Legal Services & Lawyers

R.C. Lim works as a lawyer in the areas of estate planning, asset protection planning, and bankruptcy in Pasadena, California.

R.C. is also an avid student of the financial markets. He is currently a CFA level 2 candidate and occasionally contributes to the Motley Fool, an online investment news site, where he makes his semi-pro picks known to the world.

R.C. Lim graduated from the USC Gould School of Law in 2004 in the top 15% of his class. While in law school, R.C. paid his tuition as a graduate assistant in the Philosophy Department and externed for Judge Robert H. Henry, Chief Judge for the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Prior to entering law, R.C. worked as a math teacher at Mission and Lowell High Schools in the San Francisco Unified School District.

The lucky beneficiary of entirely too much education, R.C. also counts himself a graduate of New York University, where he studied history and math at the Courant Institute, and of Columbia University, where he studied science.

When not working, R.C. can be found wasting his time on the soccer field, sniffing out the perfect tomato at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market, or spending time with his lovely wife, Sarah Raff.

Robert J. Allan is a barrister and solicitor and an AV rated attorney with over 30 years of international legal experience. Mr. Allan has earned a global reputation for excellence in both the legal and business community, and has been honored with an AV Rating; Martindale-Hubbell's highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards. He has extensive experience representing the interests of existing and emerging domestic and international businesses and provides insightful legal counsel on matters such as corporate law, corporate governance, global finance and transactional representation.

Mr. Allan has considerable expertise in corporate compliance and global corporate structures. His ability to understand the nuances of establishing and growing an international business provides him with an exceptional ability to forecast the challenges many businesses face while expanding their international operations.

He has represented domestic and foreign corporations, partnerships and trusts covering a wide array of practice areas. Mr. Allan also serves as general counsel for many of his clients. Mr. Allan's experience as an attorney at law, as well as his experience as a President and CEO of public and private corporations provides him with unique insight into the complexities of running a global business.

In 2007, Mr. Allan co-founded AL NPL Partners, Inc., a fund management and investment advisory firm focused exclusively on investments in non-performing loans (NPL) in China. The investment strategy managed by AL NPL Partners Inc. invests in NPL portfolios in China with several major international financial institutions. Mr. Allan is responsible for the overall strategy and management of AL NPL Partners Inc.

He also co-founded the USA China Law Group, an organization dedicated to providing high quality legal and strategic business advice to individuals, businesses and corporations looking to establish and grow a business presence in China. In September 2008, Mr. Allan authored an article titled The Conflicted Duty of Chinese Lawyers, which was published in the highly esteemed National Law Journal.
He also recently spoke at the CEO Roundtable in Beijing on the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility in the US and China, as well as the UCLA US-China Business Law Conference.

Mr. Allan began his law career at the firm of Bull, Housser & Tupper LLP in Vancouver, British Columbia. He received a Law Degree from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1975, With Distinction. He is admitted to practice in California and in British Columbia. He currently resides in Malibu, California with his wife and two children.

Eric Sternberger is a partner of Ragghianti Freitas LLP. Mr. Sternberger acts as outside general counsel to corporations, LLC's and partnerships with an emphasis on business and corporate transactions including entity selection, succession planning, joint ventures, contracts, mergers and acquisitions, buy-sell agreements, secured financing, licensing, and real estate matters. His representative clients include technology and intellectual property driven companies, shipping, construction, advertising/branding, web based, and the real estate and healthcare industries.

Mr. Sternberger's business counseling also includes advising directors, officers, and managers regarding business strategies, consensus building and corporate governance. Additionally, he advises shareholders and LLC interest holders regarding their rights and fiduciary protections.

Mr. Sternberger additionally provides risk analysis and negotiation services on behalf of Angel Investment, as they relate to bridge loan financing, convertible securities, and direct stock acquisition.

Along with his transactional practice, Mr. Sternberger maintains a complex business litigation practice dealing primarily with business disputes and shareholder disagreements, and provides mediation services as a panelist with Resolution Remedies emphasizing in business disputes.

Mr. Sternberger's client representation has extended from the United States to Europe, and South America. Such international representation has ranged from advising and forming foreign corporations, developing international marketing strategies and intellectual property protection. One of the more unique facets of his international work is the development and coordination of litigation strategies for lawsuits proceeding in other nations.

In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Sternberger has made a point to volunteer and provide pro bono legal services. He served as a Marin County Commissioner, acting as Chair of the Adult Criminal Justice Commission advising the Marin County Board of Supervisors on all aspects of criminal justice prosecution and prevention.

Mr. Sternberger is presently the Chair of the California State Bar Committee on Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies (2007-2008); serves on the Board of Directors of the Marin County Bar Association (2005-2008); and the incoming President of the Richard M. Sangster American Inn of Court (2008-2009)

Eric Sternberger is a native of Marin County, where he continues to reside with his wife, Kay.

Practice Areas
Corporate, LLC and Partnerships
Business Transactions
Business Litigation
Intellectual Property
Employment Law
International Business
Real Estate Transactions
Mediation

Education
University of California Hastings College of Law
(J.D. 1998)

University of San Francisco
(B.A., History, 1995)
Spanish (fluent)

Admissions
California State Courts
U.S. District Court - Northern District
United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Associations
Marin County Bar Association
Richard M. Sangster Inn of Court, Executive Board of Directors

Phi Alpha Theta. Author: "Intellectual Property, Employment and Human Resource Law" articles in Publications such as National Law Journal, East Asian Executive Reports and Pearson's China Law for Business. Author: CCH's "Taiwan Employment Laws," 2002 and CCH's "China STAFF Employment Law Guide, Taiwan." Columnist, West Publishing's "International HR Journal," 1997-2001. Editorial Advisor, CCH's China Law Update, 2002-. Speaker and Lecturer: California State Bar Association conferences, International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition conferences, Bar Association of San Francisco Seminars, ABA conferences, Practicing Law Institute seminars, American Electronics Association conferences, International Trademark Association conferences and Harvard-Asia Business Conference. Member, Board of Directors, 1995-2000 and Treasurer, 1998-2000, Boalt Hall Alumni Association. Concurrent Professor of Law, Soochow University, Kenneth Wang School of Law, Suzhou, China, 2002-. Visiting Professor, University of California, Berkeley, 2003-; Pacific/McGeorge School of Law, 2005-. Registered Foreign Legal Representative in China, 2005-.

More than twenty years of diverse experience as a trial attorney representing and counseling domestic and international clients in a vast array of matters. More than ten years of experience providing arbitration, mediation and other ADR services involving many domestic and international issues. Representation and ADR services have included: REAL ESTATE (purchase/sale, title, easements, financing, mortgage lending:underwriting - securitization, leases, fraud, environmental, receivership, foreclosure, appraisal/valuation); BUSINESS & CORPORATE (purchase and sale, formation: corporation - partnership - joint venture - LLC - LLP, capitalization, equity adjustment, fiduciary duties, D&O liability, executive compensation, internal investigations, fraud, business torts, unfair competition); COMMERCIAL (contracts, warranties, UCC, covenants not to compete, shipping); SECURITIES (SEC civil enforcement actions; private securities litigation and arbitration, including fraud, churning & suitability issues); TECHNOLOGY (semiconductors, semiconductor assembly, testing & packaging, commercial and consumer electronic device qualification, manufacturing and reliability, epidemic failures, root cause analysis, OEM / ODM contracting, manufacturing and supply chain, licensing, medical devices); CONSTRUCTION (public works, False Claim Act, licensing, differing conditions, scheduling & delay, architect of record consultants, means & methods); FINANCE & LENDING (commercial lending, asset backed lending, real property secured lending, letters of credit, credit facilities & enhancements, acquisition and construction financing, mortgage brokerage, mortgage banking and lending, underwriting, subprime & Alt-A, predatory lending, equity purchase, wrongful foreclosure, lender liability, secondary markets, warehouse lines of credit, repurchase demands); INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (patent licensing, royalty structures and disputes, copyright infringement); PROBATE, TRUSTS & ESTATES (will contests, trust administration, beneficiary disputes); ELDER ABUSE (financial elder abuse, caregiver overreaching, care facility issues).