Two L.A. Law firms Make Big Personnel Moves

By Natalie Dolce

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Sheppard, Mullin, Richter &
Hampton elevates 12 of its
attorneys to partner; while
Seyfarth Shaw LLP adds a six-attorney
group to its real estate practice.

(Mark Your Calendars: RealShare REAL ESTATE 2012, March 22^nd in Los Angeles).

LOS ANGELES-Things are moving in the L.A. commercial real estate law world. Just this week, law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP elevated 12 of its attorneys to partner; while law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP added a six-attorney group to its real estate practice.

The Seyfarth Shaw real estate practice group is led by partner Richard Mendelson and includes partners Andrew E. Shiner and Stacy N. Paek and three associates. All were previously practicing at DLA Piper. Seyfarth Shaw real estate department chair, Paul Mattingly, says that “Richard’s team provides us with exceptional depth for our California Real Estate team, deepens our institutional real estate bench and further validates Seyfarth Shaw’s position as a premier real estate practice nationally.”

Mattingly tells GlobeSt.com that the timing on this was not a huge factor for the firm. “We have taken a bit of a contrarian view in the legal market and actually grown our national real estate team materially in the last two years,” he says. “That commitment to real estate has allowed us to attract top talent and materially increase our market.”

When asked about timing of the announcement, Sheppard Mullin tells GlobeSt.com that the firm’s annual partnership class is typically revealed around February. The 12 new partners at Sheppard Mullin are Martin Bader, Will Chuchawat, Jeffrey W. Forrest, Darren Franklin, Jenny Park Garner, Matthew W. Holder, Moe Keshavarzi, Barrett Marum, Daniel J. McQueen, Aaron J. Sobaski, Olivier F. Theard and Whitney Walters.

Bader is in the firm’s intellectual property practice group in the Del Mar office and focuses his practice on patent and intellectual property litigation. Chuchawat is a member of the firm's corporate practice group and is based in the Los Angeles office. Forrest is in the firm's real estate, land use and environmental practice group in the San Diego office, specializes in land use planning, obtaining entitlement approvals, and land use litigation defense. Franklin is a member of the firm's intellectual property practice group and is based in the Los Angeles office. 

Garner is in the firm’s finance and bankruptcy practice group in the San Francisco office and specializes in commercial law, real estate, secured and unsecured lending transactions, workouts, bankruptcy, and enforcement of creditor's rights and remedies. Holdner is a member of the business trial and labor and employment practice groups and is based in Del Mar. Keshavarzi is a member of the firm's business trial practice group in the Los Angeles office. Marum is a member of the firm’s business trial and financing and bankruptcy practice groups and is based in the San Diego office.

McQueen is in the firm's labor and employment practice group in the Los Angeles office, and handles all facets of the litigation process in labor and employment disputes. Sobaski is a member of the firm's real estate, land use and environmental practice group and is based in the Orange County office. Theard is in the firm’s business trial practice group in the L.A. office and specializes in environmental litigation and administrative disputes under the Clean Air Act, CERCLA and other federal and state environmental laws. Walters is a member of the firm's business trial and entertainment, media and technology practice groups, and is based in the Century City office. 

Categories: West, Office, Legal, Executive Moves, Los Angeles