April 30, 2013

THE DAILY JOURNAL

By David Ruiz

SAN FRANCISCO – Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo PC announced Monday it has brought on a leader for its West Coast litigation group.

Jonathan A. Shapiro joins the firm’s San Francisco office as a member after 20 years at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP.

Shapiro said Mintz Levin is the right firm for his practice and for the California market.
‘We want practices that dovetail with other practices so we can enhance and build.’ – Robert I. Bodian

“It’s a very smart legal team,” Shapiro said, “but it’s also a team that delivers high-touch client service and has a very pragmatic approach to managing cases.”
Shapiro joined WilmerHale in 1992 as a summer associate, worked as a corporate and commercial litigator and helped build the firm’s securities litigation practice. He said he looks forward to doing the same at Mintz Levin but “bigger and better and more in sync with the client base.”

Robert I. Bodian, managing member for Mintz Levin, said Shapiro is a perfect fit for the firm.

“John brings an excellent professional reputation,” Bodian said.

The San Francisco office of Mintz Levin opened in July and has steadily added partners to its practices, including litigation and real estate. Bodian said the best way to outfit an office is by mirroring the firm’s nationwide goals.

“The best formula for success is to not have any odd, one-off situations, but to enhance the national practice,” he said.

The firm hired Paul G. Churchill last October as the San Francisco managing member and earlier this month added Daniel J. Herling and Michelle Gillette. Both Herling and Gillette work in the product liability group.

Bodian said adding partners to an office shouldn’t be a “plug and play” maneuver because there is no point in adding an attorney if other practices don’t benefit from the hire.

“We want practices that dovetail with other practices so we can enhance and build,” Bodian said. “That’s been the focus.”

With the addition of Shapiro, the San Francisco office now has eight partners and three associates.

A WilmerHale spokeswoman said Shapiro’s years of work at the firm were a “great demonstration of his dedication.” The firm wished him well going forward.

Larry Watanabe of legal recruiting firm Watanabe Nason LLC represented Shapiro in the move.

Shapiro’s first day was Saturday.

“Everybody works on Saturday here,” he said. “But don’t worry, it wasn’t a full day.”