n a room filled with some of L.A.’s most high-powered lawyers, it’s not surprising to find plenty of informed opinions and unique insights.
And when that space is the ballroom at the L.A. Grand Hotel, rather than a corporate boardroom or a packed courthouse, things get even more interesting and wide-ranging.
There were no billable hours involved, as far as we know, when nearly 400 of the brightest lights in L.A.’s legal community gathered to honor their peers last week at the Business Journal’s Leaders in Law awards event.
Those in attendance included winner Hueston Hennigan’s John Hueston, who represented Elon Musk in his battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Also on hand was Miller Barondess’ Skip Miller, who is representing the city of Inglewood and Mayor James Butts Jr. in their battle against Forum owner Madison Square Garden Co.
Those walking away with awards included Claudia Teran at Fox; Aline Taireh at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield; Larry Seymour at Latham & Watkins; Loryn Dunn Arkow at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan; and Angela Agrusa at DLA Piper.
Winner Erica Van Loon from Lathrop Gage gave a shout-out to Patty Glaser, partner at Glaser Weil. “Patty Glaser, who is here tonight, was my mentor,” Van Loon said. Others raised the importance of mentors as well. “Mentorship is one of the most important elements of success,” said Boone Park from Fair.
Keynote speaker Chalak Richards, co-
director of the Parris Institute for Professional Excellence at Pepperdine University’s School of Law, talked up the value and importance of diversity. And Stacy Phillips from Blank Rome even weighed in with an economic forecast. “We believe the legal industry will continue to be strong in 2020,” she said.
Like we said, it was a wide-ranging night.
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Speaking of legal minds, RBG is A-OK with the Berggruen Institute. The L.A.-based organization named Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg the winner of its annual $1 million Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture. “I am delighted the jury has chosen to honor such a prolific leader in the field of jurisprudence,” Institute founder and Chairman Nicolas Berggruen said in a statement. Ginsburg will accept her award in New York Dec. 16.
