June 1, 2004
THE DAILY JOURNAL
By Liz Valsamis
LOS ANGELES – Pittsburg-based Reed Smith has tapped John Zaimes to establish the firm’s labor and employment practice group in Los Angeles.
Zaimes joined Reed Smith from Los Angeles’ Weston Benshoof Rochefort Rubalcava MacCuish, were he served as head of the firm’s employment group.
“Part of our strategic plan is to add labor and employment lawyers in parts of the country where they currently do not exist,” says David Weisman, employment chair of Reed Smith, “as we continue to boost our labor and employment practice to be one of the leading firms in the area.”
Zaimes is the first full-time employment lawyer for Reed Smith’s Los Angeles office. The firm gained the office when it merged with Oakland’s Crosby Heafey Roach & May in late 2002.
Zaimes’ practice runs the gamut of labor and employment law issues and includes union and Occupational safety and Health Administration matters. His clients at Weston Benshoof included DuPont, Omni Hotels, Republic Industries Inc. and Unocal Corp.
“Reed Smith is a much larger law firm,” he says. “Weston Benshoof is about 60 lawyers, Reed smith is about 970 lawyers with a national presence. This gives me an opportunity to build on a national platform and expand my practice and expand the practice of the firm.”
Zaimes was with Weston Benshoof for 16 years. The firm employs eight other labor and employment attorneys, according to managing partner Chris Roux.
“There are a number of lawyers in the groups that can fill John’s role,” Roux says of the vacant employment chair position. “We don’t have any immediate plan to replace him.”
Weston Benshoof employs 63 lawyers and has offices in Los Angeles and Westlake Village.
Watanabe Nason & Seltzer worked on the move.