Alschuler Deal Boosts Bingham’s L.A. Office by 40 Lawyers for a Total of 350 in California, Nearly 1,000 Worldwide, Marks Bingham’s Second Combination for 2007, Third in California Since 2002, Eighth in 10 Years
LOS ANGELES (May 1, 2007) LAWFUEL – The Law Newswire – Bingham McCutchen LLP will add 40 lawyers in Los Angeles through a combination announced today with Alschuler Grossman LLP, a firm with a national reputation for handling high-stakes, high-profile litigation and deep roots in Los Angeles. “With the addition of Alschuler, Bingham has significantly expanded its litigation strength in Southern California to match our unparalleled corporate, private-equity and environmental talent,” said Chairman Jay S. Zimmerman, noting that both firms’ clients with connections to California, the world’s seventh largest economy, would benefit from the combination.
“Alschuler joining Bingham reflects our commitment to growing strategically in key financial markets to accommodate client needs locally, nationally and globally.” The Alschuler combination is Bingham’s eighth since 1997, third in California since 2002, and second for 2007, following the joint enterprise with 22-lawyer Tokyo restructuring firm, Sakai & Mimura, in January. Bingham now has nearly 1,000 lawyers worldwide, with 350 in California in offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, Santa Monica, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Walnut Creek. In addition to its strong litigation practice, Alschuler also does real estate, real-estate finance, mergers, acquisitions, securities and intellectual property work, which complements other Bingham practices.
Alschuler’s clients include an impressive array of domestic and multinational Fortune 500 companies, and major international accounting, law and insurance companies. “We are thrilled to join Bingham and its outstanding group of transactional lawyers and litigators who will complement our own practice,” said Marshall B. Grossman, the leading name partner of the firm he joined in 1965 upon graduation from law school, noting that he has long admired Bingham’s success in attracting first-rate law firms internationally, nationally and locally.
“Bingham has brought together California’s ‘A Team’ in litigation, transactional work and intellectual property through its prior successful combinations,” added Grossman, referring to Bingham’s California combinations with the former McCutchen Doyle Brown & Enersen LLP (based in San Francisco) in 2002 and Los Angeles-based Riordan & McKinzie in 2003. Richard J. Welch, managing partner of Bingham’s Los Angeles office, agreed and noted that the addition of Alschuler significantly strengthens Bingham’s Southern California base to better serve clients.
“We are now as strong in litigation as we are in our corporate and environmental practices in Los Angeles,” said Welch, who came to Bingham from Riordan & McKinzie, a firm founded by former Los Angeles mayor and now-Bingham of counsel Richard Riordan, known for its high-level corporate and private equity work. “This is great for our clients and a natural for us — Alschuler Grossman is a firm we have worked with extensively and know well. We know how good they are.” Founded in 1952, Alschuler Grossman LLP is a leading litigation firm in Southern California, known for achieving outstanding results in significant “bet-the-company” cases.
The firm has a well-earned national reputation for having outstanding commercial litigators, with extensive trial experience. Alschuler has received national attention for its representation in accountants’ liability and securities class actions, major contract disputes and complex business litigation. Alschuler’s clients include Blockbuster, Grupo Televisa, AIG, CNA, Washington Mutual, CB Richard Ellis, Grant Thornton, and BDO Seidman.
In 1999, an Alschuler litigation team, led by Grossman, obtained a defense jury verdict for Arthur Andersen LLP in a $1.3 billion class action securities lawsuit filed in Arizona state court. Currently, it represents Grupo Televisa in its corporate and litigation battles with Univision and is defending Blockbuster in patent infringement litigation filed by Netflix. View a list of the Alschuler lawyers that have joined Bingham McCutchen.Known worldwide for its legal work in complex financial and corporate transactions, securities and other regulatory matters, and high-stakes litigation, Bingham McCutchen LLP has 13 offices worldwide.
Under Zimmerman’s leadership, Bingham has grown steadily and confidently through a series of combinations and acquisitions to become a major force in the consolidation of the legal industry, benefiting clients by deepening the firm’s legal talent across a broad range of practice areas in key geographic locations. Bingham’s clients include Oracle, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank AG NY, Intel Corporation, Legg Mason Partners Fund, Boston Scientific, Prudential Financial, Wells Fargo Bank and Morgan Stanley.
