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California In Brief
California In Brief
The most populous state in the US, California contains eight of the fifty biggest cities in the country, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose. Its gross state product is similarly impressive: over $1.6 trillion. California is not just the largest economy in the US but one of the largest in the entire world. Indeed, the state accounts for over 13 per cent of the United States’ total output, and the next largest state economy – Texas – makes up just over half of that figure.Over a hundred Fortune 1000 companies across a range of industries are headquartered there, including household names Chevron, Northrop Grumman and Wells Fargo. After the bursting of the ‘dotcom bubble’, the technology sector is thriving once again, and Silicon Valley is home to eBay, Google, Intel and Apple to name but a few.
Hollywood is recognised worldwide as the major centre for the film and television industry, and Walt Disney has its HQ in Burbank. Elsewhere, Amgen, McKesson – the largest pharmaceutical distributor in North America – and a range of energy and utility companies such as Occidental Petroleum, Edison International and Sempra Energy are also based in the state.
This dynamic economy and range of industry leads to a great deal of work for the leading law firms in the state. We have identified over 700 individuals whom their peers and clients hailed as leaders in their chosen fields of law. We have classified these experts under 25 practice areas. They come from firms ranging from small boutiques to major international corporate outfits. The following firms stood out for the depth and breadth of the expertise they command in California, and should be regarded as the leaders in the state.
Editorial
Editorial: California
Editorial: Private Funds in California
The 14 individuals from 10 firms featured in this chapter generally fall into two camps: those who deal with fund formation and transactions on behalf of private equity and venture capital; and those whose practices focus primarily on the formation and servicing of another popular form of investment, hedge funds.
Editorial: Product Liability in California
Product liability proves to be an active legal area, with an extremely high volume of cases tried in California. Pharmaceutical and medical device litigation is especially lively and many lawyers from the state are called upon to give their expertise across the United States.
Editorial: Project Finance in California
Eleven individuals from six firms make up the project finance chapter of this publication. These lawyers are recommended for their accomplished representation of sponsors and lenders in project financing and refinancing transactions.
Editorial: Real Estate in California
Continuing expansion in the increasingly competitive real estate sector ensures that this is one of the best-represented practice areas in the publication and a key competency for many of the law firms listed on the following pages. The practitioners we list provide advice to clients – tenants, investors and developers – on all aspects of buying, selling, letting, developing and managing real estate. There are 52 practitioners listed on the following pages, from 28 firms across the state of California.
Editorial: Trademarks in California
California’s lawyers have achieved national and international renown in trademark law, a field which is experiencing continuing growth as enterprises come to rely increasingly on their marks in overpopulated markets.
Profiled Firms
Firm Profiles: California
Bingham McCutchen LLP
Bingham McCutchen LLP has seen considerable growth in the last decade. With more than eight major combinations successfully completed in the past decade the firm has established a global presence and calls on the services of over 1000 lawyers, in 14 offices across the US, Europe and Asia. At the time of going to press the firm had announced its merger with New Tokyo International Law Office – its second Japanese merger in six months.
DLA Piper US LLP
A firm with 3,400 lawyers in 25 countries, DLA Piper boasts an enviable international network, offering clients seamless support in a global market. As well as representing professional firms and financial institutions, Global 1000 and Fortune 500 clients, the firm also champions many new businesses. In the following pages, DLA fields 12 times, principally in the corporate and transactional areas.
Fenwick & West LLP
Silicon Valley powerhouse Fenwick & West LLP was founded in 1972 by lawyers looking to take advantage of the region’s growing reputation as a centre for technological development.
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP was formed in Los Angeles in the 1880s, whereupon it landed one of the region’s most important clients: the Southern Pacific Railroad. Today the firm counts big names such as Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Hilton Hotels, Intel and Wal-Mart among its many clients. Gibson Dunn is now a global law firm with approximately 800 attorneys in 13 locations; four in its home state. The firm performed exceptionally well in our research: 25 nominees in 13 of the chapters.
Heller Ehrman LLP
Heller Ehrman can claim to be one of the oldest law firms in California, and is able to trace its history back to 1890 when Emanuel Heller opened his practice in San Francisco. Partners from the firm have since been involved in some of the largest projects in the state’s history, including negotiating the financing for the construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and serving as general counsel to the Golden Gate Bridge District, arranging for the bonds to carry the project. Recent mergers and acquisitions mean that today the firm has 13 offices worldwide, including four in its home state.
Focus On Corporate Counsel
Corporate Counsel Q&A: California
California Corporate Counsel: Javade Chaudhri
Executive vice president and general counsel (Also serving as chief environmental officer) Sempra Energy
Sempra Energy was created in 1998 through a merger of the parent companies of two long-established and highly respected private sector utilities. Sempra is a Fortune 500 energy services company based in San Diego, serving the largest customer base of any energy utility in the United States and with approximately 14,000 employees worldwide. The Sempra Energy companies develop energy infrastructure, operate utilities and provide related products and services to more than 29 million consumers in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, South America and Asia. In 2006 Sempra produced revenues of nearly $12 billion.