About Peter Lively

Peter Maurice Lively is the principal of the Law Office of Peter M. Lively in Culver City. He has practiced law for over 22 years in the area of small business and consumer reorganizations, and liquidations pursuant to the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code.

Mr. Lively has personally represented a variety of debtors as counsel of record in thousands of cases (approximately 2,000 Chapter 7s, 55 Chapter 11s and 1,750 Chapter 13s).

Mr. Lively has also represented debtors in bankruptcy appellate matters. He speaks regularly on bankruptcy topics, is active in numerous bar associations, and was an adjunct professor at U.C.L.A. School of Law in 2012 and 2013 teaching negotiations of business deals.

Mr. Lively received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and his M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management in 1992. He earned concurrent B.S. degrees in Economics and Management from Carnegie Mellon University in 1988 where he graduated with high honors and was President of Beta Gamma Sigma (National Business Honors Society).

Peter Lively has been a member of the State Bar of California since 1992, has been admitted before the U.S. District Court, Central District of California since 1993, and has been admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit since 2007. Mr. Lively was named one of The Recorder Legal Newpaper’s 2011 attorneys of the year for his work persuading the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act as discriminatory against gays and lesbians and allow marriage of a same-sex couple to proceed with a joint Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.

• Mr. Lively was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy in 2013.
• Public Counsel Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in 2012.