A breakaway litigation firm has hit the ground running after emerging as the latest iteration of a group that shut down in the spring.
Schonbuch Hallissy LLP in May emerged onto the scene with a new Brentwood headquarters and a pair of satellite offices. It largely takes the place of Daniels Fine Israel Schonbuch & Lebovits LLP, a Century City firm that shut down in April after 39 years.
Founder Michael Schonbuch said there had been two or three “different versions” of the firm that he’d joined in 1989 and he began considering reforming it last year, ahead of its expiring lease, to account for the leadership roles he’d assumed amid other retirements.
“That’s when I started getting the idea that I was going to reform, rebrand, relocate and start a whole new firm,” he said. “Many people from the prior firm have come with us, which I’m thankful for.”
Fellow founder Erin Hallissy joined Schonbuch as a name partner for the new firm, which officially opened its doors on May 1. Other co-founders and co-owners include Bernadette Brouses, Jonathan Gerber and Mary Fersch. Onetime name partners from the prior firm Paul Fine and Mark Israel have also joined as of counsel.
In total, the firm got started with 17 attorneys, 15 of whom were based in Brentwood. Schonbuch said he has additionally secured two lateral moves and five first-year attorneys who plan to join after passing their bar exams in the fall.
As before, Schonbuch said he wants to build a reputation for Schonbuch Hallissy being an aggressive litigation firm not afraid to fight the battle in court in lieu of a settlement.
“There’s a lot of litigators out there who don’t go to trial. We do both,” he said. “Our strength and emphasis is really the trial work, which is what separates us from other litigators out there.”
Outside of the Brentwood home base, Schonbuch Hallissy also launched with offices in Westlake Village and Mission Viejo. Schonbuch said he is in talks with a smaller Sacramento firm to acquire that operation.
“We’re not going to be one of those law firms that’s all over the country, but we really want to have California covered,” he said. “We do get cases all over the state, so it’s nice to have locations in different geographic regions. It’s better for the clients, too.”
In terms of the physical space, Schonbuch said he saw an opportunity to change things up there with the firm’s migration. The new location, at about 8,000 square feet, has 25 individual offices, three conference rooms and a lounge-kitchen area with an outdoor balcony.
The former Century City location was a little old school in design, he admitted, and through attrition and the onset of more remote work, it often felt a little empty.
“Because of that, I found the old space had way too much square footage and we needed to cut down,” Schonbuch said. “I was looking for a different atmosphere, so we went to a very modern space that we built out. It looks more like a tech company. We wanted something with a different look.”
