What are the biggest changes you’ve noticed downtown since you started working there?
The biggest change I see is the children. They are at Whole Foods shopping with their parents, being pushed in strollers around L.A. Live, and teenagers are skateboarding on lower Grand Avenue and down lower Fourth Street. DTLA is becoming a neighborhood rather than just an office destination or luxury USC housing option. It is a city where people are coming from all over the world to experience its vibe, food, and culture. They are also rediscovering and rebranding its rich history and hidden neighborhoods.
Business: Lamb & Kawakami
Neighborhood: Bunker Hill
Title: Managing Partner
Years working downtown: 27
Why does it make sense for your business to be located downtown?
DTLA is a central and prestigious location for our domestic and international clients to meet with our business, real estate, and tax attorneys to make deals happen. Our office overlooking the Disney Hall is the perfect place to inspire our entrepreneurial law practice, creating an environment where our attorneys, clients, and their businesses can flourish. The proximity of the state, federal, and probate courts allows our attorneys to walk to their hearings and be part of the fabric of DTLA.
What are your favorite things about downtown?
I love the diversity of DTLA’s people, food, and opportunities for fun. As a certified minority firm we are proud of the diverse ethnic, legal, and business backgrounds and experiences of everyone at the firm. For example, a group of my partners are very involved in the Japanese community and we have clients in Little Tokyo and are lucky to celebrate their culture and food.
Least favorite?
Bond measures were just passed to help address two of DTLA’s biggest issues: traffic and homelessness. These are both areas of interest to our firm and we have partners attempting to help address solutions for the latter.
Do you live downtown as well? If not, could you see yourself moving there?
Being originally from the Detroit area, I grew up with dreams of the ocean. Living in Redondo Beach and working in DTLA gives me the best of both worlds. I can have a morning beach walk and then spend a night at the Hollywood Bowl, the Mark Taper, the Disney Hall, Dodger Stadium, or Staples Center, or wandering the Arts District, local museums, or just having dinner at one of our amazing DTLA restaurants.
Where do you see downtown in five years? Ten years?
There is so much new development going on in DTLA that it is going to take a while to absorb it all, especially all the new retail. I can see it slowly working its way into a unique cohesive whole that will offer a city where you can walk from your home or office to your favorite museum, concert, or theater venue, stop by the library before heading over to Staples for a game, then struggle to choose from the best restaurants and bars in the world. DTLA has the opportunity to set the standard for urban amenities in a very walkable city.
– Hayley Fox
