BIOGRAPHY:

ROBERT W. BROWN. 

Mr. Brown is a native of Los Angeles.  He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University, Los Angeles in 1974, and his Juris Doctorate from UCLA in 1977. Mr. Brown is licensed as a member of the California State Bar since 1977. 

Mr. Brown currently is the President of the University of West Los Angeles, Schools of Law (“UWLA”).  Prior to becoming president, he served as a member of the Board of Trustees for UWLA.  UWLA is accredited by the California State Bar Association and is a unique legal institution offering access and opportunities in legal education primarily for those in career transition and from typically disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. 

He was formerly a member and the Chair of the State Bar of California, Ethnic Minority Relations Committee. Mr. Brown has served on the Executive Committees of the State Bar Real Property Law Section and the Los Angeles County Bar Real Property Law Section.  He has been a Los Angeles Superior Court approved Receiver handling many distressed real properties and businesses. Mr. Brow has been an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association for over twenty-five (25) years, handling complex commercial, business   and real estate related arbitration matters. 

 Mr. Brown spent the first fifteen (15) years of his professional career on the staff and representing the interests of several major financial institutions.  He was also the general counsel of Sears Savings Bank from 1986 through 1989. Mr. Brown’s former area of professional practice was in transactional law, in particular real estate and banking.  During the latter part of his forty-two year (42) legal career, Mr. Brown also handled the formation of business entities, real estate sales transactions, real estate financing transactions, commercial real estate leases of office buildings and shopping centers, commercial financing transactions, sales of businesses, residential and commercial leasing and problem loan workouts.  

Mr. Brown has taught in the Business School of California State University and also at Loyola Law School. He was on the CORE Faculty for Continuing Education of the Bar and is a frequent lecturer for many real estate and banking trade organizations on various real estate and banking subject matter.  He has written several published articles on real estate and business matters.  He is the Board counsel for the Southwest Board of Realtors and the former general counsel of the Los Angeles Urban Bankers.  Mr. Brown has acted as editor and consultant for several CEB action guides and is one of the contributing authors for the new CEB book on Commercial Leasing. Mr. Brown is a Probate Referee for the State of California, assigned to Orange County. He is a member of the Board of Directors for New Omni Bank. He also serves on the Board of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (“VICA”). 

Mr. Brown has been inducted into the hall of fame for California State University, Los Angeles. He has also been inducted into the hall of fame(s) for the John M. Langston Bar Association and the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles.

BACKGROUND:

For the past Twenty-Three (23) years, Mr. Brown has served as the President of the University of West Los Angeles (“UWLA”). UWLA consists of a California State Bar accredited school of Law and a Business school featuring a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and Business innovation. UWLA has grown into one of the largest State Bar accredited law schools in the United States. UWLA’s mission is to provide quality legal and business education to a diverse student demographic, especially those who desire to pursue their education while working and those seeking re-entry to pursue their academic goals. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (“WASC”) has granted UWLA accreditation, which is a significant achievement for the university. During Mr. Brown’s tenure, he has overseen a complete overhaul of the universities’ mode of providing quality legal and business education. The University has educated over thousand(s) of lawyers and many business students and professionals during Mr. Brown’s tenure. Recently the University celebrated its fiftieth-fourth anniversary.

As mentioned above, UWLA has two outstanding schools consisting of a School of Law and a School of Business. The University offers a Juris Doctorate degree; a Master of Organizational Leadership and Business Innovation; and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. The University has embarked on an aggressive international program linking it with many strategic partners in China, India, Mexico, and Africa. UWLA has been approved to issue I-20’s for its international students. 

In addition to his role as President of UWLA, Mr. Brown has forty-Three years (43) years’ expertise serving as legal counsel and business advisor for Fortune 100 financial institutions and corporations and non-profit entities, specializing in real estate and corporate finance, construction financing, banking regulations, compliance and loan workouts. Transactions that he has handled are in excess of $10 billion.  Mr. Brown participated in the creation of $275 million in profits while saving in excess of $100 million in potential losses while at Sears Savings Bank.  He assisted significantly in the development of Fair Lending Policy for a Fortune 50 Mortgage Banker. Mr. Brown was instrumental in handling the transfer and transition of the Security Pacific National Bank real estate assets to Bank of America in 1993. In 1997, Mr. Brown was one of the lead attorneys handling the disposition and transfer of Union Oil real estate assets and refineries to British Petroleum Co. Mr. Brown has extensive experience in handling all forms of real estate transactions including construction, development, environmental matters, commercial leasing and finance documentation.

Mr. Brown has a reputation as a versatile and experienced attorney and businessman with exceptional skills in communications, negotiations, problem solving and general management.  A highly respected business leader who came up through the ranks from staff lawyer to general counsel, to founding partner and currently, University President. Mr. Brown also serves as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and handles complex commercial arbitrations and disputes. Mr. Brown also is a California State appointed probate referee.   

Mr. Brown started his career as a transactional banking attorney working in the general counsel’s office for several major financial institutions. Mr. Brown’s banking practice consisted of structuring, negotiating and documenting countless major business and real estate financings. Also, He specialized in workouts as a corollary for his bank financing transactions. He has handled the completion of numerous construction projects as well as the work out of significant retail, office and industrial properties.

Mr. Brown has been an approved receiver handling many rents-profits receiverships involving major businesses, high rise office projects, major shopping centers, and apartment complexes throughout Southern California. Mr. Brown has also been a licensed real estate broker for over 25 years. Mr. Brown has worked or professionally acted in the following capacities:

Worked in the general counsel’s office of several major Southern California banking institutions. Headed the special loans department for a major savings and loans. Handled over two billion dollars of troubled assets, including hotels, shopping centers, apartment complexes and industrial parks. 

Worked as general counsel for California’s sixth largest S&L, directed all legal matters affecting the institution from branch operations and lending to federal, state, and local regulatory compliance and the Troubled Assets Department.

Served as lead corporate legal counsel on a team that structured and implemented a $2.2 billion sale of Sears Savings Banks assets to Citicorp Savings & Loan.

Has acted as a receiver on many types of real estate projects including but not limited to shopping centers, office building and multi-family residential apartment units throughout the counties of Los Angeles and Orange County.

Served as senior loan committee member and chief legal counsel for the troubled assets department.  Negotiated the work-out and reorganization of over $400 million in residential and commercial properties located primarily in California, Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana.

Mr. Brown is the Principal owner, President and Chief executive officer of the University of West Los Angeles (“UWLA”). UWLA offers post-secondary and graduate education in law and business and has been in continuous operation and existence since 1966. UWLA is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges; approved by the California State bar and approved by the Bureau of Private post-secondary education. 

EMPLOYMENT:

1998 – Present President, University of West Los Angeles

1995 - Present Law Office of Robert W. Brown & Associates 

1994-1995 Countrywide Funding Corporation

Vice-President and Counsel

1989 - 1993 Brown & Collett

Los Angeles, California – Founding Partner

1985 - 1989 Sears Savings Bank

Glendale, California

Vice President and Senior Counsel

(General Counsel)

1980 - 1985 City National Bank

Beverly Hills, California - Counsel

1977 - 1980 Security Pacific National Bank

Los Angeles, California - Attorney

EDUCATION:

University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Juris Doctor, 1977

California State University at Los Angeles, B.S. in Business Administration/Finance, 1974

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:

Member, State Bar of California, 1977 Real Estate Brokers License, California

Board of Directors, Langston Bar Association Department of Real Estate, 1984

Former Executive Committee Member of Member, Financial Institutions Committee of the California State Bar   of the California State Bar

Arbitrator-American Arbitration Association Real Property Law Section of the

Los Angeles Superior Court approved Arbitrator   Los Angeles County Bar Association

Los Angeles Superior Court approved Receiver Adjunct Professor, California State University

Executive Member of the Development Board Adjunct Professor, Loyola Law School of California State University, Los Angeles Fee Arbitrator, Attorney-Client Relations

Board Counsel - Southwest Board of Realtors - Los Angeles County Bar Association

Consolidated Realty Board Board of Trustees-University of West L.A.

Lecturer-U.S.C. entrepreneurial real estate program  Law School

Board of Trustees – Pacific Oaks College Board of Directors-New Omni Bank

Author:  The Real Way to Rebuild L.A.@

Los Angeles Lawyer, January 1993

Special Consultant Real Estate Publications

Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB)

CEB Action Guide Consultant

Handling Real Estate Foreclosures@

Handling Real Property Sales Transactions@

Author of chapter in CEB book on Commercial Leases

Frequent Lecturer for CEB and other trade organizations

Panelist Spring -96 CEB program on Financing Real Estate Transactions