Alan A. Greenberg

COSTA MESA - For more than 25 years, Alan A. Greenberg has handled trial verdicts and appeals in high-profile and high-stakes cases for clients that include major celebrities, business leaders and law firms.

He started his career as a structured finance attorney on Wall Street, negotiating detailed contracts involving the purchase and sale of pools of mortgage loans and issuance of mortgage-backed securities. The experience gave him a deep understanding of financial contracts, and he is particularly adept at breaking down complex financial issues into simple yet accurate language for juries and judges.

"Having been involved in actually putting those contracts together and negotiating the terms of them, I think I have more understanding of what the deal lawyers were thinking when they put a deal together," Greenberg said. "And when the deal ends up in litigation, it gives me valuable insight into the issues. I'm very quickly able to look at financial contracts and figure out what's important in the controversy or dispute."

Greenberg and the firm currently represent Hon. John K. Trotter (Ret.) in his capacity as trustee of the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. Greenberg is pursuing claims on behalf of the Fire Victim Trust in several lawsuits, including three state court lawsuits filed against vegetation management companies for their role in the deadly North Bay Fires in Northern California in October 2017. John K. Trotter, Jr., Trustee of PG&E Fire Victim Trust v. Davey Resource Group, Inc., et al. (aka Tubbs), CGC- 21-589439 (S.F. Sup. Ct., filed Jan. 28, 2021); John K. Trotter, Jr., Trustee of PG&E Fire Victim Trust v. Davey Resource Group, Inc., et al. (aka Nuns), CGC-21-589438 (S.F. Sup. Ct., filed Jan. 28, 2021); John K. Trotter, Jr., Trustee of PG&E Fire Victim Trust v. ACRT Pacific, LLC, et al. (aka Atlas), CGC-21-589441 (S.F. Sup. Ct., filed Jan. 28, 2021).

PG&E had contracted with these vegetation management companies to identify and remove or trim vegetation within striking distance of PG&E's transmission and distribution lines. The lawsuits, filed in January 2021, allege the companies failed to properly inspect and maintain vegetation, which ultimately resulted in catastrophic fires. The lawsuits seek monetary damages in the a name of the Fire Victim Trust.

"We are representing that trust in several pieces of litigation and yet-to-be-filed litigations," Greenberg said. "There's a tremendous amount at stake because there's billions of dollars in damages, and the money raised by the trust will be distributed to victims of the fires."