Alan M. Burger

Alan strives to give common sense practical solutions to clients and has been described by his clients as a businessman who just happens to be an attorney.

Alan’s practice focuses on assisting entities with daily business counsel, complex business related litigation, disputes amongst business owners, franchise and distribution litigation and real property related litigation. Alan is well-versed in the complexities of real property transactions and commercial leaseholds and is often called upon to act as litigation or consulting counsel in commercial landlord/tenant disputes. He is often a quoted source in publications on matters relating to commercial leasehold disputes.

Alan has been lead counsel in hundreds of suits including claims relating to breaches of contracts, breaches of employment agreements inclusive of restrictive covenants and other business related claims. He is also considered an expert in corporate obligations relating to data maintenance and destruction policies and data breaches.

Outside of the litigation arena, Alan has acted as counsel with respect to mergers, acquisitions, and financings and with respect commercial real property transactions and is called upon to assist with franchise and distribution relationships, on behalf of both franchisors and franchisees.

In the data privacy area, Alan, advises clients regarding design and implementation of data security plans and measures, and assistance with response to security breaches involving sensitive personal information and protected health information.

Alan is active in civic organizations, a published author and has lectured at the University of Miami School of Law. He regularly lectures to other attorneys seeking continuing legal education credits.

• Counsel to several different Universities whose confidential information relating to students was compromised.
• Counsel to National Franchisor.
• Counsel to start-up Franchisor, designing entire franchise system.
• Counsel to National Franchisee, involved in day to day business issues and litigation.
• Lead counsel in Smith, Dunn and Darling v. Florida Atlantic University a case which garnered both local and national attention.
• Lead counsel in approximately 200 commercial evictions.
• Lead counsel in which a client disposed of a portion of its apartment building portfolio for in excess of one hundred million dollars.
• Corporate counsel to entities overseeing not only day to day legal issues but acting as lead counsel with respect to litigation, acquisitions and financings.
• Lead counsel in defense of multiple suits brought against Owners, Landlords and Tenants for allegedly violating the American with Disabilities Act.
• Lead counsel in arbitration against a prominent securities broker/dealer for securities fraud and unfair and deceptive trade practices resulting in a confidential seven figure settlement.
• Lead counsel in successful defense of a control person of a NASD broker dealer in a NASD Arbitration proceeding seeking millions of dollars in which all other Respondents were found liable or settled.
• Lead counsel in tortious interference and trade secret theft suit in which a jury entered verdict for client in excess of $60 million.
• Successfully defended a lender in a suit asserting a constructive trust against millions of dollars.
• Lead counsel in successful defense of a software piracy suit brought by one of the world’s largest software companies, seeking tens of millions of dollars.
• Co-counsel in class action with agreed upon injunctive and declaratory relief having an approximate value in the millions of dollars.
• Defense co-counsel in a suit seeking $25 million which was settled for pennies on the dollar.
• Successfully defended entities and employees who were alleged to have violated employment or non-competition agreements.
• Successfully obtained injunctive relief against persons or entities violating non-compete agreements.

• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
• Southern District of Florida Trial Bar
• U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
• Courts of the District of Columbia
• Admitted Pro Hac Vice in the following states: Maine, New York, New Jersey, Alabama, California, Illinois, Delaware, Oregon, and Minnesota

• "Don't Risk Customers' Data - Protect your business when a vendor handles clients' personal information;" Scotsman Guide Commercial Edition, January, 2011
• "What Indemnification Means to You;" Scotsman Guide Commercial Edition, April 2010
• "What are the options when a tenant files for bankruptcy?" Commercial Investment Real Estate, January 2010
• “Innovative Uses for Special Assessment: Building Infrastructural Without Raising Taxes;” University of Miami, Business Law Journal 129
• “Commercial Evictions In Florida;” National Business Institute, 2003
• “Real Estate Sales Transactions, Sterling Education Services, Inc., 2004
• “Practical Real Estate Title Skills in Florida;” Half Moon LLC, 2004
• “Data Security and Compliance;” Lorman Education Services, 2005
• “Landlord and Tenant Law in Florida;” Lorman Education Services, 2003 – 2006, 2008
• “What is ‘Material’? Giving Definition to the Standard for Contract Rescission and Document Amendments;” Ralph E. Boyer Institutes Real Property and Condominium Law, Eighteenth Institute on Real Property Law/Thirtieth Institute on Condominium and Cluster Developments, November 2005
• “Drafting Commercial Real Estate Leases: The Ins and Outs of Protecting our Interests;” National Business Institute, 2006
• “Evictions,” Lorman Education Services, 2007
• “Landlord -Tenant Law Beyond the Basics,” Sterling Educational Services, 2009
• Contributor: “Secure Data Destruction for Protecting Business Data;” Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal: News

• Data Privacy and Security -- Limit Exposure and Penalties, McDonald Hopkins Roundtable, January 2011
• Network Privacy & Cyber Risk: The 21st Century Challenge, 35th Annual Florida RIMS Educational Conference (Panelist), 2010
• Commercial Tenant Bankruptcy: Legal Strategies for Landlords And Tenants, Strafford Publications (Speaker), 2010
• Protecting Data and the Importance of a Data Policy, In House Counsel, National Quick Service Restaurant Franchisor
• Protecting Data and the Importance of a Data Policy, In House Counsel, International Power Company
• University of Miami Forum on Small Practice (Speaker)

• Selected for inclusion in Florida Legal Elite (2011)
• Selected for inclusion in Florida Super Lawyers (2009, 2010, 2012)
• Selected for inclusion in the Corporate Counsel Edition of Super Lawyers for Litigation 
• "AV" Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• Named one of "South Florida’s Top Lawyers," Miami Metro Magazine (2001)