Joshua Wayser

Joshua D. Wayser serves as Managing Partner of Katten's Los Angeles office. Mr. Wayser focuses his practice on litigation, with a substantive concentration in the field of real estate, banking and insolvency. Mr. Wayser’s real estate litigation experience is significant, representing lenders, financial institutions, developers, and property owners in all types of litigation matters, including workouts, foreclosures, bankruptcy and purchase and sale disputes. He also regularly defends financial institutions against claims of lender liability. His practice also includes state court receiverships and writ of attachments, and he also has a wide array of bankruptcy litigation expertise, including plan confirmation battles, non-dischargeability litigation, defense of preference actions and stay relief. Mr. Wayser has appeared before state, federal and bankruptcy courts on real estate and banking matters around the country and has argued several appeals on matters of particular interest to the real estate and banking industry. In 2009, Mr. Wayser handled over $4 billion in foreclosure of real estate.

He is co-chair of the firm’s GLBT Coalition and is a nationally recognized speaker on diversity issues in the legal profession and workforce. Mr. Wayser frequently speaks on those topics to legal and private industry groups. He also lectures frequently on issues of creditors’ rights, real estate and lender liability litigation, and has been a presenter at the annual meetings of the State Bar of California, as well as various continuing education seminars.

Mr. Wayser serves as both a Judge Pro Tem and an arbitrator for the Los Angeles Superior Courts, and has been selected for inclusion in Southern California Super Lawyers (2004 and 2013). He is active in pro bono and community activities in Los Angeles, including serving as a national trustee for the Union of Reform Judaism and acting as the co-chair of its regional biennial. He also is a past president of Beth Chayim Chadashim Synagogue, the first gay and lesbian synagogue in the country. Mr. Wayser volunteers at the Gay and Lesbian Legal Services Clinic, where he counsels people with HIV or AIDS. Previously, he clerked for Judge Louis Stanton of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Mr. Wayser earned his BA in East Asian languages and cultures from Columbia University and his JD from Columbia Law School. He is admitted to practice in California and New York.