When Toyota Motor Corp. was able to put an end to most claims related to unintended accelerations with a settlement valued at up to $1.6 billion last year, it marked a milestone for Toyota lead counsel Lisa Gilford. It also got her a job offer from Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, a white-shoe New York firm that had been brought in to work with her on the case. Gilford, a heavyweight in the field of product liability, accepted and started in Skadden’s downtown L.A. office Aug. 12.
“We had been working together successfully for two years and it seemed to make a lot of sense,” she said. “The client was happy to put that chapter of the litigation behind it and I think Skadden was too.”
Gilford is the first litigator hired as a lateral partner in Skadden’s 100-attorney downtown office in eight years. The firm rarely hires laterally, preferring to promote partners from within its ranks.
Tom Nolan, chairman of Skadden’s West Coast litigation practice, worked closely with Gilford during the Toyota case and recruited her personally.
“A Lisa Gilford doesn’t come up on the market very often,” he said. “Lisa’s background in the products liability field was an area, on the West Coast in particular, where we didn’t feel we had sufficient depth.”
The move also meets a need for Gilford, who previously worked in the downtown L.A. office of Atlanta’s Alston & Bird LLP. She has been looking to increase her work in mass tort litigation, something in which Skadden has a national presence.
“There was a really good fit in how I wanted to expand my personal practice,” she said. “Skadden is frequently involved in higher-profile mass tort work and I suspect I will be getting more of that now that I’ve joined a larger firm with a larger platform.”
Growing Santa Clarita Firm
Santa Clarita’s largest law firm has been beefing up.
Poole & Shaffery LLP’s hiring this week of new partner Hunt Braly marks a foray for the firm into land-use and governmental affairs work, and follows last year’s opening of an office in Walnut Creek. The firm, which specializes in business transactions and litigation, now has 19 attorneys in five offices.
“One of the increasing areas we’ve been seeing is how to deal with regulations and Hunt brings that experience to our firm,” said Managing Partner John Shaffery.
Braly, a registered lobbyist and former chief of staff to California State Sen. Ed Davis from 1983 to 1992, often works with developers of projects in Santa Clarita and surrounding areas. He entered private practice after failed runs for the Assembly in 1990 and 1992.
His clients have included Casden Properties LLC in its failed development of a Santa Clarita property and Santa Clarita’s Henry Mayo Hospital during its approvals process.
“Dealing with people who have problems with government is the great majority of my practice,” he said. “I also handle real estate matters, and Poole & Shaffery has a real estate and real estate litigation practice, so that will be complementary.”
Pasadena Outpost
Harris Ginsberg LLP has opened a Pasadena office, becoming one of the first major family law firms to establish a presence there.
Like most large family law firms in Los Angeles County, Harris Ginsberg is based on the Westside, close to the affluent client base in that region. But firm leaders saw an opening to attract more clients in Pasadena and other nearby wealthy enclaves such as San Marino and La Cañada-Flintridge.
“Most of the family law attorneys in the Pasadena area are solo practitioners or smaller law offices,” said Andrea Balian, a partner at the firm. “We felt there was a need for a family law firm to be in that area. There’s definitely a significant client base in Pasadena and the surrounding area that would hire a larger law firm.”
The 12-attorney firm is known for handling divorce and child custody cases for celebrities and other high-net-worth individuals. Balian declined to discuss specific clients, but in recent years, the firm has made news in its representation of actor Mel Gibson in a paternity case and German businessman Daniel Giersch in a high-profile custody battle with actress Kelly Rutherford.
News and Notes
Former City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has joined the downtown L.A. office of Cleveland’s Tucker Ellis LLP, the firm announced last week.
Staff reporter Alfred Lee can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 221.
