April 11, 2012
THE DAILY JOURNAL
By Casey Sullivan
LOS ANGELES – Since setting its stake in Los Angeles three years ago with a pair of lateral hires from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Chicago litigation shop Jenner & Block LLP has built a venerable platform around the city’s middle market with an aggressive expansion strategy, industry experts say.
Lawyers at the firm’s Los Angeles office will raise their glasses on Thursday night to celebrate its growth in the region at its three-year anniversary party. It has expanded from the initial two lawyers, who launched the office in 2009, to as many as 29 lawyers, with practice strengths in commercial litigation, insurance recovery, media and entertainment and intellectual property.
“Before we had Los Angeles, it was difficult for us to convince our clients that we had a national platform when we didn’t have an office west of the Mississippi River,” said Jenner’s firm wide managing partner Susan Levy of the office’s importance. “Opening in Los Angeles really solved those problems and assisted us with existing client relationships.”
In 2011, the firm picked up insurance practice leaders Jerry Oshinsky and Linda Kornfeld from Dickstein Shapiro LLP and Mark Calkins from Howrey LLP. Later that year, it raided Hogan & Lovells US LLP’s Los Angeles office, which saw its headcount slashed in half, for a group of litigators led by entertainment heavyweight Rick Stone.
The rapid expansion is a uncommon feat for an out-of-state firm in such a short period of time, which recruiters attribute to their focus on litigation and the city’s middle market.
“Jenner has been able to grow successfully in L.A. while many other new firm entrants have struggled,” said recruiter Larry Watanabe of Watanabe Nason LLC in an email. Watanabe brokered the move of Stone’s group to Jenner. “Many firms profess to have ‘synergy’ with laterals but when put to the test of tracking import/export of work, fall short. Jenner has a remarkable track record of lawyers in L.A. exporting work to other offices.”
Los Angeles managing partner Rick Richmond refuses to rest on his laurels, however, and is looking at further lateral prospects. He has reached out to various headhunters throughout the city with hopes of attaining litigators in several practices.
“They want to continue diversifying their litigation practices, including intellectual property, as well as creating synergies especially with their Washington, D.C. office,” said recruiter Courtney Goldstein of Major Lindsey & Africa, who met with Richmond last week. “Here in L.A. we have a large U.S. Attorney’s office, a very strong Securities and Exchange Commission, and I think they know there’s some great talent in white collar and securities litigation.”