Akin Gump Opens 4th CA Office

IRVINE, CA-International law firm Akin Gump opened an Orange County office here yesterday, expanding its presence in the West Coast economic nexus. The office marks the firm's fourth in California and 20^th worldwide.

The Orange County office located at the Jamboree Center here. Paul Lin, a partner in the firm's corporate practice, will serve as partner in charge.

Akin Gump's expansion to Orange County reflects its continuing commitment to the rapidly growing California practice and to the cross-border market, for which California serves as the principal gateway. The office will focus on cross-border matters; mergers and acquisitions; corporate finance; intellectual property and dispute resolution, including litigation, arbitration, issues and appeals and patent litigation; and real estate.

According to Kim Koopersmith, chairperson for the firm, “One of Akin Gump's core goals is to ensure that we are well positioned to serve our clients in terms of our skills and geographic reach. I'm very pleased that this expansion will enable the firm to enhance the service we provide to our existing client base, which has a strong presence in Orange County, and presents us with the opportunity to forge new relationships.”

Lin adds that Orange County is an “increasingly significant business hub for the US, California and, in particular, Greater China, as well as for foreign companies doing business in the US, and for US companies conducting outbound business. I am very excited by this opportunity to be able to better serve our clients from this key market.”

In addition to Orange County, Akin Gump has California offices in Downtown Los Angeles, Century City and San Francisco.

As GlobeSt.com reported in November, Los Angeles ranks as the second-best city for law firms to rent space, according to Jones Lang LaSalle's recently released first “Law Firm Office Perspective” report. The index ranks 36 U.S. cities on a combination of potential business growth, strong local legal employment volume and the availability of premium space at a discount. Based on these numbers, JLL anticipates large downtown relocations in the next couple of quarters as law firms occupy nearly 20% of the class-A office space in L.A.

Also, as GlobeSt.com reported in October, competition for space among law firms is poised to increase in the next year, since the amount of full floors in class-A towers in the Airport Area market is dwindling, the firm reports. However, comparable options in Central County's class-A market are still plentiful and will become an alternative to law firms that are unwilling to pay a soon-to-be premium for locations in Irvine, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.