Jan Lawrence Handzlik Attorney

First Admitted: 1971, California

Bar/Professional Activity:

Jan is active in professional organizations and participates in public service projects on a regular basis. He served as vice chair and co-chair of the International Bar Association's Business Crime Committee, organizing and speaking at international criminal law conferences. Jan co-chaired the IBA’s Transnational Crime Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Panama City, Panama, where he also spoke on anti-corruption and anti-bribery enforcement matters. He organized, co-chaired and argued in mock corruption trials in Dublin, Vienna and Washington, DC. Jan served as an officer of the American Bar Association's Criminal Justice Section, which has over 21,000 members nationwide, and on the Section’s governing board for six years. Jan is a past Chair of the ABA's National White-Collar Crime Committee and, for five years, served on the ABA president's Task Force on the Attorney-Client Privilege. He was a member of the ABA Task Force on the Revision of Model Criminal Trial Practice Standards and working groups on the implementation of Anti-Terrorism and Money Laundering legislation and the Dodd-Frank Act. Jan is also an officer of the ABA's Section on International Law.

Pro bono/Community Service:

Jan has been active in numerous public service and pro bono projects. He served as Deputy General Counsel to the Rampart Independent Review Panel for the investigation of police corruption and officer-involved shootings in the Los Angeles Police Department. Subsequently, in another blue-ribbon investigation, he participated in an after-action assessment arising from LAPD’s Rampart Corruption Incident. Jan served on the Standing Committee on Attorney Discipline for the United States District Court in Los Angeles, and on a blue-ribbon, Los Angeles County Bar Association committee that evaluated operations of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Following the destructive civil disturbances resulting from the Rodney G. King police brutality case, Jan served as Deputy General Counsel to the Independent William Webster Commission. The Commission, chaired by former FBI and CIA Director William E. Webster, evaluated the response of federal and state law enforcement agencies to the riots. Jan also served as Counsel to the Christopher Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher. The Christopher Commission evaluated issues of police brutality and racism in the LAPD, in the wake of the Rodney King beating incident and subsequent civil rights prosecutions.

Honors/Awards:

Jan is recognized in all 30 editions of Best Lawyers in America, including the 2025 edition, and his firm is again recognized in its sister publication, Best Law Firms 2025. He received California Lawyer Magazine’s prestigious Attorney of the Year Award (C.L.A.Y. Award) for "extraordinary accomplishment" in criminal law, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer’s White Collar Criminal Defender Award. Jan was named one of California's Top 100 Lawyers by The Daily Journal, California's leading legal periodical, and received the Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Memorial Award from the Criminal Courts Bar Association of Los Angeles. In addition to Super Lawyers, Jan is recognized by Who’s Who Legal/Business Crime Defence and Who's Who Legal: Investigations; Law Business Research Guide to the World’s Leading White-Collar Criminal Defence Lawyers; and Mondaq's Guide to the World's Leading White Collar Crime Advisors. Jan has also received the highest, peer-review rating from Martindale-Hubbell, AV Preeminent, for many years., Best Lawyers in America; Best Law Firms; California Lawyer Magazine; The Daily Journal; National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys; Criminal Courts Bar Association of Los Angeles, 2025

Educational Background:

Graduate degree, University of California School of Law, Juris Doctor degree, 1967-1970
Undergraduate: University of Southern California, Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, 1967; Post-Graduate: U.C.L.A. School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1970, 1963-1967

Other Outstanding Achievements:

Jan successfully defended Lindsey Manufacturing Company and its CEO, Dr. Keith E. Lindsey, in what has been described as a “landmark” Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prosecution (Wall Street Journal, Corruption Currents) The Lindsey Manufacturing case was covered on a continuous basis in numerous periodicals, including The American Lawyer magazine, which described the successful outcome as a “stunning defense win.” (The American Lawyer, Litigation Daily)

Industry Groups:

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