Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP has announced that Robert Neufeld, formerly of Blank Rome LLP in New York, will join their Los Angeles office. Neufeld will join as a chief talent officer, the first time anyone at Sheppard Mullin has held this title. He will handle what Sheppard Mullin is referring to as the “associate lifecycle,” which includes recruiting, performance and development, diversity and inclusion, and direct practice group support.
Source: www.metnews.com
Former Latham & Watkins corporate partner David Hernand has joined the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Hernand will focus on technology, specifically public and private mergers & acquisitions. He also has significant experience in private equity and entertainment transactional work.
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps LLP has announced that it will open an office in Irvine, California. The office will serve the firm’s growing Real Estate practice in the area, and will eventually house ten to fifteen attorneys. The firm’s sixth Californian office will be run by partners John C. Murphy, George C. Rudolph and Joseph S. Stuart.
Source: lawfuel.com
Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll announced Friday that is has opened a Los Angeles office. The move is part of the firm’s continued Western expansion, which has included new offices in Phoenix and Las Vegas. Joining the new office are two real estate attorneys, including one partner, recruited from Baker & Hostetler.
Source: www.bizjournals.com
Several firms in Los Angeles have recently launched or expanded practice groups focusing on the fashion, apparel, and textile industries. Loeb & Loeb unveiled their new fashion and luxury brands industry group this month, and in April, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton recruited fashion designer lawyer Ted Max from Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo. Though fashion law is not a brand new area, mid-size firms are just recently getting into the game whereas before it was dominated by boutique firms. Part of the boom in business came from an increase in copyright infringement suits over textile designs and corporate deals in the industry. Loeb & Loeb’s fashion and luxury brands industry group includes ten attorneys from four different practice areas.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Michael Garfinkely, formerly of Rintala, Smoot, Jeanicke & Rees, has joined Venable’s Los Angeles office. Garfinkely, a litigator who specializes in entertainment and property law, represents entertainment companies such as William Morris Agency Inc. and International Creative Management Inc.. Previously, Garfinkely has worked for Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman with Douglas Emhoff, partner-in-charge of Venable’s Los Angeles office. In 2005, Garfinkely represent the author of the book upon which the film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” was based in a suit against Walt Disney Co. concerning gross receipts.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Lowell C. Brown and Jonathon E. Cohn will join the Los Angeles office of Arent Fox this August. Both attorneys are from law firm Foley & Lardner LLP and are two of the most prominent health care attorneys in the state of California. Arent Fox’s LA office has doubled in size since January to 20 lawyers, and the firm expects to see continued growth within this office.
Source: www.lawfuel.com
Dennis E. Kinnaird has joined Foley & Larnder LLP’s Los Angeles office as a member of the Litigation Department and the General Commercial Litigation Practice. Kinnaird spent the vast majority of his career as a trial lawyer for Munger Tolles & Olson LLP. Prior to that, he worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in California’s Central District. Foley’s representatives stated that they are looking forward to their clients’ having access to Kinnaird’s extensive experience.
Source: lawfuel.com
Bingham McCutchen has recently acquired two film finance partners for its Los Angeles office. Rose PeBenito Shiner and Ronald K. Sittler joined the firm’s financial institutions practice from Buchalter Nemer. Shiner represents financial institutions involved in motion picture lending, as well as clients in co-production arrangements, tax credits, and incentives for domestic production. Sittler focuses on litigation and represents financial institutions in motion picture finance and independent film finance.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Christopher Reeder and a team of three other attorneys have joined Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton as a part of the firm’s Business Trial practice group. The team joins the firm’s L.A. office, which has over 150 attorneys. Reeder, along with special counsel Beverly Lu and associates Gabriel Green and Gene Wu most recently practiced with Lord, Bissell & Brook in Los Angeles. Reeder’s work focuses on commercial law, real estate, franchise, business practices, intellectual property, employment and labor, construction, aviation, entertainment, hospitality and class action litigation.
Source: www.earthtimes.org
The West Coast has seen several lateral moves recently. Four intellectual property associates from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s Silicon Valley office have joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Richard Welsh has joined Greenberg Traurig as a litigation partner in L.A. from Kirkland & Ellis. McKenna Long & Aldridge welcomed Penny Cobey in L.A.; she joins as an of counsel in the real estate and finance practice.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Kirkland & Ellis’s L.A. office has faced a number of departures over the past six months, bringing the 115-lawyer office down to about 90. About half of those attorneys who left were partners, some of whom are moving on to a new stage in their career. Now the number of partners and associates are about equal, creating a slight sense of imbalance. The L.A. office is strong in civil litigation, IP, bankruptcy, and corporate law, and firm sources report confidence in the office’s future growth.
Source: www.law.com
