February 28, 2013
THE DAILY JOURNAL
By Ameera Butt
LOS ANGELES – Susan C. Alker jumped from Reed Smith LLP to the Los Angeles office of Winston & Strawn LLP on Wednesday, part of the firm’s effort to grow its corporate practice on the West Coast, firm leaders said.
“Susan [has a] great skill set, which is asset-based lending, cash flow loans, debt financing,” said Eric E. Sagerman, managing partner of Winston’s Los Angeles office. “She is a bread and butter finance attorney that will integrate extremely well with Winston’s national finance platform.”
Prior to joining Reed Smith, Alker was at O’Melveny & Meyers LLP. She said she was happy to be reunited with her former O’Melveny colleagues like partners Warren R. Loui and Jim Levin and of counsel J. Anthony Borrego, all of whom now work at Winston.
Another reason for the move was to grow her practice, she said, noting that “Winston has a very strong reputation and strong relationship with the major banking institutions nationwide.
Sagerman said Alker’s addition rounds out a group of former O’Meleveny corporate attorneys at Winston.
“It brings the incredibly deep Winston finance platform out to the West Coast,” he said, “and it augments our corporate department, which we are very focused on growing.”
Strategic lateral hires to Winston in both Southern and Northern California are imminent, according to legal recruiter Larry Watanabe, whose firm, Watanabe Nason LLC, facilitated Alker’s move.
“Susan Alker has a corporate finance practice involving financial institutions and a strong client following,” Watanabe said.