Philadelphia law firm Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP is the latest national firm to enter Southern California.
The firm entered Long Beach late last month, marking its ninth location overall and its first on the West Coast. It is opening with 10 attorneys – including five partners – that it peeled away from Long Beach firm Keesal Young & Logan.
“I’m very excited to be given the keys to build up this outpost and I know we will be very well supported by the firm,” said Esther Cho, who is partner-in-charge of this location. “They’re putting a lot of trust and confidence in us. We’re excited about the challenge and collaboration, and it does mean a lot to me, professionally.”
Stradley Ronon clearly has its sights set on litigation here, with Cho and partners David Piper, Neal Robb, Melanie Ronen and Bentley Stansbury III boasting financial services, employment and business litigation chops. Those skills line up well with the firm’s bread and butter and make it a good starting point here.
“California has been a target location for us given its active litigation market and the fact that some of our largest financial services clients are based on the West Coast,” said Michael O’Mara, managing partner of Stradley Ronon, in a statement. “Opening the office supports our current growth strategy and allows us to service clients more robustly.”
Added Jeffrey Lutsky, co-chair of Stradley Ronon: “Our new presence on the West Coast further cements our strong, national foothold in the financial services industry and builds upon our firm’s dedication to expanding our litigation practice. These additions allow us to focus on growth in our core areas of investment management and business as well.”
Cho said her team has long had clients at Keesal who overlapped with Stradley Ronon.
Although Stradley Ronon was not proactively searching for an entry point into California, Cho said she reached out to a friend at the firm to discuss the breakaway opportunity.
“We were looking for a home with the right culture and the right fit in terms of personality, collegiality and collaboration, but also the right practice areas and synergies,” she said.
“The more we spoke to Stradley partners and personnel, the more we realized it was the right fit for us,” she added.
Having a brick-and-mortar presence in California, Cho added, will make it easier for the firm to continue business with its West Coast clients already in the books. Since announcing Stradley Ronon’s arrival, she said more business has already started to trickle the firm’s way.
The outpost is using a temporary Long Beach space right now, and Cho said the city – the second largest in Los Angeles County – makes sense for an attorney group that largely lives in the South Bay and Orange County.
“I’ve been working in Long Beach for 24 years and it has changed a lot. I do think there is definitely a draw to Long Beach and more people are working there than when I started,” she said. “In terms of our permanent home, I think we’re open to different ideas to get creative. I definitely have a vision for growth, as does Stradley. We’re definitely looking to become a full-service location in California.
“For now,” Cho added, “it’s Long Beach and we may stay in Long Beach but we’re open to thinking about where that permanent location will be.”
