A well-known litigator in Southern California, Alan I. Rothenberg joined Latham & Watkins in July 1990 and retired from the partnership in December 2000. Before coming to the firm's Los Angeles office, he had been a name partner at Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg & Phillips for more than 20 years. Marked by diversity, his practice has involved matters drawn from the banking, business, sports and entertainment fields.
In representing lenders, he has handled actions involving lender liability, bank takeovers, wrongful foreclosure, wrongful chargebacks, forged endorsements, D & O coverage and securities violations. For business clients, Mr. Rothenberg has litigated antitrust, breach of contract, franchise and shareholder claims. In the area of sports and entertainment, Mr. Rothenberg has handled numerous breach of contract claims, franchise disputes, league arbitrations, copyright infringements and defamation claims. In addition, he has represented the Los Angeles Lakers in a federal tax litigation involving a tax deficiency over the allocation of franchise cost. And, he has litigated the valuation of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Kings, the Washington Redskins, the Los Angeles Forum and a controlling interest in Teleprompter. He represented the NBA Clippers in their successful relocation from San Diego to Los Angeles. He has been involved in the complex acquisition of the Los Angeles Kings and development of a new arena in Los Angeles, and is serving as counsel to and Vice Chairman of New Coliseum Partners, the organization leading the effort to return NFL football to Los Angeles. He has negotiated individual and collective sports player contracts in the NBA, NHL and for the US Soccer Federation.
An extremely active member of the bar and of his community, Mr. Rothenberg participated in a large number of bar-related organizations. Among his other activities in the legal community, he has served as president and member of the Board of Governors of the State Bar of California. He also has served as chairman of the Sports Law Section and Governing Committee member of the Entertainment and Sports Law Forum of the American Bar Association. In 1990, he was appointed by the California Supreme Court Chief Justice and the Speaker of the California Assembly to the Trial Court Delay Reduction Task Force. He also served on the Future of the Courts Committee of the Judicial Council of the State of California, was a member of the Judicial Council Task Force on Alternative Dispute Resolution and chaired the Los Angeles County Bar Association's special committee on ADR, as well.
Prominent in both civic and business realms, Mr. Rothenberg has served on several public company boards. He was also president of the Music Center's Fraternity of Friends, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the California Museum of Science and Industry. He is on the board and is Vice President of the Constitutional Rights Foundation, and is a board member and officer of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, a member of the board of the Los Angeles Sports Council, the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission and the Los Angeles 2012 Olympic Bid Committee.
His love for sports and, in particular, for soccer has led him to serve as Chairman of the Board of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, Chairman and CEO of the 1994 World Cup Organizing Committee, president of the United States Soccer Federation and founder of Major League Soccer. In the past, he has acted as Soccer Commissioner for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (1984), member of the Board of Directors of the North American Soccer League and chairman of Aztec Sports Limited (owner of the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League. He is also a former member of the Board of Governors of the NBA and serves on numerous committees of FIFA (the international soccer governing body) and CONCACAF (the North American, Central American and Canadian soccer regional governing body).
Mr. Rothenberg has lectured and spoken extensively on business litigation and sports law matters across the country, and received numerous awards and honors from various legal and community organizations.