E. Randol Schoenberg is of-counsel and was the co-founding partner of Burris, Schoenberg & Walden, LLP, where he handled a number of complex business litigation matters, specializing in cases involving looted art and the recovery of property stolen by the Nazi authorities during the Holocaust.  Mr. Schoenberg has tried and argued cases before the United States Supreme Court, Second and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, United States District Court, California Court of Appeal and the Los Angeles Superior Court.  During the past decade, he has litigated several prominent cases, including Republic of Austria v. Altmann case. In the Altmann case, he sought return of six famous Klimt paintings to his client. After persuading the United States Supreme Court that Maria Altmann could sue Austria for return of the paintings, he agreed to arbitrate the dispute in Austria. In January 2006 the arbitration panel decided that the paintings, valued at over $325 million, should be returned to Mrs. Altmann.  In 2007, Mr. Schoenberg received the California Lawyer Attorney of the Year award for outstanding achievement in the field of litigation.  He also received the 2006 Jurisprudence Award from the Anti-Defamation League and the Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award from the American Jewish Congress.

Mr. Schoenberg graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics in 1988 and a certificate in European
Cultural Studies. In 1991, he received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California.

For news and articles concerning Mr. Schoenberg's cases, go to http://www.bslaw.net/news.html.
 

EMPLOYMENT

• University of Southern California, Lecturer in Art and Cultural Property Law, 2011 to present
• Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, President, 2005 to present
  
• Burris & Schoenberg, LLP, July, 2002 to present
• All forms of civil litigation, including defense and prosecution of lawsuits, arbitrations and mediations.
• won unanimous Austrian arbitration ruling ordering return of five Nazi-looting paintings by Gustav Klimt valued at over $325 million;
• argued and won case before the United States Supreme Court  (6-3) affirming jurisdiction in California for suit against Republic of Austria to recover six paintings by Gustav Klimt that were looted by the Nazis;
• obtained $47m in awards from Swiss Bank Claims Resolution Tribunal
• won unanimous Austrian arbitration ruling ordering return of $8 million Viennese building confiscated during the Nazi era;
• argued and won case before 11-judge en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Yahoo! v. La Ligue Contre le Racisme et l'Antisemitisme;
• obtained $6.5 million settlement in case concerning Nazi-looted Picasso painting;
• obtained $3 million settlement in case concerning Nazi-looted Canaletto painting;
• represent heirs of author of The Pink Panther in copyright suit against MGM;
• represented screenwriter in suit against FX concerning NASCAR reality series;
• represent founder of computer hardware company in suit to obtain shares in public company;
• represent professor in shareholder/investor dispute concerning polymer company;
• tried case concerning a claim for return of compensation from an unlicensed general contractor;
• tried case concerning a breach of a dental supply contract;
• argued before Second Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of petition to forfeit $42 million in attorney's fees paid to class counsel based on conflict of interest;
• obtained temporary restraining order securing $10 million painting by Pablo Picasso that was looted by the Nazis;
• set aside thirteen-year-old default judgment entered after notice by publication to contractor who had moved out of state;
• obtained dismissal of complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction in action against New York herbal supplements distributor;
• obtained dismissal and transfer of action filed by lender in Chicago, Illinois against mortgage brokers;
• represent New York securities firm in federal action to recover commissions due after successful raise of funds for French corporation with California subsidiary;
• represented horse racing association in action alleging selective prosecution of anti-doping regulations and antritrust liability;
• represented Korean foam manufacturer in sale of U.S. subsidiary to venture capital group;
• obtained dismissal of action against seller of real estate alleging undisclosed defects;
• represented heirs seeking to enforce rights to proceeds from sale of painting returned because it had been looted by the Nazis;
• represented investor in NASD arbitration against securities broker UBSPaineWebber alleging gailure to follow instructions;
• obtained $75k judgment for attorney against attorney's former client who had reneged on oral agreement to pay contingent fees;
• represent former employee of Hertz Corporation alleging constructive discharge and wrongful termination based on harassment due to his Arab-American heritage;
• represent lessor in action to recover for environmental damage caused by bankrupt lessee;
• obtained defense judgment in arbitration of claim brought by accountant against former client alleging non-payment of fees;
• represent market in defens of action alleging interference with propective business relations;
• represent executive employees in arbitration action against technology firm for breach of employment contract entered into in connection with merger of corporations;
• represent dentist in disputes with laboratory and former patient.
• Law Offices of E. Randol Schoenberg, June, 2000 to July 2002
• All forms of civil litigation, including defense and prosecution of lawsuits, arbitrations and mediations.
• represented a doctors' medical group and obtained a $3 million jury verdict on breach of contract and fraud claims against Primecare, a limited Knox-Keene HMO and medical management services provider;
• represented heirs of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer in seeking return from Austria of Nazi-looted art, including six important paintings by Gustav Klimt (visit our website at www.adele.at and learn more);
• member of lawyers delegation to official U.S.-Austria negotiations concerning holocaust property restitution sponsored by U.S Department of State, representing over 50 families and class of all Austrian-Jewish holocaust victims and heirs;
• advised clients on a variety of wrongful termination and breach of contract matters;
• represented commissioned agents in action to recover commissions for long distance telephone service subscriptions;
• represented music industry software company in various actions relating to trademark, copyright and trade secret violations;
• advised import-export firm concerning theft of goods in foreign port;
• represented author in dispute with publisher.
• Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, Associate May, 1997 to May, 2000.
• Complex business litigation: securities, class actions, antitrust, trademark and copyright litigation.
• represented heirs of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer in seeking return from Austria of Nazi-looted art, including six important paintings by Gustav Klimt (visit our website and learn more);
• defended Mobil Oil Corporation in a multi-million dollar class action concerning CARB gasoline production and pricing;
• represented high-tech equipment manufacturer is suit against business software consultants;
• represented Universal Music in adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court;
• defended Cal-Eagle Insurance Company in a $13.5 million bad faith action in Fresno, California;
• prosecuted a securities action against Medaphis Corp. on behalf of Health Systems International, Inc. (now known as Foundation Health);
• defended individuals and corporate defendants in FTC seizure and asset freeze litigation concerning proceeds from internet credit card charges;
• represented Lloyd's of London in dismissing bankruptcies of individual Names seeking to avoid debts to Lloyd's;
• represented prison inmate pro bono in federal jury trial of excessive force case against correctional officers;
• handled action for breach of promissory note from inception through enforcement of judgment, including all aspects of discovery, summary judgment, post-judgment debtor's exam, two bankruptcy filings and an appeal to the California Court of Appeal, Second District.
• Katten Muchin & Zavis, Associate October, 1991 to April, 1997.
• Business and entertainment litigation:
• defended actress Kim Basinger in an $8 million breach of contract action, including formulating the key arguments for her successful appeal;
• represented Mobil Oil Corporation in a multi-million dollar class action concerning credit card forms;
• defended ARAMARK, an international food services and uniform corporation, in three wrongful termination suits involving allegations of sexual harassment, age discrimination and whistle-blowing;
• defended pop-singer Michael Jackson in various actions relating to allegations of child molestation;
• represented entertainment personalities Chevy Chase, Magic Johnson, Charlie Sheen, Ivan Reitman, Jon Peters and Michael Nathanson in various matters;
• obtained two publicized preliminary injunctions against the University of Southern California which prohibitted the university from using the Arnold Schoenberg Institute in violation of its agreement with the heirs of Arnold Schoenberg;
• obtained a highly publicized temporary restraining order against the NCAA that allowed Israel Ifeanyi to play in the USC-Notre Dame football game;
• represented FINOVA in various actions relating to complex loan and security agreements;
• prosecuted an action involving embezzlement of over $500,000 from a real estate partnership;
• represented The Hahn Company in various breach of lease matters, as well as complex litigation concerning the building of a Broadway store at Parkway Plaza in El Cajon, CA;
• represented Guess?, Inc. in matters involving discovery of corporate documents;
• worked on several complex family law, probate, paternity and marriage dissolution matters; and
• obtained a $300,000 ex parte writ of attachment and final judgment on behalf of a Chinese corporation for embezzled commission monies.
• Firmwide Professional Responsibility Committee and Executive Associates Committee.
• Wyman, Bautzer, Kuchel & Silbert, Summer Associate 1990.
• Researched and wrote memoranda on various litigation matters.
• L.A. County District Attorney's Office, Summer Law Clerk 1989. Major Fraud Division -- Allen Field, Head Deputy.
• Wrote memoranda on various subjects including usury and extradition, answered 1538.5 motions, observed trials, repaired computer network.
• L.A. County Supervisor Edmund D. Edelman Student Professional Worker, Summer 1986.
• Filed press releases, organized a file on the homeless and mentally ill, created an earthquake preparedness flier, drafted an article on drug-addicted babies, and recommended budget items.

• University of Southern California Law Center, J.D. 1991.
• Editor-in-Chief, Law Street Journal (Student Newspaper)
• Princeton University, A.B. in Mathematics 1988. Certificate in European Cultural Studies, June 1988
• Senior Thesis: "Two Music-Related Problems in Combinatorics"
• Activities:
• News Editor, Nassau Weekly;
• Organization for Political Awareness SDI Forum Leader;
• Officer/Intramurals Director of Terrace Club;
• Classical Disc Jockey, WPRB Princeton
• Free University of Berlin, Semester Abroad 1987.
• Studied Mathematics and German

• California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award -- March, 2007
• Jurisprudence Award, Anti-Defamation League of Southern California -- December, 2006
• Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award, American Jewish Congress -- October, 2006
• Los Angeles Daily Journal "Top 20 under 40" -- May, 2003
• Public Counsel 1995 Super Volunteer Award.
• Obtained temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and restitution for indigent client who had been defrauded out of the deed to her home.

• Numerous newspaper articles and letters.
• "Now for the Hard Part: The Last Time the Government Brought a Monopoly Case Against a High-Tech Company - IBM - It Gave Up Before Getting to a Remedy," The Daily Deal, November 18, 1999 (Harvey Saferstein and E. Randol Schoenberg)
• "The Big Chill Hits Assets," Legal Times, March 8, 1999 (Harvey I. Saferstein and E. Randol Schoenberg)
• Several articles on music-related topics, including "Arnold Schoenberg and Albert Einstein: Their Relationship and Views on Zionism" (Journal of the Arnold Schoenberg Institute. Volume X, Number 2, November 1987), reviewed by Robert Craft in The New York Review of Books (February 16, 1989).
• Edited the correspondence of Arnold Schoenberg and Thomas Mann : Apropos Doktor Faustus (Czernin Verlag 2008)
• They Shall Be Counted (The Theresienstadt Ghetto Art Of Erich Lichtblau-Leskly) (2010)
  
• Wrote foreword for catalogue of an exhibit entitled "Exiles in Paradise" at the Hollywood Bowl Museum.

• Classical music, tennis, skiing, genealogy, art, basketball, law, mathematics, backpacking, philately, German, French, and computers.
• Member of Riviera Tennis Club, Los Angeles Opera (Board of Directors), Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust (Board of Directors, President), Southwest Chamber Music Society (Board of Directors), Choral Society of Southern California (Board of Directors), AMSONG (Board of Directors), L.A. Jewish Symphony (Board of Directors), ASCAP, JewishGen Austria-Czech Special Interest Group Coordinator and Moderator, LACMA, MOCA, Music Guild.