear, precise lease and contract provisions with an eye toward minimizing the risks of litigation later.  Mr. McBirney's practice also includes assisting building owners and managers in preventing and resolving landlord-tenant disputes and advising them on the increasingly complex web of environmental, safety, construction and land use regulations affecting their operations.  Representative transactions from his practice include negotiation of numerous significant leases of office and telecommunications space on behalf of a variety of major landlords in the Central Business and Mid-Wilshire Districts of Los Angeles, as well as in other West Coast cities; negotiation of acquisitions and sales of office, retail and industrial buildings in downtown Los Angeles and other cities; representation of major tenants, including other law firms, in multi-floor lease transactions at highrise office buildings; and obtaining with the firm's litigation team millions of dollars in recoveries in complex lease and construction disputes.  Mr. McBirney has received an AV® rating (Peer Review Rated)*, the highest rating for legal ability and general ethical standards from Martindale-Hubbell.  Mr. McBirney attended Loyola Marymount University (B.A., 1976, summa cum laude), where he was Scholar of the Year in 1976, and Boalt Hall at the University of California at Berkeley (J.D., 1979), where he was a member of the California Law Review. He has been active in various community and real estate industry organizations, and has served twice as a panelist on indoor air quality at presentations for managers and owners of commercial office buildings.
• Real Estate Transactions
  Negotiating and documenting real estate sales, tax-deferred exchanges, real estate financing, redevelopment agreements, and partnership and other business arrangements for acquiring, developing and investing in real estate, as well as advising property owners on land use, construction and environmental issues;
• Land Use and Zoning
• Landlord-Tenant Disputes
  Representing commercial building owners and managers and commercial tenants in lease negotiations regarding office, retail, telecommunications and industrial premises and in the effective prevention and resolution of landlord-tenant disputes over rent, rent escalations, environmental matters, and construction and zoning issues;

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  McBirney & Chuck, PC - Michael R. Whitetel: (213) 688-9100  ext. 232email: mwhite@mcbirneychuck.com Mr. White is of counsel to the firm.  He is one of Los Angeles’ top trial and appellate attorneys.  He has over thirty-five years of experience representing injured parties and trying cases before juries, judges, and administrative tribunals throughout the state and country, including in state trial courts all over Southern and Northern California, the California Courts of Appeal, the California Supreme Court, United States District Courts, United States Bankruptcy Courts, and in the United States Court of Appeals throughout the United States.  Mr. White has extensive experience handling complex civil litigation matters as lead trial counsel, including numerous multi-million dollar personal injury, wrongful death, employment, and business litigation actions.  Mr. White began his legal career working for the federal government, through which he, among other things, successfully advanced the government's position in a series of cases which ultimately clarified and expanded the rights of union shop stewards in the Circuit Courts and, eventually, in the United States Supreme Court.  Subsequently, he was lead counsel in the Labor Board’s prosecution of the Western Conference of Teamsters for unlawful picketing during the union’s attempt to organize container freight operations in the Los Angeles harbor.  Mr. White served as assistant counsel for the California Teachers Association, the largest union in California, where he prosecuted cases before administrative agencies and courts, including the California Supreme Court, which dramatically expanded the rights of public employees.  He has also worked in the entertainment industry as assistant counsel for the Writers Guild of America, representing screenwriters in disputes with major studios and other industry employers.  He has received an AV® rating by Martindale-Hubbell (Peer Review Rated)*, the highest peer review rating for skill and integrity.  Mr. White graduated from Yale University (B.A., 1976) and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) (J.D., 1979). He co-authored the faculty-student Post-Bakke Report, participated in a student-initiated proceeding before the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, relating to faculty hiring practices, worked on initiative campaigns for the United Farm Workers, and worked as a volunteer law clerk for the Asian Law Caucus.  Mr. White has participated in instruction of judges at the Judicial College on the topic of settlement negotiations, is a regular lecturer for the National Business Institute, and has frequently lectured and conducted workshops for other attorneys on trial practice and litigation skills. 

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  McBIRNEY & CHUCK is a downtown Los Angeles law firm with a wide range of experience in business and real estate transactions, civil litigation, nonprofit organizations law, probate, and estate planning. The firm's highly skilled and experienced team of attorneys emphasizes the prompt, personal delivery of the highest quality legal services in an efficient, cost-effective manner.
• Wills
• Trusts
  Ms. Chuck heads the firm's corporate, public entities and nonprofit organizations practice, as well as the firm's trusts and wills practice.  Ms. Chuck is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles (B.A. 1978) and Loyola Law School, Los Angeles (J.D., 1985).
• Probate

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
  McBirney & Chuck, PC -  Lee Newtel: (213) 688-9100  ext. 217email: lnew@mcbirneychuck.comMr. New is associated with the firm and has over twenty-five years of experience in both business litigation and corporate law.  Mr. Ne12w's unique blend of litigation and corporate experience has proved invaluable in representing business owners, developers and commercial office building owners in complex litigation and corporate matters.  Mr. New specializes in unfair competition, contract and employment law issues on which our clients consult.  Mr. New's successes include winning a $15 million judgment in a federal anti-trust lawsuit on a motion for summary judgment.  Mr. New is a 1989 cum laude graduate of Loyola Law School and is a member of the Order of the Coif and the St. Thomas More Law Honor Society.  He is also the recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award in Torts and Legal Writing.  Mr. New obtained his bachelor's degree from California State University at Los Angeles in 1980.  Mr. New is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Business and Corporation Law Section and Commercial and Bankruptcy Law Section.  Mr. New served on Cityvote, a task force appointed by the City of Pasadena.  Mr. New has consulted on the Continuing Education of the Bar publications "Selecting and Forming Business Entities," and "California Employment Law Practice."  Mr. New has also consulted for the Business Law Practitioner and has contributed to Insights, a publication by the Los Angeles Radiological Society.