Our Attorneys

Marcia Z. Gordon

Marcia Z. Gordon

Marcia Z. Gordon is a founding partner of Gordon Kemper LLP. She has a broad real estate practice, representing local, national, and international clients in a variety of complex real estate transactions. She has substantial experience in leasing, acquisitions, dispositions, development, and financing of office, industrial, commercial, retail, hospitality, gaming, residential, telecommunications, and low-income housing projects. The financing transactions Ms. Gordon has been involved in include construction lending, permanent lending, mezzanine lending as well as the restructuring of existing loans. She is licensed to practice in California and New York.
Ms. Gordon is recognized by The Green Building Certification Institute as an Accredited Professional in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED® AP) having recognized expertise in the field of sustainable design and an in-depth understanding of green building practices and principles (including, but not limited to, energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, and improved indoor environmental quality). As a LEED AP, Ms. Gordon is part of a select group of attorneys nationwide who are qualified to provide advice on leasing, maintaining, operating, acquiring, disposing and financing of LEED certified projects and to assist clients with obtaining certification in accordance with the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System.
Previously, Ms. Gordon taught on a part-time basis real estate development law at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and is currently the President of the Barnard College Club of Los Angeles. She sits on the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Real Property Section where she recently served as the Chairperson of the Commercial Development and Leasing Subsection.

Education

J.D., Brooklyn Law School
A.B., cum laude, Barnard College of Columbia University

Awards

  • The Champion Award, National Women’s Political Caucus, Los Angeles Metro Chapter
  • The Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services, Board of Governors of the State Bar of California
  • Southern California Super Lawyer, 2007-2020

Phone: (213) 452-8280
Email: marcia.gordon@gordonkemper.com

Andrew James Thomas

Carl Alan Roth

Mr. Roth has more than thirty years of litigation experience practicing in state and federal courts in California, New York, Delaware, Illinois, Texas among many other jurisdictions.  His practice has involved a wide range of large scale and complex matters in areas of banking, sports, media and entertainment, insurance, company control, intellectual property, family law, commercial, real estate, product liability, bankruptcy, environmental, white collar criminal defense and securities disputes. Mr. Roth has argued in state and federal appellate and trial courts, participated in large and small case trials, examined both lay and expert witnesses, and presented complex arguments to juries. Mr. Roth also has managed statewide, nationwide and international discovery programs, and has taken and defended hundreds of depositions in more than 20 jurisdictions. He also prepared and filed legal memoranda in state and federal appellate courts, including but not limited to, California and Texas jurisdictions.

Notable Representations Defending:
Large-scale real estate developers in lawsuits filed by southern California municipalities including West Hollywood. Santa Monica, Oxnard, and Agoura Hills;

NFL, NFL Properties, the NBA and NBA Properties in antitrust, contract and fiduciary duty claims before state and federal trial and appellate courts, involving complex damages and market analyses;

Major film studios:

Antitrust and state commercial law matters involving market definition, antitrust injury and damages;  

Disputes with Hollywood talent, including writers, directors and actors over accounting and participation associated with major Hollywood films, including antitrust injury and damages;

Ownership and financial accounting concerning film properties (including Gone With the Wind);

A controlling shareholder in a battle for control over one of the seven major film studios;

Major Southern California toy company in multibillion-dollar copyright and state law claims asserted in federal district court; ran team handling multi-billion dollar damage phase;

Major Southern California pharmaceutical company in a multibillion-dollar trade secret claim, also running damages phase of the case;

Underwriters of more than 15 billion dollars of WorldCom Inc. debt securities in class actions brought by bondholders throughout the United States;

The world’s largest car manufacturing company in state and federal product liability cases;

The Trustees of the Hearst Family Trust on claims regarding interpretation of the will and related documents of William Randolph Hearst as they relate to the operation of the Hearst Corporation;

Three international corporations in evidentiary bankruptcy proceedings pending in California, Illinois and Delaware bankruptcy courts.

Notable Prosecution Representations:
A multimillion-dollar trade secret claim on behalf of a California-based wearable technology company;

An antitrust claim for one of the nation’s largest natural gas transmission companies, asserted in Alabama and Georgia federal courts, with briefs filed in the Eleventh Circuit and the United States Supreme Court;

Representative Clients:
Entertainment:
Twentieth Century-Fox Corporation
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
The National Football League and NFL Properties, Inc.
The National Basketball Association and NBA Properties, Inc
Turner Network television
Warner Bros.
MGA Entertainment (Bratz toys)
Real Estate:

Coldwell Banker Realty
DKN Hotels, Inc.
Casden Properties, Inc.
Brookefield Corporation
AKA Group

Finance:
Merrill  Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc.
Goldman Sachs
JP Morgan
Bank of America Corporation
California Commercial Investment Group
Tracinda Corporation
Energy and Automotive:

Southern Natural Gas Company
FirstEnergy Corp
Toyota Motor Corporation

Education

J.D., Harvard Law School
A.B., UC Berkeley

Phone: (213) 422-0160
Email: carl.roth@gordonkemper.com