A lobbyist and an attorney have joined forces to create a Los Angeles firm that provides expertise in their two fields.
“There are firms that combine law and lobbying, but very few to the degree that we are promoting that combination,” said Cynthia McClain-Hill, who merged her boutique law firm, McClain-Hill Associates, earlier this month with Advocacy Group, a Sacramento-based lobbying group.
The new firm, Strategic Counsel, will lobby before the California legislature, Los Angeles City Council and state and local boards and commissions. Clients include ChevronTexaco Corp., International Truck and Engine Corp. and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“We have found many of our clients’ legal problems also involve public policy-related components,” she said. “By paying attention to the public policy environment, we can prevent problems before they arise or effectively solve them.”
Advocacy Group was founded by Mel Assagai, a former journalist who spent 12 years with former state Sen. David Roberti and five years as a chief lobbyist for the State Bar of California.
Assagai and McClain-Hill have worked together for utilities, real estate developers, insurers and telecommunications companies. Locally, they represent Comcast Corp. and Majestic Realty Co. in matters before the Los Angeles City Council.
More Piper
DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP snagged an eight-person team of litigation attorneys from Dewey Ballantine LLP’s Los Angeles office.
The acquisition is the first since Jan. 1, when the merger between the former Piper Rudnick LLP, which has 50 people in two Los Angeles offices, and Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP became effective.
The new attorneys, including three partners, focus on real estate and join the 27-attorney litigation practice group at DLA Piper Rudnick’s local office. As a result of the team’s move, Dewey’s local litigation practice dropped to 13.
Downtown Commissioner
Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn appointed a Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP litigation attorney to the City of Los Angeles Planning Department’s Central Area Planning Commission.
S. Nancy Whang, an associate who focuses on commercial litigation, banking and insurance matters, will review land use decisions that affect downtown Los Angeles.
Brussels Base
McDermott Will & Emery quadrupled the size of its Belgian office following a Feb. 10 agreement to acquire nine attorneys from a regulatory boutique firm in Brussels.
Operating under the name McDermott Will & Emery/Stanbrook LLP, the lawyers, who include two partners, come from Stanbrook & Hooper in Brussels and handle regulatory advice and merger filings before the European Commission. Past filings include MCI’s mergers with British Telecom and Worldcom.
Staff reporter Amanda Bronstad can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 225, or at
[email protected]
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