Richard S. (“Scott”) Van Dyke, Esq. - Managing Shareholder

Richard S. Van Dyke is the Managing Shareholder and founder of the firm of Van Dyke & Associates, APLC, where he has devoted his practice to business & commercial litigation for the past fifteen years. He has extensive experience in commercial finance lender laws as well as bankruptcy and insolvency matters. His recent activities include representing bankruptcy trustees in fraudulent conveyance litigation, numerous real estate debtors in complex Chapter 11 proceedings, and creditors seeking bankruptcy related remedies. He has successfully resolved hundreds of cases in both State and Federal courts.
Scott has developed unique legal expertise in the area of litigation financing also referred to as lawsuit funding primarily for contingency fee law firms. He is primary counsel for several mass tort law firms involved in the administration of law firm loans and the litigation of cases utilizing lawsuit funding. He has represented both law firms and lenders in the negotiation, documentation, modification, collection and enforcement of such loans and has become an emerging authority in the law and ethics of this type of commercial financing.

Scott is a frequent participant at litigation finance functions and serves on the board of directors of Lawyer’s Capital Finance, Inc. He lives in Del Mar, California, and is interested in pleasure boating and flying. He is married to Dawn Van Dyke who serves as the firm’s business operations manager. Scott and Dawn are proud parents of six adult children and one grandchild.

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS
Bar Admissions: California, U.S. District Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
J.D., Thomas Jefferson School of Law, 1996
B.S., Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 1985

James A. Bush, Esq. - Of Counsel

Jim Bush is of counsel to Van Dyke & Associates, APLC. He has more than 30 years of experience as an attorney, first in Arizona and, since 1998, in California. After serving a one-year judicial clerkship with the then Vice Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, he has since worked in private law firms, where he has gained experience in representing all sizes and nature of clients – from individuals and sole proprietorships up to Fortune 500 companies and international conglomerates – at the trial and appellate levels in a number of state and federal courts.

In the commercial area, Jim has worked on matters all over the U.S. spanning such diverse legal areas as contract and transactional disputes, the UCC, fraud and other business torts, trade secrets, intellectual property, antitrust, corporate and partnership governance, real property and leases, employment discrimination, ERISA, environmental issues, insurance coverage, etc. He also has represented beneficiaries and devisees, trustees, personal representatives, heirs, and others in trusts and estates litigation involving such issues as trust/estate administration, claims of undue influence or incompetency, breach of fiduciary duty, powers of appointment, reformation of instruments, and intestate succession.
Jim also has served as a pro tem appellate judge, pro tem trial court judge, administrative judge, arbitrator for FINRA, and as a mediator/settlement judge. This work from the standpoint of the decision maker rather than from that of the attorney advocate has given him an additional perspective in litigating and settling cases to attain an achievable result in a cost-effective way.

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS
Current Bar Admissions: State of California; Southern and Central U.S. District Courts of California; Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; U.S. Supreme Court

J.D., University of Arizona, 1981 (with high distinction and Order of the Coif; also served as Editor in Chief and Executive Editor of the Arizona Law Review and won Law College Association Award for Scholarship and Service)
B.S., University of Arizona, 1978 (with distinction, double major in astronomy & physics; Phi Kappa Phi)