A decade ago, Alan Garten was an associate at Bryan Cave working on real estate litigation. Now it’s not uncommon for his legal activities to be discussed by millions of people around the world.
Garten is general counsel (GC) of the Trump Organization, which owns and operates Donald Trump’s many hotels and other ventures. While Garten deals with the usual stuff of being a GC – reviewing real estate contracts, managing outside counsel – his job is always evolving. Just recently, he was quoted in the press defending Trump against rape allegations (Garten calls the civil lawsuit a “hoax”). And, unlike many GCs, he has appeared in court on behalf of his employer’s wife and three adult children. “We’re not a publicly traded company. At the end of the day, I work for the Trump family,” he says. “That’s how I view my job. Whether it’s protecting their business interests or protecting their personal interests. I am here to assist them and represent them in any way they need.”
