Richard G. Witkin

Attorney, Witkin & Neal Inc.

Richard G. Witkin has been a member of the California State Bar since 1975. For the past 24 years, he has specialized solely in the area of real property secured transactions.

Mr. Witkin graduated Magna Cum Laude from Colorado State University and attended law school at the UCLA School of Law where he obtained his J.D. degree in 1975.

Mr. Witkin was formerly a litigation attorney with the Beverly Hills firm of Levinson, Rowen, Miller, Jacobs & Kabrins. Thereafter, he was a Staff Attorney, and then Director of, the UCLA Legal Aid Clinic from 1977 through 1987 and a member of the faculty of the UCLA School of Law from 1980 through 1987.

After leaving UCLA, Mr. Witkin served as Vice-President and General Counsel of Fidelity Trustee Service, an independent foreclosure trustee. At Fidelity, Mr. Witkin supervised over 5,000 non-judicial foreclosures of deeds of trust and assessment liens and conducted hundreds of foreclosure sales. His areas of expertise extend to complex fore-closure issues including mixed collateral, multiple collateral and deficiency judgments.

Mr. Witkin is currently a member of the United Trustee's Association and has attained the highest level of expert certification by the association. He is also a member of the Real Property Section of the California State Bar. He has lectured on foreclosure issues to various groups including the Beverly Hills Bar Association and the Association of Professional Mortgage Women.

A partial list of older lectures and published articles includes:

  • Enforcing Security Interests in Real and Personal Property in California;
  • Avoiding Impediments to Real Estate Foreclosures;
  • Negotiating the Foreclosure Maze;
  • Methods of Acquisition of Distressed Properties;
  • Everything You Wanted to Know About Foreclosures;
  • Recent Developments in Real Property Foreclosures;
  • Choosing Between Judicial and Non-Judicial Foreclosure;
  • Homeowners Association Options at Time of Foreclosure Sale;
  • Homeowners Association Options After a Senior "Wipe-Out".

Recent articles (2006 and later) and lectures, both published and unpublished, include:

  • The Right of Redemption After Non-Judicial Foreclosure of Assessment Liens (2006)
  • Summary of the New Pre-Lien Requirements Under the California Civil Code (2006)
  • Summary of Board Responsibilities Under the Revised Assessment Lien Laws (2006)
  • Limitations on Foreclosure Under the Newly Revised Assessment Lien Laws (2006)
  • Summary of "ADR" and "IDR" Laws Applicable to Assessment Lien Collections (2006)
  • Judicial vs. Non-Judicial Foreclosure in the Enforcement of Assessment Liens (2006)
  • The Effect of Priority on Enforcement of Assessment Liens (2006)
  • Association Options at Time of Foreclosure Sale (2006)
  • Collection of Association Fines in Small Claims Court (2006)
  • Association Options When Faced With a Senior "Wipe-Out" (2007)
  • Senior "Wipe-Outs" of HOA Delinquent Assessment Liens (2010)
  • HOA Delinquent Assessment Liens and Short Sales (2010, Reprinted 2011)
  • Collection of Delinquent Assessments and the FDCPA (Focus Magazine, Jan. 2010)
  • Homeowners Delinquent Assessment Liens and Short Sales (Focus Magazine, Jan. 2011)

  • Guest Lecturer, Loyola Law School – Real Property Secured Transactions – March, 2007
  • Featured Speaker - Beverly Hills Bar Assoc - Real Prop. Section – October 2007
  • Instructor – "Foreclosure 101" -Sponsored by United Trustee's Assoc. – February, 2009
  • Featured Speaker - Arab American Lawyers Association – April, 2009
  • Featured Speaker - Beverly Hills Bar Association - Real Property Section - April, 2009
  • Featured Speaker - Community Associations Institute (CAI) - June, 2010
  • Featured Speaker - Burbank Bar Association: "Recent Developments" - November, 2010
  • Speaker - Beverly Hills Bar Real Property Section: "Wrongful Foreclosure" March, 2011

Expert Witness - State and Federal Courts (numerous cases)

In addition to being a licensed attorney, Mr. Witkin is also a licensed California Real Estate Broker and a Notary Public.

Mr. Witkin currently advises the foreclosure trustee firms of Witkin & Eisinger, LLC in Burbank, California and Witkin & Neal, Inc. in Van Nuys, California.