About Peter Franck

Peter was born in London, England, which was his parents’ first stop after leaving Germany following Hitler’s ascension to power. The family then moved to Berkeley, California, where Peter attended John Muir Grammar School. After completing high school in Sydney, Australia, he returned to the U.S, earning both a B.A. (Psychology) from the University of California at Berkeley and a J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law.

Shortly after opening his law practice in Berkeley, Peter served as a legal advisor to Mario Savio and student members of the Free Speech Movement at U.C. As the attorney for the Vietnam Day Committee, he worked to secure the rights of protesters against the Vietnam War. His commitment to legal activism has led to affiliations with the ACLU, the Council For Justice, and the National Lawyers Guild.
Representing legendary 1960’s Bay Area rock groups like Country Joe and the Fish and Joy of Cooking, Peter developed a specialty in intellectual property and entertainment law. He also represented many independent record labels, which allowed him to play a role in the growth of the era’s popular culture.

After working for many years in Berkeley, he moved his practice to the offices of the boutique intellectual property firm of Owen, Wickersham and Erickson in San Francisco. In 1996, he joined the intellectual property section of the respected San Francisco firm of Hansen, Bridgett, Marcus, Rudy and Vlahos (now known as Hansen Bridgett) as “Of Counsel.” Now from his office in Long Beach, CA, Peter serves clients throughout the state and beyond.