rlam@agclawfirm.com

Richard H. Lam is an associate attorney in the litigation practice of Alvarez-Glasman & Colvin.  He represents municipal clients in a wide variety of civil actions and business lawsuits involving issues such as breach of contract, construction defect, premise liability, labor/employment, and eminent domain matters. 

Mr. Lam's appellate experience consists of argument before the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District in a case involving the legality and application of California's controversial anti-SLAPP statute pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure § 425.16.  The Court of Appeal's opinion was certified for publication on February 5, 2010. 

Also, Mr. Lam is experienced in handling Police and Public Safety issues including Pitchess motions, peace officer procedures and lawsuits alleging violations of Civil Rights under the United States Code § 1983. 

Mr. Lam also practices in the firm's transactional group where he specializes in the areas of land use, planning, zoning, public contracts, housing, public utilities, the Public Records Act, the Brown Act and code enforcement. He has represented local agencies including cities, school boards, water districts as well as private corporations in a variety of transactional matters.

Mr. Lam has experience working with municipal clients on a variety of real estate law issues. He has been especially involved in local legislation regarding foreclosures and mortgages. Mr. Lam also authored an article titled: Clean It or Lien It featured in the March 2009 issue of Western City Magazine.  Mr. Lam was also a keynote speaker as an expert in the area of foreclosures and local legislation at the League of California Cities, 2008 Annual Conference.

Prior to joining Alvarez-Glasman & Colvin, Mr. Lam litigated cases in the areas of general liability, employment discrimination and commercial transactions.  In addition, Mr. Lam has experience in handling transactional matters in the areas of municipal law, education law, labor law, land use and redevelopment while working closely with governmental agencies, school boards and public officials.

Mr. Lam holds a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School.  After his first year in law school, Mr. Lam placed in the top 5% of his class.  While in law school, Mr. Lam was certified by the IRS to serve as a site supervisor in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program which provides free income tax service to low-income, elderly, disabled and limited English speaking people.  In addition, Mr. Lam studied law abroad in Cantabria, Spain.  Prior to law school, Mr. Lam attended the University of California, Riverside where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in both History and Law & Society.

SERVICE, AWARDS, PUBLICATIONS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• U.S. Supreme Court Rules That City Review of Employee Text Messages Was Reasonable, published in Western City Magazine, July 2010.
• Reading Employees' Text Messages: A Heads Up for Public Agencies, published in Western City Magazine, June 2010. 
• Graffiti Protective Coatings, Inc. et al. v. Nationwide Environmental Services, Inc. et al. (February 5, 2010) 181 Cal.App.4th 1207; 104 Cal. Rptr. 3d 692; 2010 Cal. App. LEXIS 138 (PDF)
• Dealing with Foreclosed or Abandoned Properties, published in Western City Magazine, March 2009
• Speaker - Clean It or Lien It: Foreclosures and Local Legislation, presented at the League of California Cities Annual Conference, September 2008
• Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Pro Bono Volunteer
• Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association, Member
• Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Los Angeles Chapter Member
• Project by Project, Corporate Relations Manager
• Asian-American Architects/Engineers Association, Member
• California Association of Code Enforcement Officers, Member

EDUCATION

• Juris Doctor, Loyola Law School
• Bachelor of Arts, University of California, Riverside

ADMISSIONS

• California
• United States District Court

PRACTICE AREAS

• Construction and Facilities Litigation 
• Public Contracts
• Appellate
• Police and Public Safety
• Public Employment
• Land Use and Redevelopment
• Municipal Law