Representing clients across California and around the world for more than 30 years

Glassberg, Pollak & Associates is one of Northern and Central California’s most experienced law firms. With decades of client-focused experience, we are known for successfully representing businesses and individuals involved in collection actions with vigorous advocacy.

Areas of Expertise

Our dedicated team is here to help.
Here are some of our firm’s specialties.

Creditors’ Rights

Through debt collection and recovery, our legal team will work tirelessly to protect your rights and interests as a creditor.

Construction Claims & Mechanics’ Liens

We protect our hardworking client contractors and suppliers by securing what is rightfully owed for their labor and material costs.

Bankruptcy

When debtors file bankruptcy because they are unable to repay outstanding debts, GP&A evaluates all debtor assets and works to determine the best recourse for our clients.

Commercial Collection

GP&A makes your collection recovery a priority by pursuing the past-due and outstanding debt owed to you and your business.

Judgment Enforcement

Our experienced professionals assist in the pursuit and collection of judgments obtained from our clients, securing assets through a multistep process.

Judgment Domestication

We provide judgment collection domestication and enforcement services for creditors throughout the world who have judgment debtors located in California.

Affiliations

We are active and longstanding members of the Commercial Law League of America (CLLA) and the International Association of Commercial Collectors (IACC) and the firm is currently listed on all of the major commercial law lists including American Lawyers Quarterly, The Columbia List, Forwarders List, General Bar, National List, and Wright-Holmes Law List.

Through our memberships and law listings, we are able to assist clients in collecting their delinquent accounts not just from debtors who are located in Northern California, but throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Member Associations

Member Law Lists

Latest News

Stay up-to-date and in the know with the latest news, trends, stories, and blogs that are circulating the world of legal services.

California Expands Scope of State’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to Certain Commercial Debts
California Expands Scope of State’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to Certain Commercial Debts

Click here to listen to the audio On September 24, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB-1286 which expands California’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (California FDCPA) to apply to certain commercial financial products. Lenders, servicers, and those collecting on their behalf – including attorneys – should pay careful attention to the requirements of the California FDCPA that may apply going forward to some commercial debts. Scope, Licensing, and Applicability SB-1286 modifies the California FDCPA, which applies to entities collecting their own debts, to apply to a “covered commercial debt” which are “entered into, renewed, sold, or assigned on or […]

What Is an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors and How Does It Differ From a Bankruptcy?
What Is an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors and How Does It Differ From a Bankruptcy?

An assignment for the benefit of creditors (ABC) is a process by which a financially distressed company (referred to as the assignor) transfers its assets to a third-party fiduciary (referred to as the assignee). The assignee is responsible for liquidating those assets and distributing the proceeds to the assignor’s creditors, pursuant to the priorities established under applicable law. From the perspective of a creditor, there are many important distinctions between an ABC and a bankruptcy case. Key Issues Noncourt Supervised ABCs. Unlike a bankruptcy, which is governed by federal law, an ABC is based on state law. ABCs are court supervised […]

U.S. Supreme Court Ends Chevron Deference
U.S. Supreme Court Ends Chevron Deference

June 28 2024 On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States jettisoned the Chevron doctrine, overruling a 40-year-old case that had long served as the foundation for American administrative law. In the consolidated opinion in Loper Bright Enterprises, Inc. v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce, the Supreme Court declared that, instead of deferring to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, courts now must exercise their “independent judgment” to determine whether an agency acted within its statutory authority. Although the Court held that Loper Bright Enterprises does “not call into question prior cases that relied on […]

Supreme Court’s Purdue Decision Requires Nationwide Adoption of 5th Circuit Bankruptcy Practice on Third-Party Releases
Supreme Court’s Purdue Decision Requires Nationwide Adoption of 5th Circuit Bankruptcy Practice on Third-Party Releases

June 28 2024 On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., 603 U.S. ____ (2024) holding that the Bankruptcy Code does not allow for the inclusion of non-consensual third-party releases in chapter 11 plans. This decision settles a long-standing circuit split on the propriety of such releases and clarifies that a plan may not provide for the release of claims against non-debtors without the consent of the claimants. By ruling that non-consensual releases of claims against non-debtors are not permitted, the Supreme Court has ended the common practice of providing for such […]

Fifth Circuit: Preference Claims Are Property of the Bankruptcy Estate that Can Be Sold
Fifth Circuit: Preference Claims Are Property of the Bankruptcy Estate that Can Be Sold

May 30 2024 A debtor’s non-exempt assets (and even the debtor’s entire business) are commonly sold during the course of a bankruptcy case by the trustee or a chapter 11 debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) as a means of augmenting the bankruptcy estate for the benefit of stakeholders or to fund distributions under, or implement, a chapter 11, 12, or 13 plan. However, it is less well understood that causes of action that become part of the bankruptcy estate in connection with a bankruptcy case (e.g., fraudulent transfer, preference, or other litigation claims) may also be sold or assigned by a trustee or […]

Should I Care That the Debtor Has Filed a Motion to Sell Its Assets?
Should I Care That the Debtor Has Filed a Motion to Sell Its Assets?

May 30 2024 Sales pursuant to Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code have become commonplace in bankruptcy cases as a mechanism to liquidate a debtor’s assets and maximize value for creditors. Selling the debtor’s assets to a third party provides a new go-forward business partner for the debtor’s vendors and customers, and likely provides continuity of jobs for the debtor’s former employees. Due to the benefits associated with a sale of the debtor’s assets, creditors or parties-in-interest may be under the misconception that they need not pay attention to the sale process. Discussed below are several key reasons that a […]

Fifth Circuit: Recent U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Did Not Alter Mootness Requirements for Unstayed Bankruptcy Sale Orders
Fifth Circuit: Recent U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Did Not Alter Mootness Requirements for Unstayed Bankruptcy Sale Orders

May 30 2024 Section 363(m) of the Bankruptcy Code offers powerful protection for good-faith purchasers in bankruptcy sales because it limits appellate review of an approved sale, irrespective of the legal merits of the appeal. Specifically, it provides that the reversal or modification of an order approving the sale of assets in bankruptcy does not affect the validity of the sale to a good-faith purchaser unless the party challenging the sale obtains a stay pending its appeal of the order. That is, section 363(m) renders an appeal “statutorily moot” absent a stay of the sale order. Until 2023, bankruptcy and […]

Bankruptcy Trustees and Receivers Beware
Bankruptcy Trustees and Receivers Beware

October 26 2023 In Breanne Martin v. Leslie Gladstone, the Second District Court of Appeal recently decided a case that could reverberate throughout the receivership and bankruptcy industries. This case comes at a propitious moment as bankruptcy proceedings and receiverships – particularly for distressed commercial real estate entities – trend upward in California. Receivers and bankruptcy trustees alike should consider this case before operating a commercial real estate distressed entity. The Doughertys’ Bankruptcy Proceeding The case emerged from Christopher Dougherty and Nereida Dougherty’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.[1]Their bankruptcy estate included their operating entity, JTA Real Estate Holdings, LLC (“JTA”), and […]

9th Circuit Affirms Bankruptcy Court
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9th Circuit Affirms Bankruptcy Court Ruling Avoiding Judgment Lien on California Homestead Property

New Disclosure Obligations
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Reminder: New Disclosure Obligations for Lenders Go Into Effect in California on December 9, 2022

Calif. App. Court (1st Dist) Holds Late Fee Was ‘Unlawful Penalty’
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Calif. App. Court (1st Dist) Holds Late Fee Was ‘Unlawful Penalty’ Under Calif. Law, Vacates Arbitration Award in Lender’s Favor

In re Purdue Pharma L.P.: Second Circuit Reverses S.D.N.Y and Holds Bankruptcy Court Has Subject Matter Jurisdiction and Statutory Authority to Approve Sackler Family Releases
In re Purdue Pharma L.P.: Second Circuit Reverses S.D.N.Y and Holds Bankruptcy Court Has Subject Matter Jurisdiction and Statutory Authority to Approve Sackler Family Releases

USA June 6 2023 On May 30, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (the “Second Circuit” or the “Court”) rendered a much anticipated opinion (the “Opinion”),1 reversing the order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “District Court”) that the Bankruptcy Code does […]

Successor Liability and Bankruptcy Sales: Can I Look to the Purchaser of My Customer’s Business for Payment of My Claim?
Successor Liability and Bankruptcy Sales: Can I Look to the Purchaser of My Customer’s Business for Payment of My Claim?

November 9 2023 Successor liability is a catchall term for a group of legal theories that, in certain circumstances, allow a creditor to recover amounts owed by its obligor from a person or entity who succeeds to the assets or business of that obligor. Typically, claimants cannot pursue successor liability against a purchaser in a bankruptcy sale because most sales are made “free and clear” of such claims under Section 363(f) of the Bankruptcy Code. However, there are some limited exceptions to this general rule. Under Section 363(f) of the Bankruptcy Code, asset sales made in a bankruptcy case may […]

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