The Judgment Is Not the Money: Enforcement, Charging Orders, and the Renewal Clock

Bryan M. Grundon, Founder | The Grundon Law Firm

Bryan M. Grundon devotes his practice entirely to postjudgment enforcement under California law, acting for judgment creditors in complex, high-value collection matters throughout the state. He is regularly brought in by trial attorneys, out-of-state firms, financial institutions, and businesses that need an experienced California enforcement attorney once liability has been established, and his work centers on converting judgments into actual recoveries.

• Education & Credentials

Bryan earned his Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Cal Poly Humboldt in 2002. He has been admitted to practice in California since 2005 (State Bar No. 239234) and is licensed before all four United States District Courts in the state, with admissions to the Southern District of California (2009), the Central District of California (2010), the Eastern District of California (2020), and the Northern District of California (2022).

• Recognition & Leadership

Bryan founded The Grundon Law Firm in 2008 and has led it since, growing it into a statewide California enforcement practice serving judgment creditors. His leadership extends beyond the profession as well; teams he helped direct as offensive coordinator at Rancho Bernardo High School earned three consecutive Palomar League Championships, two CIF Finals appearances, and a State Championship.

• Professional Involvement

Outside of legal practice, Bryan, a native San Diegan, has been involved with the Rancho Bernardo High School football program for nearly two decades, including twelve years as offensive coordinator, and he continues to contribute to the program in an assistant coaching capacity.

• Experience

Bryan has worked on judgment collection since his first year of law school, and in recent years his work has centered almost entirely on post-judgment execution in high-value matters. That work includes domestication and enforcement of sister-state and federal judgments, coordinated levy strategies, real property lien and priority analysis, assignment orders, and long-term recovery plans tailored to the debtor’s assets and structure. Since founding his firm in 2008, he has represented a broad range of creditors, including national banks, credit unions, insurance companies, and private businesses, in sophisticated enforcement and recovery matters across California. Before founding the firm, he practiced as an associate attorney at the Law Office of W. Jeffery Fulton from 2005 to 2007.

SESSION 1 – Developing and Executing a Judgment Enforcement Plan | 2:30pm – 3:30pm

The first hour addresses the practical framework for evaluating and enforcing a California money judgment. The presentation covers reviewing the judgment for enforceability, renewal deadlines, and lien issues; identifying and profiling individual and business judgment debtors; conducting public-record and asset investigations; establishing judgment liens and protecting priority; and using available enforcement remedies to reach cash, income, receivables, business interests, and other assets. The hour also addresses judgment debtor and third-party examinations, exemptions, cost considerations, and the sequencing of multiple remedies as part of a coordinated enforcement strategy.

BREAK | 3:30pm – 3:40pm

SESSION 2 – Reaching Assets the Debtor Has Transferred or Shielded | 3:40pm – 4:40pm

The second hour addresses more advanced enforcement issues that arise when ordinary collection remedies are unsuccessful or when assets have been transferred, concealed, or placed behind related persons or entities. The presentation covers California’s Uniform Voidable Transactions Act, including actual-intent and constructive-transfer theories and available remedies against transferred assets and transferees. It also addresses alter ego liability, reverse veil piercing under Curci Investments, LLC v. Baldwin, and the use of Code of Civil Procedure section 187 to add alter ego judgment debtors. The hour concludes with a discussion of how to distinguish among UVTA, alter ego, reverse piercing, and ordinary enforcement remedies, and how to select the appropriate theory and procedural vehicle based on the facts of the case.