WHO’S WHO IN LAW – ROBERT L. KAHAN

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ROBERT L. KAHAN, 66

FIRM: Eisner Kahan & Gorry

LAW SCHOOL: UCLA

SELECTED CLIENTS: California Pizza Kitchen founders Larry Flax and Richard Rosenfield, Tony Hawk, Alan Hamel, Suzanne Somers, VMG Partners, Ascent Capital Group Inc.

YEARS IN PRACTICE: 41

Biggest Deal: Sale of California Pizza Kitchen to PepsiCo.

Best Career Moment: Formation of Stein & Kahan in 1975.

Worst: A long and involved negotiation for the sale of a client ultimately fell apart on account of the sudden loss of value of its underlying assets on account of the economic downturn in 2006-07.

The Secret to Closing a Deal: I believe an effective deal lawyer handles challenging issues by recognizing the legitimacy of the other side’s position even if you disagree with it, rather than just dismissing it offhand – which often happens. But most important, I believe the secret to closing a deal is to understand what is driving the underlying deal in the first place.

If I Weren’t an Attorney: Sports announcer.

My Colleagues Don’t Know: I ran in the Olympic torch relay in 1984 in Los Angeles. There were thousands of people on my route waving American flags – what a great patriotic feeling!

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