Category: Uncategorized

PADIDEH ZARGARI

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Padideh Zargari completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree, graduating summa cum laude, in 2011, and her Juris Doctor degree from the UCLA School of Law in 2015, with a specialization in Business Law and Policy. While in law school, Ms Zargari was the Staff Editor for the UCLA Entertainment Law Review, and Research Assistant to Professor Steven Bank, for whom she performed extensive legal research and analysis on corporate law issues and on the Anti-Self Dealing Index. She was admitted to the Bar of California in December 2015.

Ms. Zargari is presently involved in the firm’s business and real property litigation practice, handling a wide range of issues and participating in matters throughout Southern California, in Los Angeles, Orange, and Kern Counties. She is a member of the State Bar of California and the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and is fluent in Farsi.

She can be contacted at the firm’s address and telephone numbers. Her email address is pzagari@grahamvaagelaw.com.

ANN G. LEE

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Ann G. Lee, an experienced mid-level lawyer with Graham · Vaage LLP, is a graduate of the University of Southern California (2004), and the University of Southern California Law School (2007).  Ms. Lee was admitted to the State Bar of California (2007), the U.S. District Court, Central (2007) Northern (2009), Eastern (2008), Southern (2009), and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (2007).

Ms. Lee practices in the areas emphasized by the Firm, including creditors’ rights litigation, general business litigation, and bankruptcy.  Ms. Lee specializes in the representation of financial institutions and other creditors in state, federal and bankruptcy courts.

She is a member of the State Bar of California, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, and is fluent in Korean.

Ms. Lee may be contacted at the Firm’s address and telephone numbers, and her email address isalee@grahamvaagelaw.com.

SUSAN L. VAAGE

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Susan L. Vaage is a principal in the law offices of Graham • Vaage LLP.  Since her admission to practice, Ms. Vaage has specialized in the representation of financial institutions and business entities in state, federal and bankruptcy courts.  She has many years of business advisory and trial experience, representing both plaintiffs and defendants, and has handled a wide variety of commercial and bankruptcy cases in areas such as enforcement of guarantees, commercial loans, secured transactions, real property, defense and consumer law.  She has also assisted the Firm’s financial institution and corporate clients with significant commercial loan workouts, analyzed litigation risks in connection with problem loans, and successfully defended such institutions against a wide variety of claims including fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, bad faith, unfair business practices, unconscionability, RICO violations, personal injury and premises liability, Americans with Disabilities Act matters, and wrongful termination.  She has an active practice relating to transactional and documentation work and inter-creditor negotiations and agreements, and has assisted clients with lease and real property purchase and sale negotiations.  She has represented and defended companies regarding a wide variety of commercial, property, contractual and tort matters.

Ms. Vaage has lectured to industry and Bar groups on topics related to her areas of expertise, and frequently speaks to in-house groups for representative clients, including the California Bankers Association and the National Business Institute.  She is a member of the State Bar of California (former member, Debtor/Creditor Relations and Bankruptcy Committee of the Business Law Section), Financial Lawyers Conference, Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum, Los Angeles County Bar Association (member, treasurer 2012-2013, Executive Committee of the Remedies Section), Commercial Law League, Los Angeles Mexican American Bar Association, Women Lawyers of Los Angeles, and various other professional associations.

She has an “AV” Peer Review Rating, and is an author of the California Practice Guide, “California Debt Collection and Enforcement of Judgments,” Matthew Bender 2006, updates 2007 through 2102, as well as being a contributing author to California Forms of Jury Instruction, Ch. 42A, Matthew Bender Fraudulent Transfer Instructions (Matthew Bender).

She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Irvine (1975) and her JD from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles (1978).  She is fluent in Spanish.

Ms. Vaage may be contacted at the firm’s address and telephone numbers, and her email address is svaage@grahamvaagelaw.com/em>.

AV Peer Review Rated.

ARNOLD K. GRAHAM

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Arnold K. Graham is the founding member and a principal in the law offices of Graham · Vaage LLP.  He is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law, and is admitted to practice in the state courts in California, various federal district courts and Courts of Appeals, the federal Claims Court, and the United States Supreme Court.  Mr. Graham is a Member of the State Bar of California, the Los Angeles County Bar Association (Committee Member, Eminent Domain; Real Property and Local Government Sections), the Glendale Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Consumer Attorneys Association.

Mr. Graham first practiced law with the Los Angeles County Counsel’s Office where, as a Principal Deputy, he was responsible for handling litigation relating to various departments, including Hospitals, Sheriff’s Department, County Assessor, Beaches & Harbors, County Engineer, Road Department, Flood Control District, Department of Airports, and Department of Regional Planning and Zoning.  Included in his experience were the acquisition of hundreds of parcels of property by eminent domain, and also defending against hundreds of inverse condemnation and tort damage claims from fires, floods, subsidence and landslide occurrences, and defective public property conditions.

Leaving public practice to represent the claims of 300 owners in a multi-million dollar subsidence and defective construction case, Mr. Graham opened the predecessor firm to Graham • Vaage, and has continued handling the same broad-based kinds of matters, including litigation.

Mr. Graham is an experienced trial lawyer in Southern California, having tried several hundred jury trials, bench trials, administrative hearings, arbitrations and mediations.

Mr. Graham has represented clients and litigated cases throughout California related to contracts, employment, eminent domain, inverse condemnation, property development, subsidence, landslides, flood damage, redevelopment, construction and construction defects, property damage, zoning and land use, subdivision, and environmental matters throughout much of California, including in San Diego, Otay Mesa, Escondido, Temecula, Carlsbad, Anaheim Hills, Yorba Linda, Hacienda Heights, Palos Verdes Estates, Abalone Cove, Portuguese Bend, Rancho Palos Verdes, Torrance, El Segundo, Redondo Beach, Long Beach, Downey, Paramount, Lakewood, Bell Gardens, South Gate, Cudahy, Vernon, Huntington Park, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Laguna Beach, San Clemente, Mission Viejo, West Hollywood, Malibu, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Altadena, Arcadia, Azusa, Monrovia, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Rialto, San Bernardino, Victorville, Riverside, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Adelanto, Las Vegas, Simi Valley, Camarillo, Ventura, Ojai, Piru, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Atascadero, Bakersfield, Taft, Fresno, South Lake Tahoe, Fremont, Sacramento, and Mammoth Lakes.

Mr. Graham has an “AV” Peer Rating.  He co-authored a Supplement to the Landslide and Subsidence Liabilitytreatise for the Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), and has also periodically authored articles for and given lectures and tutorials to members of professional organizations, including the International Right-of-Way Association (where he is a member), FEMA, the Appraisal Institute of Real Estate Appraisers, the American Society of Appraisers, the Association of Engineering Geologists, and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Mr. Graham may be contacted at the firm’s address and telephone numbers, and his email address is akgraham@grahamvaagelaw.com.

AV Peer Review Rated.

Graham · Vaage LLP Welcomes New Associate

Graham · Vaage is proud to announce the addition of its newest associate, Padideh Zargari, who is a member of firm’s Real Property and Business Litigation Practice Groups. Managing Partner, Arnold K. Graham, noted that Ms. Zargari has proven herself to be very capable, and a valuable addition to the firm. Ms. Zargari completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree, graduating summa cum laude, in 2011, and her Juris Doctor degree from the UCLA School of Law in 2015, with a specialization in Business Law and Policy.