Buckner, Alani & Mirkovich

Our Approach

Trust. Commitment. Character. We pride ourselves on having those qualities, and they are continually reflected in how we serve our clients. Our mission is to provide each of our clients with quality legal services and counsel that are personable, cost-effective and results-oriented. In adhering to this philosophy, we abide by the following guidelines that are often deprioritized by larger firms:

We are entrepreneurial in character. We are flexible in our billing practices and are committed to working with our clients to establish a reasonable fee structure, including, as the case may permit, fixed-fee and hybrid-fee arrangements.
We are counselors at law in addition to being lawyers. Our clients frequently ask us to render advice on the business terms of particular deals, and we are able to use the vast number and variety of deals we have been involved in to assist our clients in formulating new business deals and in evaluating business terms.
We make it a point to know the deal principals. We know most of the real estate representatives of most of the active commercial/retail tenants, title companies and lenders, and maintain cordial working relationships with them so as to encourage the use of prior documentation to complete new transactions as quickly as possible. We are active in many local, regional and national real estate associations, including the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives of Southern California (ACRE So Cal) and the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM).
We make it a point to know our clients. Our clients often require last-minute attention and quick responses from attorneys; thus our attorneys are always available to respond and answer questions.

Our History

The history of the firm dates back to the establishment in 1977 of the Law Offices of Hal A. Young, Jr., in Marina del Rey, California. In 1984, the firm relocated its offices to Costa Mesa, California, where it has remained ever since.

William D. Buckner joined the firm in 1984 where he remained until 1990 when he departed to form the law firm of Kendall & Buckner. In 1994, Mr. Young and Mr. Buckner merged their law firms to form Buckner & Young. After the retirement of Mr. Young, Mr. Buckner established the firm William D. Buckner & Associates, Inc., a California professional law corporation. Mr. Buckner has continued to grow his practice by expanding his practice areas and client base in all areas related to of the acquisition, disposition, leasing and financing of commercial real estate, with a strong emphasis in retail and mixed-used development and redevelopment. As a result, over the years the firm has undergone many name changes to reflect Mr. Buckner's association with various other prominent and respected attorneys who have complimented his real estate practice. Today, the firm operates under the name Buckner, Robinson & Mirkovich.

Michael J. Mirkovich joined the firm in 1984 after departing from the Irvine Company and remained associated with the firm until 1992 when he left to form the Law Offices of Michael J. Mirkovich. In 1994, Mr. Mirkovich rejoined the firm as of-counsel and was made a partner in 1997. Mr. Mirkovich brings to the firm extensive experience in office leasing, regional mall leasing, pad user transactions and general retail development.

Michael G. Robinson joined the firm in 2000 as an associate attorney handling business and real estate-related litigation, though he soon transitioned into handling commercial real estate transactions. In 2007, Mr. Robinson left the firm to join Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP. Mr. Robinson rejoined the firm as of-counsel in 2009 and was made a partner in 2013. Mr. Robinson's practice focuses on acquisitions, leasing, financing and development of shopping centers and other commercial properties, as well as corporate formation, restructuring and related commercial transactions.

From its beginning as a small firm of real estate lawyers, our firm has expanded into providing a wide range of practice areas achieving exceptional results for our clients while gaining prominence and recognition among our peers. Like the ever-changing real estate and financial markets, the firm continues to grow and adapt to the new challenges of today's legal landscape while always keeping true to its roots in providing quality legal services on a cost-effective basis.