Overview
Over the course of our 30+ years in Los Angeles, we have become known for our ability to deliver a range of legal services to a broad array of clients, from the organizations and stars that shine brightest in the entertainment industry to the companies and investors that drive today’s economy.
The Los Angeles Daily Journal named our corporate group one of the best transactional practices in Southern California for our work with corporations, private equity funds and investment managers in some of the most high-profile deals of recent years. This includes our representation of Ares Management and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in their $1.65 billion acquisition of General Nutrition Centers and innovative work establishing joint ventures on behalf of the families of Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra to manage the music, names and likenesses of those legendary performers.
We are also known for our work in California employment law, which can vex even the most sophisticated of businesses, representing clients that include the major entertainment studios and talent and management agencies as well as Fortune 500 and private employers headquartered in the state and those based elsewhere that are doing business in California. This work includes defending against discrimination, harassment and wage and hour cases as well as traditional labor-management relations and collective bargaining in addition to employee benefits and executive compensation matters.
Our Los Angeles-based litigation practice is equally wide-ranging. We represent the entertainment industry’s top talent, including Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and the White Stripes, among others, and management in all manner of disputes, from copyright and trademark issues to contract, libel and privacy matters. We are also known for our excellence in SEC enforcement, white collar defense and general commercial matters. These capabilities were enhanced with the recent addition of a group of California’s best known insurance litigators, who have recovered more than $2 billion for policyholders and handled some of the highest profile insurance coverage matters of recent years, including claims arising out of the collapse of the World Trade Center, recovering money for Holocaust victims, defending a company involved in highly publicized blood contamination cases and some of the largest and most complex environmental insurance coverage cases.
The lawyers in our personal planning practice, part of one of the country’s most well-respected wealth management groups, represent high net worth individuals and organizations, from Grammy-winning singers, noted authors and principals of major businesses to families, trusts and charitable foundations in estate planning and related litigation matters.
The capabilities of a host of our practices are complemented by the lawyers in our tax group, who advise on issues involving sophisticated transactions of all types and provide planning advice to companies and individuals.
We are rounded out by our real estate practice, which is heavily involved in financing and transactional matters and has been immersed in restructurings, workouts and refinancings in response to the needs of our institutional and commercial clients.