Attorney Pours It On

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Ellie Altshuler, an associate at law firm Nixon Peabody downtown, spends her workday helping entertainment and fashion companies. She also runs her own business on the side.

Altshuler, 33, is a partner in food sauce line Hak’s, created by chef Sharone Hakman. She started working with him on developing the line after his appearance on Fox’s “Master Chef” in 2010, making use of her specialty in brand-building developed at licensing firm CMG Worldwide.

Now, Hak’s has 18 sauces, from BBQ to salad dressing, and is sold in more than 8,000 stores.

Altshuler said the experience has given her a unique perspective as she’s dealt with business decisions most entrepreneurs face such as marketing and hiring outside counsel.

“When I give advice I give it from a legal perspective, but I can put myself in clients’ shoes and not overlawyer certain things,” she said. “It’s based on real life experience.”

Buoyed by Pacific

There’s nothing like a weekend on the Pacific Ocean for Jonathan Skogmo, chief executive of Jukin Media, a Culver City company that licenses user-generated videos to big media outlets.

Skogmo, who recently acquired his American Sailing Association license, said he has found renting yachts out of Marina del Rey to be a great way to relax after a tough week of work.

“It’s really a great escape from your existing work,” he said. “All your emails and phone calls from the week go away when you’re on the boat.”

Growing up in Chicago, Skogmo’s parents had a small 17-foot, single-engine boat, but he said he didn’t truly get into boating until he saw the vast Pacific Ocean. Now, he’s on the water as often as he can push off from shore.

“If I really want to be adventurous, I go out to Catalina and anchor out there,” he said. “I can spend the night or come back that evening. That would be my favorite thing to do.”

Skogmo said he regularly rents a 57-foot marquis yacht, which has three decks, a kitchen, three estate rooms, and two showers, and brings friends and family.

“It would be my dream one day to buy a boat of my own,” he said, noting that, for now, renting means not having to pay for maintenance, which has its perks. “You know the saying about buying a boat: It’s the best and worst day of your life.”

Staff reporters Subrina Hudson and Garrett Reim contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Jonathan Diamond. He can be reached at [email protected].

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