Jenner & Block Raids Kirkland to Open in Calif., Is Growing in All Offices
Jenner & Block is opening a new office Los Angeles, putting at the helm two litigation partners lured from the local office of Kirkland & Ellis. The new LA outpost is the first office west of the Mississippi River for the nationally known law firm.
Meanwhile, despite the difficult economy, the 470-attorney Chicago-based firm plans further expansion—not only in Los Angeles but in all four of its offices, says managing partner Susan Levy. Jenner is now recruiting aggressively laterally, she tells the ABA Journal today.
“We’ve been conservatively managed, and we’ve got a strong capital position, and so we look at this as an opportunity for us to grow,” she says of the global financial crisis.
As detailed in a firm press release, Jenner’s new 11,000-square-foot office in Los Angeles will be headed by Rick Richmond and Brent Caslin, who has a significant Asia-based practice.
Jenner, which is particularly known for its litigation work, now has offices in four cities. The other two are Washington, D.C., and New York.
Levy declined to give specific numbers concerning the firm’s planned growth. However, she tells the ABA Journal that the firm is doing very well, and is on track to do even better in 2009 than it did in 2008. Its 2008 financials, she notes, topped 2007.
“Jenner & Block has chosen to grow in a deliberate manner, managing its resources conservatively,” she says in the release. “Though current market conditions are affecting all firms, Jenner & Block’s conservative management, strong capital position, and institutional client base give it the flexibility to make this strategic move now.”
Levy says the firm is open to a variety of options concerning growth, and credits the global economic downturn for boosting the firm’s well-known commercial litigation practice. The firm is also particularly known for its media work, and Jenner’s new offices in Los Angeles and New York, which opened in 2005, are enhancing its intellectual property, entertainment and new media work, she tells the ABA Journal.
A number of law firms have recently opened offices in Los Angeles, as discussed in earlier ABAJournal.com posts.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Jenner & Block Lays Off 34 Staff”
Press release (2005): “Jenner & Block Opens New York Office”
ABAJournal.com: “Edwards Angell to Open LA Office, Continuing Trend”
ABAJournal.com: “Minority-Owned Midwest Firm Expands to LA and Phoenix”
ABAJournal.com: “Downturn Didn’t Stop at Least Eight Law Firms from Opening LA Offices”
