The seven include partners Michael Meyer, John Whitaker, Marshall Taylor, John Duffy and Jackie Park--among them some of L.A.'s most senior leasing specialists--along with associates Samantha Goodman and Brian Sanger. They are expected to join Piper Rudnick within 30 days, a typical transition period when lawyers switch firms.

The move represents a significant boost to the real estate practice of Piper Rudnick, according to Jeff Rosenfeld, managing partner of the Century City office, who calls his new hires "a phenomenal group." He tells GlobeSt.com that the new attorneys will join eight existing lawyers in the firm's local real estate practice. Rosenfeld says the new hires were attracted by "Piper's national reputation in the real estate practice arena," a strong specialty for the firm, along with litigation and business corporate law. The growth in the real estate practice is part of an overall expansion at the local office, he adds, saying that Piper Rudnick's goal is to reach about 100 lawyers in the next year or two. The addition of the Pillsbury Winthrop group will bring the total to about 50, Rosenfeld says.

Lew Feldman, a partner with Pillsbury Winthrop in Century City, says the firm will still have 21 real estate lawyers in Los Angeles after Meyer and the others leave. "We're saddened to see them go because they're good friends, but we wish them well, and we're going to keep working with them wherever they go," Feldman tells GlobeSt.com. He says Pillsbury Winthrop still has quite a few lawyers specializing in leasing, and he describes real estate as "a highly supported practice at our firm."

The move of the Pillsbury lawyers comes at a busy time in real estate law, says Pamela Westhoff, a partner in the real estate practice at Piper Rudnick's Century City office. She tells GlobeSt.com that the volume of legal work has increased "in all areas of real estate law, especially leasing, which is a key part of the group that is joining us." Westhoff says January has been "extremely busy" in leasing, pointing out that the local office works on leases throughout the country.

Rosenfeld underscored the accomplishments of the team that is joining Piper: Meyer represents some of the nation's leading financial institutions, accounting firms and law firms for leasing, while Whitaker has more than 35 years of experience working as both a transactional and entitlements lawyer. Taylor has more than 29 years of experience on a wide variety of real estate and project finance transactions, and Duffy is a transaction lawyer with an emphasis on commercial leasing. Jackie Kim Park is a general real estate lawyer, with an emphasis on commercial leasing. Among the major assignments completed by the group have been headquarters leasing assignments for Trust Company of the West, Bank of America and The Capital Group of Cos., plus a 300,000-sf lease for City National Bank in Downtown Los Angeles.