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Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLPAttorney
Dean A. Ziehl
Pro

Dean A. Ziehl

5.0
1 review

10100 Santa Monica Boulevard, 13th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90067 + 1 location

Business and Commercial Litigation, Business Reorganizations & Workouts and Trustees & Receivers

About Dean A. Ziehl

Dean Ziehl has been a managing partner of the firm since it was founded in 1983, overseeing its growth into the nation’s largest law firm specializing in insolvency matters. Resident in the firm’s Los Angeles office, he has a national bankruptcy and litigation practice, specializing in complex bankruptcy proceedings and business litigation, with significant trial experience in both state and federal courts. Dean has represented debtors, creditors’ committees, bondholders, trustees, examiners, and equity holders in many of the firm’s most notable engagements, including the high-profile chapter 11 cases of Lehman Brothers, Adelphia Communications, American Suzuki Motor Corporation and TK Holdings (Takata), as well as numerous out-of-court workouts. He is or has been involved in many other significant chapter 11 cases, including Washington Mutual, Mike Tyson, Webvan Group, Chrysler Corporation and Polaroid Corporation. In addition, he currently serves as the liquidation trustee and disbursing agent for The Weinstein Company and as chair of the trustees overseeing the liquidation of Adelphia Communications. He has also represented the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees as amicus curiae in the U.S. Supreme Court as well as on numerous appeals in federal courts of appeal and state supreme and appellate courts.

Dean currently serves as a member of the board of trustees of the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society, the advisory board of the Loyola Law School Advocacy Institute, and the board of directors of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society. He is a former chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Litigation Section and the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference Central District Lawyers Representatives. Dean has long held an “AV Preeminent Peer Rating,” Martindale-Hubbell’s highest recognition for ethical standards and legal ability; has been voted by his business litigation peers as a “Super Lawyer” in Los Angeles and New York; and was selected by Best Lawyers in America for his work in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law as well as Commercial Litigation. In 2014, the Century City Bar Association honored him as its “Bankruptcy Lawyer of the Year.“ In 2020, he was listed by Lawdragon as one of the”Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Restructuring & Insolvency Lawyers” and named “Lawyer of the Year” in the 2021 edition of Best Lawyers in America. Dean is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and received his J.D. from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles, where he was a member of the Loyola Law Review editorial staff. Following law school, he clerked for the Hon. Albert Lee Stephens, Jr., Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Clerkships

•Law clerk, Chief Judge Albert Lee Stephens, Jr. (C.D. Cal.)

Fiduciary Engagements

•Liquidation/litigation trustee:
•The Weinstein Company . Liquidation trustee administering the remaining assets of this film studio following its chapter 11 in the aftermath of numerous and highly publicized sexual misconduct claims against the company and its co-founder
•SFX Litigation Trust . Litigation trustee and disbursing agent for SFX, a live events, ticketing, and digital entertainment conglomerate that owned or operated electronic dance music festivals and concerts worldwide
•Physiotherapy Associates . Chair of the board of trustees overseeing the litigation trust of Physiotherapy Associates, the largest pure-play provider of outpatient therapy services in the United States with over 1500 clinicians and 581 rehabilitation, orthotics, and prosthetics clinics in 29 states and the District of Columbia
•Adelphia Communications . Chair of the board of trustees overseeing the liquidation of the Adelphia Communications, the fifth largest cable company in the U.S. before filing for bankruptcy after accounting scandals revealed $2.3 billion of off-balance-sheet debt, and the prosecution of litigation claims held by the Adelphia Recovery Trust, a public Delaware grantor trust

News

PSZJ Ranked in 2026 Edition of Benchmark Litigation California, Dean Ziehl Named “Litigation Star”

October 28, 2025

Eighteen PSZJ Attorneys Named to the Lawdragon '500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers' Guide for 2025

LawdragonJune 27, 2025

PSZJ Attorneys Named in 2025 Edition of Best Lawyers in America and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch

August 15, 2024

Eighteen PSZJ Attorneys Named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers for 2024

LawdragonJune 14, 2024

PSZJ Ranked in 2024 Edition of Benchmark Litigation California, Dean Ziehl Named “Litigation Star'

October 5, 2023

PSZJ Attorneys Named in 2024 Edition of Best Lawyers in America

August 17, 2023

Eighteen PSZJ Attorneys Named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers for 2023

LawdragonJune 16, 2023

PSZJ Ranked in 2023 Edition of Benchmark Litigation California, Dean Ziehl Named “Litigation Star'

September 1, 2022

PSZJ Attorneys Named in 2023 Edition of Best Lawyers in America

August 18, 2022

Fourteen PSZJ Attorneys Named to 2022 Lawdragon '500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers' Guide

LawdragonJanuary 14, 2022

PSZJ Attorneys Named in 2022 Edition of Best Lawyers in America

August 19, 2021

Nineteen PSZJ Attorneys Named 2021 Southern California “Super Lawyers”

January 1, 2021

Dean Ziehl Named a “Lawyer of the Year” in 2021 Edition of Best Lawyers in America

August 20, 2020

PSZJ Attorneys Named in 2021 Edition of Best Lawyers in America

August 20, 2020

Eleven PSZJ Attorneys Named to Lawdragon’s Leading Global Restructuring & Insolvency Lawyers Guide

August 11, 2020

Twenty-One PSZJ Attorneys Named 2020 Southern California “Super Lawyers”

January 15, 2020

PSZJ Named to 2020 Edition of Benchmark Litigation California, Dean Ziehl Named “Litigation Star'

September 26, 2019

PSZJ Attorneys Named in Best Lawyers in America

August 15, 2018

Twenty-One PSZJ Attorneys Named 2019 Southern California “Super Lawyers”

January 30, 2019

PSZJ Attorneys Named in Best Lawyers in America

August 15, 2019

Twenty PSZJ Attorneys Named 2018 Southern California “Super Lawyers”

January 31, 2018

Thirty-Five PSZJ Attorneys Named Best Lawyers in America

August 15, 2017

Eighteen PSZJ Attorneys Named 2017 Southern California “Super Lawyers”

January 25, 2017

Nineteen PSZJ Attorneys Named Best Lawyers in America

August 1, 2016

Seventeen PSZJ Attorneys Named Best Lawyers in America

August 17, 2015

Thirteen PSZJ Attorneys Named Best Lawyers in America

August 1, 2014

Dean Ziehl: Bankruptcy Lawyer of the Year

April 9, 2014

Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones: Five M&A Advisor Turnaround Awards

February 1, 2014

Ten Southern California Super Lawyers at Pachulski Stang

Los Angeles magazineFebruary 1, 2014

American Suzuki Swiftly Glides to Plan Confirmation

March 6, 2013

Eight Southern California Super Lawyers at Pachulski Stang

Los Angeles magazineJanuary 1, 2013

Eight Southern California Super Lawyers at Pachulski

Los Angeles MagazineMarch 1, 2008

 

Dean A. Ziehl (Los Angeles, California) View website

Awards

AV Preeminent Peer Rated
This elite award is granted to attorneys who have been recognized by their peers for their very high ethical standards, with an average peer review score of 4.5 or higher.
Martindale-Hubbell Peer AV

Client Champion Awards

Client Champion awards recognize those attorneys who excel at service as affirmed by their clients. The awards, based on the quantity and quality of an attorney’s Martindale-Hubbell client reviews, demonstrate an ongoing commitment to delivering excellent client service. Award recipients stand out from their peers with a platinum, gold or silver icon.

Champion Badge Silver

At least three reviews and a score of 4.0 or higher.

Champion Badge Gold

At least six reviews and a score of 4.2 or higher.

Champion Badge Platinum

At least ten reviews and a score of 4.5 or higher.

Martindale Peer Awards

A lawyer who receives a minimum threshold of qualifying responses from fellow attorneys can qualify for one of three prestigious Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings:

Martindale-Hubbell Peer AV Preeminent Rating

AV Preeminent®: The highest peer rating standard. This rating signifies a large number of the lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards.

Dean A. Ziehl got this award in 2021

Martindale-Hubbell Peer Distinguished Rating

Distinguished: An excellent rating for a lawyer with some experience. This rating indicates the attorney is widely respected by their peers for high professional achievement and ethical standards.

Martindale-Hubbell Peer Notable Rating

Notable: This rating indicates that the lawyer has been recognized by a large number of their peers for strong ethical standards.

Avvo Awards

Avvo Top Contributor

Avvo Top Contributor: The Avvo Top Contributor Award is granted to attorneys who have earned significant contribution points in a given year on our sister site, Avvo.com. Contribution points are earned by answering questions in Q&A, publishing Legal Guides, and other useful contributions to the Avvo community.

Avvo Client Choice

Avvo Client’s Choice: The Avvo Client's Choice Award Badge is granted to attorneys with a significant number of 4+ star reviews in a given year.

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Services

Areas of Law

  • Other 3
    • Business and Commercial Litigation
    • Business Reorganizations & Workouts
    • Trustees & Receivers

Practice Details

  • Firm Information
    Position
    Attorney
    Firm Name
    Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP
  • Representative Cases & Transactions
    Cases
    Representations: Chapter 11 debtors: American Suzuki Motor Corporation, Breed Technologies, Dana Corporation (conflicts counsel), Clarent Corporation, Mike Tyson
    Inacom Corporation, Webvan Group
    Creditors'
    equity committees: TK Holdings (Takata) (tort claimants' committee
    ),: Chrysler Corporation (conflicts counsel), First Executive Corporation, First Capital Holdings Corporation, Sun World International (equity committee), Agway, Residential Capital (conflicts counsel)
    Chapter 11 trustees
    examiners: Ezri Namvar
    Namco Capital Group (special bankruptcy
    litigation counsel), Galleria USA, Le-Nature's, Polaroid Corporation
    Ad hoc bondholders' committees: Washington Mutual, Adelphia Communications
    Chapter 11 creditors: Lehman Commercial Paper
    Lehman ALI Inc. in In re Palmdale Hills Property LLC ( SunCal )
    Litigation/Appeals: Successfully sued the California Department of Finance on behalf of a real estate developer, obtaining a judgment after trial compelling the state to honor an obligation to pay the developer an estimated $180 million in property tax increment. Obtained a judicial declaration that the obligation, incurred by the Fontana Redevelopment Agency to repay our client's development of municipal infrastructure between 1981
    1992, survived the enactment in 2011 of legislation dissolving redevelopment agencies in California.
    Co-lead class counsel for structured settlement payees in connection with systematic looting of irrevocable bond trust established to fund settlements
    Represented investors
    trustees against independent auditors in various accountant liability cases, including PricewaterhouseCoopers
    Arthur Andersen
    Represented National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees as amicus curiae in City of Chicago v. Fulton (U.S. Supreme Court)
    Merit Management Group v. FTI Consulting (U.S. Supreme Court)
    In re Picard (trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Maddoff Investment Securities LLC) (2d Circuit)
    USACM Liquidating Trust v. Deloitte & Touche (9th Circuit)
    Bondi (extraordinary commissioner of Parmalat Finanziaria S.p.A.) v. Citigroup (Parmalat) (NJ Supreme Court)
    Peterson (chapter 7 trustee for Lancelot Investors Fund) v. McGladrey (7th Circuit)
    Kirschner (trustee of the Refco Litigation Trust) v. KPMG (NY Court of Appeals)
    Janvey (Stanford International Bank receiver ) v. GMAG (TX Supreme Court)

Experience

  • Bar Admission & Memberships
    Admissions
    New York
    California
    District of Columbia
    Montana (Inactive)
    Memberships

    Professional Affiliations

    •Board of Trustees, U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society
    •Advisory Board, Loyola Law School Advocacy Institute
    •Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society Advisory Council, 2011-2012
    Board of Directors, 2012-present
    •Member of court-appointed committees, United States District Court, Central District of California
    •Chair, Los Angeles County Bar Association Litigation Section (2001-02)
    •Chair, Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference Central District Lawyer Representative (1995-96
    served multiple terms)
    •American Bar Association Business Law Section Task Force on Insurance Insolvency Steering Committee (1992-95)

  • Education & Certifications
    Law School
    Loyola Law School, Los Angeles
    Class of 1978
    J.D.
    Other Education
    University of California at Berkeley
    Class of 1975
    B.A.
    magna cum laude
  • Personal Details & History
    Age
    Born in 1952
    Washington, D.C., July 18, 1952

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Attorneys FAQs

  • Is this attorney Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review rated?
    Yes, Dean A. Ziehl has a 5.0 Peer Rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
  • Does this attorney maintain a practice in more than one location?
    Yes, Dean A. Ziehl has a presence in New York, NY.
  • What law school did this attorney attend?
    Dean A. Ziehl attended Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.
  • Does this attorney maintain any other responsibilities in the firm outside of legal work?
    Dean A. Ziehl is the Managing Partner of the firm.
  • What year was this attorney's law firm established?
    Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP was established in 1983.

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