BakerHostetler announced today that Eric E. Sagerman will join the firm as managing partner for its Los Angeles office, signaling its intent to make a significant investment in Los Angeles and the West Coast. Sagerman joins BakerHostetler from Winston & Strawn LLP after a 28-year career, during which he served on that firm’s executive, operations and compensation committees. He was also managing partner of Winston’s Los Angeles office and chair of its national restructuring practice.

BakerHostetler plans to leverage Sagerman’s knowledge and experience within the Los Angeles market to further its capabilities on the West Coast. During his tenure as managing partner at Winston, he oversaw the addition of 60 attorneys and helped grow the office’s revenue by multiples. Under his management, the office was top-rated by midlevel associates in Los Angeles in a survey of associate satisfaction by The American Lawyer.

“I could not be more enthusiastic about joining BakerHostetler and having the opportunity to use my skills to help grow the firm’s West Coast presence. There is a palpable energy among the firm’s attorneys to take BakerHostetler to the next level,” Sagerman said. “I’m excited to join the firm as a new chairman takes the reins. There is a feeling of being on the ground floor of something special, and I look forward to helping the firm increase its momentum by broadening its roster of impressive attorneys on the West Coast.”

BakerHostetler’s Los Angeles office, in conjunction with its Costa Mesa and Seattle offices, serves as a hub for various West Coast clients and also enhances some the firm’s top practices, including privacy and data protection, intellectual property, business, technology, media, and employment. BakerHostetler’s Los Angeles attorneys have played crucial roles in the firm’s largest cases, including the ongoing multibillion-dollar recovery for victims of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and leading the response to some of the world’s largest cybersecurity incidents and the defense of regulatory investigations and class action litigation that often follows.

The firm has also demonstrated support for Los Angeles’ burgeoning emerging technology market community as both a sponsor and an organizer of the Genesis Blockchain Summit, held at UCLA in late 2018.

“Eric is both an exceptional lawyer and a proven leader. We’re thrilled to have him join us as the managing partner of our Los Angeles office,” said firm chairman Paul M. Schmidt. “BakerHostetler is showing its ongoing commitment to investing in the West Coast by bringing on someone like Eric, who is a well-known figure in the Los Angeles legal community.”

Though Sagerman will be focused on developing BakerHostetler’s Los Angeles office, he will also continue his successful restructuring practice. Over the course of his career, Sagerman has represented a broad array of clients in large and complex corporate restructuring matters, including a recent billion-dollar financial accommodation for an energy exploration and production company.

Sagerman received his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.

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