TIMOTHY R. GRAVES
Managing Partner
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith
Timothy Graves has been managing partner of the Los Angeles office of Lewis Brisbois since 1999 and serves on the management committee, helping to create the firm’s national practice group system. Lewis Brisbois has grown from several dozen attorneys and three offices in 1985, when Graves joined the firm, to more than 1,100 attorneys in more than 40 offices and 26 states. Graves, the original chairman of the firm’s health care practice, is an authority on alternative billing measures and litigation-management analytics and has represented a variety of health care providers and medical-device manufacturers. He established the firm’s first national pro bono program and serves on its oversight committee. He also has served on the board of the Southern California Defense Counsel and on the L.A. County Judicial Review Committee.
What was your proudest moment?
My proudest moment was walking up to receive my law degree and having my parents there to witness the event. Both of them had come from farming families where no members had attended college. They started working the day after finishing high school in the local textile mill and as a clerk in a dentist office and stayed each place for the next 40 years. I will never forget seeing the smiles on their faces.
What is your alma mater?
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, law school and undergraduate
What is your next project?
There are a number of projects we are working on that have a common goal of recognizing and promoting the next generation of firm leadership including young and diverse attorneys. I have been fortunate to be part of a firm that has led the way in all diversity measurements for many years. I hope to maintain and increase upon that commitment.
Who is your hero?
Having grown up a die hard UNC Tarheels basketball fan, I always admired Dean Smith, the longtime coach at the school. He took over a team on probation and was hung in effigy in his early years. Through it all, he established a tradition of excellence and integrity on and off the court. He integrated the program in the 1960s before any others in the south and created a close-knit family of alumni that still exists today.
What do you like best about Los Angeles?
I came from a small town in North Carolina and came to Los Angeles straight out of law school in 1985. It was truly eye opening. Starting then and through today, I have been fascinated by the wide variety of backgrounds, hometowns, interests and causes of the folks in this town. I have traveled to every state in the country and there is nowhere that matches Los Angeles.
