David Ethan Libman

Since his admission to the California bar in 2001, David E. Libman, Esq., LL.M. has had the opportunity to practice in a variety of related and complementary practice areas. These days, David’s practice focuses primarily on business, real estate and tax matters. David’s practice often involves civil litigation – an arena in which he has successfully tried and/or settled cases in both California and Colorado. David has been able to consistently achieve successful litigation outcomes that have met or exceeded his client’s expectations. Those lawsuits have included, among other things, multi-million dollar complex business disputes involving breach of contract and related tort claims (e.g., breach of fiduciary duties, negligence, unfair competition, fraud etc.), creditor/debtor disputes and real property disputes involving quiet title and unlawful detainer (a.k.a. eviction) claims. David’s practice also often extends to assisting and advising clients on a variety of other matters that are important to their particular needs, including: (1) transactional matters, such as those related to (a) entity formation, e.g., the creation of a partnership, LLC or corporation, and (b) later governance and compliance issues for those existing entities; and (2) real estate transactions, e.g., the negotiation of leases, purchase agreements or promissory notes. In 2008, David received a master of laws degree (LL.M.) from UCLA in business law with a tax emphasis. As such, David devotes part of his practice to estate planning and tax matters. With estate planning, David works with his clients to develop a comprehensive strategy that works best for them and their particular needs – not just a cookie-cutter “one size fits all” approach. In the tax arena, David represents clients in disputes with various taxing authorities, where his successes have included: (1) an IRS appeal where he helped secure a $0 liability decision from the IRS after it threatened his client with over $1 million in income tax liability; (2) a property tax appeal where he helped secure a $1.5 million reduction in assessed value from the County’s original assessment; and (3) a sales tax audit in which he successfully negotiated a near 50% reduction from the California State Board of Equalization’s initially proposed tax liability. David is also well-versed in advising clients on tax matters involving: (1) the establishment of Internal Revenue Code Section 468B qualified settlement funds; (2) qui tam recoveries under federal and state False Claims Acts; (3) transaction optimization; (4) property tax assessment and related exclusions; (5) 1031 exchanges; and (6) the provision of Circular 230 opinions regarding income characterization. Indeed, even if a client does not approach David for tax advice, David has come to realize that his knowledge of tax issues ends up being a value added component to the other services he provides. Though the Orange County’s Community Service Programs, Inc., David has completed the requisite training as dictated by the California Dispute Resolution Programs Act of 1986 to serve as a mediator, including in unlawful detainer disputes. David expects his role as a mediator will become an increasingly prominent aspect of his practice in the coming years due to the continuing backlog of litigation in California court system. Prior to becoming a lawyer, David worked professionally as a musician for years, first in New York (where he obtained a bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School), and later in Los Angeles and Orange County. As a musician – specifically, a drummer – David has recorded albums; played as the house drummer on a nationally syndicated television set talk show; toured domestically and internationally; and performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Universal Amphitheatre. David has a particular love for jazz and believes that the listening and creative skills he has honed as musician serve him well in his capacity as an attorney. Indeed, many consider David to be “the lawyer who listens.” David still continues to play music as an application in various venues throughout Orange County, and he also often writes for DRUM! Magazine as a reviewer an interviewer. Finally, David is most proud of his family. He has been married to his beautiful, creative and artistic wife Andrea for 24years – thus demonstrating that David knows how to make fantastic decisions. David and Andrea have two highly intelligent, kind and talented sons, Mathieu and Joel, ages 23 and 20.