After graduating from Stanford University, Alan served in the U.S. Army and then received his LL.B. from Columbia University in 1961. Alan began his career as a lawyer in the Appeals and Research Section of the United States Justice Department Civil Rights Division where he developed a passion for civil rights issues. He, along with others, drafted the Public Accommodations Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the Housing Act, laws that would eventually lead to providing equal opportunity for all U.S. citizens. Alan left the Justice Department in 1977, was appointed General Counsel of the Office of Economic Opportunity (for the Western Region), briefly entered private practice, and then returned to Washington, D.C., to work as a supervising attorney on the impeachment of President Nixon. Alan completed his legal career by practicing appellate law in California with his brother, Gerald.
Alan passed away in 2008 at the age of 74.