DeGelleke, Peter G.

Philip J. Ganz, Jr. (1948 - 2011)

Philip J. Ganz, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois on June 10, 1948. He attended Michigan State University, Honors College (B.A., with high honors, 1970) and the University of Michigan (J.D., cum laude, 1973). He was admitted to the bar in California in 1973. Upon graduation from law school Mr. Ganz joined Nossaman, Waters, Scott, Krueger & Riordan where he remained until 1976. In 1976, Mr. Ganz, joined Long & Levit, where he worked with retired Judge Wiliam H. Levit, and in 1978, Mr. Ganz became associated with Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. From 1980 to 1985 Mr. Ganz had his own firm, The Law Offices of Philip J. Ganz, Jr., A Professional Corporation. In 1985 he joined Valensi, Rose & Magaram, PLC in Century City, where he was a partner and the head of the firm's Litigation Department. In 1992, Mr. Ganz left Valensi, Rose & Magaram and started his own practice. In August 1996, Mr. Ganz and Laurie Susan Gorsline formed the firm of Ganz & Gorsline, A Law Partnership.

Mr. Ganz was lead counsel in several employment and civil rights cases where he represented the plaintiff, resulting in seven-figure verdicts on behalf of his clients, including: age discrimination ($7.1 million discrimination verdict); Will Rogers Realty v. McGonigle ($2.2 million verdict, including $1.6 million in punitive damages); Emerson v. Hitachi ($1.7 million verdict, including $1.5 million in punitive); and Brinton v. TRW Inc. ($2.5 million verdict in wrongful termination case), Songco v. Century Quality Management, Inc. ($4.5 million verdict in wrongful termination case), Jaffe v. Intergroup Corp., et al. ($2.6 million settlement); and a sexual assault and battery case (a $2 million settlement).

Mr. Ganz was also lead counsel in many cases which were successfully settled in favor of his clients prior to trial. Many of these cases resulted in six and seven-figure settlements.

Mr. Ganz was a member of the Panel of Arbitrators Los Angeles County Superior Court from 1982 to 1992, a delegate in the Los Angeles County Bar Association Delegation and the California State Bar Conference of Delegates from 1982 to 1984. Mr. Ganz is also a member of the Los Angeles County, and American Bar Associations. He is a member of the State Bar of California, including its employment and litigation sections. He is also a member of the California Employment Lawyers Association.

Mr. Ganz has been invited to speak to professional groups on trial practice subjects, including sexual harassment, damages and emotional distress claims, including a CEB seminar in 1992 where the topic was "Effective Opening Statements and Closing Arguments"; NBI in 1993, where the topic was "For the Plaintiff: Determining and Proving Damages"; the Georgetown University Law Center, 13th Annual Employment Law and Litigation Conference, EEO Update, 1995, where the topic was "Use of Psychiatrists, Psychologists and Other Behavioral Scientists as Experts in Sexual Harassment Cases"; the Beverly Hills/Century City Legal Secretaries Association in 1997, where the topic was "Discrimination in the Workplace"; and Panelist - The Masters Forum, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution 2000 where the topic was "Dispute Resolution in Employment Cases"; and at the LACBA Annual Labor and Employment Law Symposium in 2002, where the topic was "Strategies in Employment Cases."