Sheppard Mullin Relocates

Steve Bay of the Downtown Los Angeles office of CB Richard Ellis tells GlobeSt.com that Sheppard Mullin expects to move into the new space in May. Bay and Hunt Barnett of the Beverly Hills office of CB Richard Ellis represented the law firm, with the landlord represented by Eric Olofson of Cushman & Wakefield.

Bay says Sheppard Mullin will occupy a full floor of the 20-story 1901 building in an expansion to accommodate growth at the law firm's West Los Angeles operations, which have been in need of new space for some time as the Sheppard Mullin practice at the West Los Angeles office has grown. The law firm established its West Los Angeles when it acquired another firm on the Westside some time ago, Bay says, and it has been on a month-to-month lease at that location while looking for larger offices.

The Sheppard Mullin lease is one of a number that have been signed in on the Westside in recent months. A number of law firms that have Downtown offices have opened West L.A. offices, Bay says. "I wouldn't say it's a groundswell of leasing, but there are, for example, a number of law firms that have been building their entertainment practices, which calls for them to open West L.A. offices." Also, Bay notes, rates in Westside markets are down considerably from their peak of several years ago.

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton was founded in 1927 and includes more than 400 attorneys among its eight offices in Orange County, San Diego, Del Mar Heights, Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Washington, DC.