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Short of a major product recall or criminal prosecution, unresolved disputes among the leaders of a business are the single biggest threat to an enterprise’s ongoing viability.

Ira Steinberg is Counsel in Greenberg Glusker’s Litigation Group focused on complex commercial and business litigation, specifically, entertainment, media, real estate, corporate, and insurance disputes.

He assists clients in navigating all stages of litigation, including pre-litigation counseling, trial, alternative dispute resolution, and appeal. He also has significant experience in high profile matters and managing media scrutiny of litigation.

Ira has extensive experience working with clients, typically senior executives or investors, involved in business relationships that have broken down either near, or past, the point of litigation.  Ira’s recent matters include the termination of a high-profile CEO, business partnerships with significant internal disputes, and complex disputes between investors and the enterprises they’re funding.

These disputes are complex, intensely personal, and typically involve executives who are highly compensated, high net worth individuals or both. As an advisor, Ira manages both the immediate legal issues and the more critical, long-term strategic questions posed by these contentious high-stakes situations. His goal is to arrive at a resolution which is satisfactory to everyone involved with as little disruption to the business as possible, and if that is not possible, to achieve his client’s goals through litigation or private arbitration.  While he is a highly effective advocate for his clients’ interests, his role demands exceptional expertise as a negotiator, communicator, and strategist.

Resolving these disputes requires the application of strategic vision and legal acumen, but also emotional intelligence. In emotionally charged situations where the stakes are high, Ira ensures that all the parties to a dispute are heard, that positions and issues are aired and addressed, and that workable compromises are discussed. He uses advanced techniques in persuasion and communication to achieve decisive outcomes in litigation, and, where possible, to reframe disputes in new contexts that allow the parties to move past the original issues and find common ground. The goal is to help clients put disputes behind them and get back to their business.

Prior to practicing law Ira worked for several elected officials in the Los Angeles area. He is a member of the board of Golden Years Senior Apartments, a housing complex for low income seniors. In addition to his professional pursuits, Ira is a licensed pilot for gliders and single engine aircraft and is certified for aerobatics.  He is a multiple marathoner and earned a Spartan Race Trifecta.

Bar Admissions

  • California

Court Admissions

  • United States District Court for the Central District of California

Education

  • University of California, Los Angeles School of Law  (J.D., Order of the Coif, 2010)
  • University of Connecticut  (B.A., cum laude, 2005)
    • Honors Scholar

Litigation Experience

  • Successfully moved to stay an international music licensing dispute in favor of an action in an international forum on the doctrine of international abstention.  Charly Holdings, Inc. v. Curtom Classics, LLC, 2018 WL 6254586 (N.D. Ga. 2018).
  • Successfully defended an entertainer from fraud and breach of contract claims arising from the breakup of a business partnership.
  • Obtained a favorable settlement in a trademark and unfair competition dispute between a high profile New York restaurant and a competitor. 
  • Represented parties in high profile litigation concerning the mental competency of Sumner M. Redstone and control over Viacom, Inc.
  • Represented multiple businesses in contractual disputes and unfair mompetition claims against governmental and quasi-governmental agencies.
  • Litigated high profile matter arising out of disputed sale of property by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to pop-singer Katy Perry.
  • Litigated multiple insurance coverage disputes arising out of complex financial, securities and mortgage frauds.
  • Litigated multiple matters arising out of commercial and residential real estate disputes, including commercial real property sale disputes, commercial landlord-tenant disputes and residential construction disputes.
  • Litigated insurance coverage dispute arising out of qui tam litigation brought against Southern California municipal entity.