Attorney

Andrew C. Carlton's professional roots are tied to the construction and real-estate industries. Though Mr. Carlton began his construction experience in 1977, he obtained a real estate license in the mid 1980s and specialized in commercial properties in downtown Los Angeles. In 1989, he obtained his contractor’s license and formed, owned and operated a design/build firm for six years.

 Mr. Carlton attended President Nixon's alma mater, Whittier College, where he received L.A. Philanthropic Foundation and Haynes Foundation scholarships, a Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Graduate in Major, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in History. Mr. Carlton also attended Whittier Law School where he received his Juris Doctorate in 2000. While there, he was a Roy Newsom and Merit Scholarship recipient and received the CALI Excellence For The Future Award for Professional Responsibility and Third-Year Writing.

His Appellate publications include: BFGC Architects Planners, Inc. v. Forcum/Mackey Construction, Inc. et al. (2004) 119 Cal. App. 4th 848; 14 Cal. Rptr. 3d 721 - no right for architect to pursue claim for equitable indemnity against general contractor where no basis for tort liability exists against the proposed general contractor/indemnitor; Force Framing, Inc. v. Chinatrust Bank et al. (2010) 187 Cal. App. 4th 1368 - so long as the information provided in a Preliminary 20-day Notice is obtained from a sufficiently reliable source, such as from the owner, a contractor need not investigate extraneous sources to verify said information; Mepco Services, Inc., v. Saddleback Valley Unified School District, et (2010) 189 Cal. App. 4th 1027 - a contractor may recover attorneys' fees under an attorneys' fees clause contained in a performance bond, despite the absence of an attorney's fees clause in the parties' contract.

Mr. Carlton has lectured on various construction related subjects including "Change Orders in California" (Lorman Education Services), and was published in Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, "The Tools Available to Contractors for Recovery of Attorney's Fees", in January 2012. He has also authored and published "The ABCs To CYA: Subcontractors (and Material and Equipment Providers) on Private Works" and "The ABCs To CYA: Subcontractors (and Material and Equipment Providers) on Public Works", which are self-help guides for subcontractors and material and equipment providers in California. He has lectured and/or written on various other construction related subjects, as well. Mr. Carlton was voted Affiliate of the Year by the Engineering Contractors Association, in 2011, served on the Engineering Contractors Association's Board of Directors in 2016 and 2017, and was the chairman of the Southern California Contractors Association's Legal Committee in 2014 and 2015.

Mr. Carlton is admitted to practice before all the courts of the State of California, the United States District Court, Central District, the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Court of Federal Claims, and also before the Supreme Court of the United States.