Carlton Fields Jorden Burt announced today that it has opened an office in Los Angeles, California.

“We have substantial clients, cases, and transactions in California. So opening an office in Los Angeles is a natural progression of our growth,” said Gary L. Sasso, President and CEO of Carlton Fields Jorden Burt.

He added, “Our class action defense practice, in particular, has driven us into California, where many such cases are filed. We anticipate other synergies as well. California, Florida, and New York, for example, are international hubs, and they have strong financial services, real estate, technology, and health care and life sciences sectors.”

Carlton Fields Jorden Burt has a national practice in class action defense, high-stakes trial and appellate litigation, business transactions, regulatory representation, white collar defense, and government investigations serving key industries, including insurance, financial services, securities, health care, banking and consumer finance, real estate and commercial finance, construction, technology, and telecommunications. The firm also handles litigation and business transactions for international clients throughout the world.

The firm’s L.A. office will be led by Mark A. Neubauer. Eight years ago, Neubauer opened Steptoe & Johnson’s Century City office and, as the office’s managing partner, grew it to more than 35 attorneys. Three years ago, he was named national head of Steptoe’s Commercial Litigation practice group, the third largest group in that firm. Neubauer also has previously served on Steptoe’s Executive Committee.

“Mark knows this market well, and he is extremely able”, Sasso said. “We are confident he will help us establish and grow a strong presence in California.”

“Gary Sasso and I have been close friends for more than 20 years,” Neubauer added. “The chance to work with him and the other great lawyers at Carlton Fields Jorden Burt was too attractive an opportunity to pass up. I have enjoyed my time with Steptoe a great deal and working with my wonderful colleagues there, but I am excited about the opportunity of taking on this new challenge.”

Neubauer focuses his practice on sophisticated litigation including commercial, securities, antitrust, real estate, employment, and entertainment. He has successfully tried numerous jury and bench cases in both state and federal courts during his 30-plus years of practice.

Neubauer’s legal skills have been repeatedly recognized. In 2010, his jury trial victory for Johnson & Johnson was chosen one of the “Top 10 Defense Verdicts” of the year in California. He has consistently been named one of the “Bet the Company Commercial Lawyers” in California by Best Lawyers of America and to the Los Angeles Daily Journal’s list of “Top Labor & Employment Lawyers” in California.

Neubauer has also held a number of leadership positions with the American Bar Association (Vice Chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Publications and ABA Journal Board of Editors), the California State Bar (State Bar Litigation Section Chair), Association of Business Trial Lawyers (President) and the Los Angeles County Bar Association (Assistant Vice President).

A member of the California State and the District of Columbia Bar, Neubauer received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and his M.S. and B.S., with distinction, from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He is a former reporter with the Miami Herald.

Meredith M. Moss will also join the office as a shareholder. She concentrates her practice on employment counseling and complex business litigation matters including employment, unfair competition, intellectual property, Proposition 65 litigation, entertainment, bankruptcy and other commercial disputes. She assists clients in pre-litigation counseling and in all phases of litigation and appeals in both state and federal courts as well as administrative proceedings. She represents national and multinational corporations, including manufacturing, technology, hospitality and entertainment companies, and high-net worth individuals.

Moss is a member of the California State Bar (Employment Law Section) and the American Bar Association. She received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Pepperdine University. Moss received the Pro Bono Civil Rights Award from ACLU Foundation in recognition of her work on behalf of indigent Los Angeles County residents in need of hospital services in Harris v. Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

The Carlton Fields Jorden Burt L.A. office is located in the Century Plaza Towers, 2029 Century Park East, Suite 2000, Los Angeles, CA 90067. The telephone number of the office is 310.651.2147.

www.cfjblaw.com