The nation’s largest law firms continue to pick up attorneys from San Francisco-based Heller Ehrman LLP as it dissolves, and Locke Lord Bissell & Lidell LLP joined the trend by adding former Heller Ehrman attorneys to its Los Angeles office.
Last week, the Texas-based firm picked up litigators Jon Rewinski and Stephen Tuggy alongside transactional attorneys Neal Brockmeyer and Christopher Husa.
In addition to the four attorneys, Locke Lord is expanding its downtown L.A. office by 5,449 square feet, with room for further growth.
“Our group is thrilled to be joining Locke Lord,” Rewinski said. “This is a firm that is on the move with a demonstrated commitment to the L.A. market.”
Locke Lord now houses 39 attorneys in its L.A. office, and firm leaders said they plan to hire more staff in the region.
Over the past few months, former Heller Ehrman attorneys have scattered across Los Angeles and landed in a variety of national firms. Last month, former Heller Ehrman firmwide managing partner Robert Hubbell joined L.A. powerhouse Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Also last month, Proskauer Rose LLP added insurance coverage litigators Nancy Sher Cohen and Rene Siemens as partners.
Election Protection
As Nov. 4 neared, local attorneys were preparing to participate in Election Protection, a nonpartisan voter protection coalition designed to help voters gain access to the polls and overcome any obstacles to voting on Election Day.
The coalition, which is led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, gathered attorneys and law firm staff from across L.A. County to work voter hotlines and, if problems arose, to file lawsuits challenging voter intimidation practices and other voter-related issues.
Miles Cooley, a litigator at Reed Smith LLP, led the Election Protection happenings in the firm’s downtown L.A. office.
“The firm’s lawyers are out there,” Cooley said.
Cooley said about three dozen L.A. attorneys and staff members signed up to volunteer on Election Day. At the hotline center in the firm’s office, the volunteers were ready to address problems from voters who experienced such issues as closed polling stations and voting machine malfunctions.
Lawyers from firms Bingham McCutchen LLP and Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP were also participating in the Election Protection effort.
Female Power
Female attorneys and executives overran Los Angeles two weeks ago when several national law firms held networking events.
Sedgwick Detert Moran & Arnold LLP lawyers invaded the exclusive Peninsula Beverly Hills for tea, while attorneys from L.A. firm Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP shut down the Century City Sephora store. Also in Century City, McGuire Woods LLP organized a wine tasting with Julie Brosterman, chief executive of oenophile event business Women & Wine.
The events are part of a trend of large law firms using more women leadership forums to promote diversity. At all three events, women associates and partners mingled with local female executives to build business relationships and discuss issues of concern to women who work at law firms or corporations.
During tea at the Peninsula, the women listened to Chicago researcher Arin Reeves, who discussed the way women and men deal with power differently.
Some women, including PNC Business Credit Executive Vice President Gail Bernstein, then made their way to Sheppard Mullin’s Sephora event.
At the beauty retailer, lawyers and executives chatted among the aisles of and received makeup tips from staff members.
Staff reporter Alexa Hyland can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 235.
