Thursday, October 25, 2001
Page 3
Local Firms Relocate, Celebrate Anniversary
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Two Los Angeles law firms will be making big changes in their Los Angeles offices and a third will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in the coming weeks.
Thirty attorneys and seven paralegals from Loeb and Loeb’s downtown Los Angeles office are relocating to the firm’s Century City office Monday in the final phase of a plan to consolidate the majority of its Los Angeles attorneys into one office.
Only the 10 attorneys who make up the firm’s Real Estate department will remain downtown, firm Executive Director Ron Yano said.
The move has been in the making for the past three years since the firm decided to consolidate.
“We can better serve our clients this way,” Yano said.
Loeb and Loeb currently has 47 attorneys at its downtown office and 54 at its Century City location.
The firm has sublet the unneeded downtown office space to the firms of Hahn & Bolson and Breidenbach, Buckley, Huchting, Halm & Hamblet, Yano said.
Another venerable local firm, Richards, Watson & Gershon, is moving into its newly renovated Los Angeles office on Nov. 5.
Richards Watson has just completed a nearly $1.9 million renovation on its new offices located at the KPMG Tower at 355 South Grand Avenue.
The 40th and 41st floors of the tower will house 26 partners, 35 associates and of counsel lawyers, and 60 other Los Angeles-based employees under a 10-year lease with Maguire Partners.
The firm represents dozens of cities, counties and other governmental entities across California, and has been representing an increasing number of private-sector clients in recent years.
Making the move from the BP Center on South Hope is a statement about the promising future of the firm, Bill Strausz, chairman of the firm’s Management Committee, said.
“This has been a particularly successful year for us and the move to modern, invigorating, efficient new offices will provide the momentum to build on that success in the coming years,” Strausz said in a statement.
Richards Watson has been headquartered in Los Angeles since 1954.
The firm of Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro will celebrate its 20th anniversary on November 1.
Jeffer Mangels has one of the largest hospitality practices in the country, representing owners, operators and lenders involved with resorts and hotels around the world. The firm, which has offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco and an affiliate in Las Vegas, also handles general business and commercial matters, bankruptcy and creditor’s rights and labor and employment.
In addition, Jeffer Mangels deals with land use, environment and energy and real estate.
The firm recently won a multi-million dollar jury verdict, one of the largest in the California last year, for a start-up satellite manufacturer.
“It’s very gratifying to know that in the twenty-first century, our firm is paving the way,” founding partner James Butler said. “We vow to continue providing the best possible legal services, with the same progressive vision and dedication we have demonstrated for the last 20 years.”
“And while our history is abundant with notable victories and accomplishments, there is no question that our best years are yet to come,” he said.
Copyright 2001, Metropolitan News Company