Rob McWhorter is a Shareholder in Buchalter’s Sacramento office, and is a member of the Firm’s Litigation Practice Group. He is the Chair of Sacramento’s Litigation Practice Group. His practice focuses on representing financial institutions and business entities in commercial, business and bankruptcy litigation. He has extensive experience handing lender liability actions, franchise litigation, bankruptcy, insolvency law, creditors’ rights, real estate disputes, corporate dissolutions, loan workouts and restructuring, receiverships, and litigation involving business torts and contract law. He has handled multiple complex liability claims against officers and directors of corporate entities. Through his bankruptcy and commercial practice, Mr. McWhorter possesses substantial expertise handling Article 9 issues under the Uniform Commercial Code.

He has defended national banking associations and/or receivers for failed financial institutions in lender liability actions. His experience includes cases involving the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq., the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1601 et seq. (TILA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692 et seq., the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681, the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 1821 et seq., the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (RFDCPA), California Civil Code sections 1788 et seq., the Unfair Competition Law, California Business and Professions Code sections 17200 et seq. and the California Homeowner Bill of Rights. He has defended lenders in federal actions brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TPCA), 47 U.S.C. § 227.

For over 26 years, Mr. McWhorter has represented secured and unsecured lenders, trustees, troubled companies and individuals in chapter 7 and 11 bankruptcy proceedings, reorganizations and out-of-court restructurings. He also has represented clients in all aspects of debt restructurings, reorganizations, and debt enforcement, including real and personal property foreclosures. In addition, Mr. McWhorter has represented clients in chapter 9 bankruptcy proceedings, including California’s AB 506 process and has represented receivers in state court proceedings. His experience spans a wide range of industries, including real estate, manufacturing, and healthcare industries. His clients have included banks, pension funds, automotive suppliers, manufacturing companies, employee leasing companies, and mortgage companies.

His experience extends to representing beneficiaries, trustees and court-appointed special masters in contested trust litigation matters. His representation has included defending two beneficiaries in a contested breach of fiduciary action involving a multimillion real estate trust and co-trustee against other co-trustees for misconduct concerning trust administration.

Mr. McWhorter has extensive background in administrative law and healthcare, representing physicians and hospitals in disciplinary proceedings before state and federal agencies, including the Medical Board of California. He represented a county health plan against the State of California challenging the establishment of capitation rates under Medi-Cal.

Ted Teruo Kitada is retired. He was formerly a senior vice president & senior company counsel with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., from 1997-2020, specializing is bank operations with an emphasis on Articles 3, 4 and 4A of the UCC; unclaimed property; Regulations D, E, CC, DD, GG, and the NACHA Operating Rules. He is an advisor to the CBA Legal Affairs Committee.

Steve Moawad joined The State Bar of California in 2017 as Chief Trial Counsel. In 2022, Steve was named Special Counsel at The State Bar of California. Prior to joining The State Bar of California, Moawad served as deputy district attorney in Contra Costa County since 1997, served as a manager of the District Attorney’s Special Operations Division since 2012, and a senior deputy district attorney since 2014. His extensive prosecutorial experience includes consumer protection, environmental protection, insurance fraud, as well as criminal cases. He also served as the project manager for the implementation of a new case management system for the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. Moawad received his J.D. from University of San Francisco School of Law in 1997 and a Master of Business Administration from St. Mary’s College of California in 2003. He was admitted to the State Bar as a licensed attorney in 1997.

Jennifer Stalvey, CPA has been working at The State Bar of California since 2022, as a Forensic Accountant and Program Analyst. Stalvey is now the Program Manager, Division of Regulation. Prior to joining The State Bar of California, Jennifer was in independent Forensic Accountant, where She has served district attorneys as the expert witness in the prosecution of white-collar crime, successfully referred matters to the FBI utilizing her source document analysis and has taught law enforcement officers tasked with investigating financial crimes how to perform bank account analysis.