Practice Notes

Bingham McCutchen finalized its acquisition of entertainment attorney Marshall Grossman's 40-lawyer L.A. litigation shop, Alschuler Grossman. Grossman, 68, said he agreed to stick around for at least five years in exchange for a compensation package worth at least as much as he'd made at his old firm, which colleagues there said was about $2.5 million. Neither Grossman nor Bingham Chairman Jay Zimmerman would comment on whether other Alschuler partners would be guaranteed salaries.

Grossman said his litigation shop grosses about $40 million; he brings a book of business he estimated at about $15 million. Grossman has been angling to join up with a national firm for more than a year, an ambition that wasn't shared by former name partners Stanton 'Larry' Stein and Robert Kahan. On Jan. 1, they split off, with about 35 lawyers, to form Dreier Stein & Kahan.

Talks between Alschuler Grossman and Bingham got going in November when Grossman and Zimmerman met for lunch at Los Angeles' City Club, along with Alschuler's managing partner, Bruce Friedman, and Bingham's Richard Welch, the managing partner in L.A. There were some pre-existing ties, Welch recalled. Grossman had done litigation work for Riordan & McKinzie, the corporate boutique acquired by Bingham in 2003. Friedman had also helped Riordan with insurance-coverage matters. And Grossman had represented Richard Riordan, the founding partner of Riordan & McKinzie and the former mayor of L.A., who is quoted on the Alschuler home page calling Grossman 'the toughest litigator in Los Angeles.'

The practices also fit. Bingham was weak in litigation, and Alschuler needed a corporate component, especially with most of its transactional expertise leaving with Stein and Kahan. Still, Friedman said his team did some due diligence by reaching out to Bingham lawyers who'd come from Riordan. While they were aware there had been heavy attrition ' about half of the Riordan attorneys have left since the 2003 merger ' they were assured that joining Bingham had been a good move.

From Bingham's perspective, the move gives it the resources to fuel expansion in the Southern California market, where it now has 140 attorneys. Statewide, Bingham has 350. '[Major f]irms such as Latham, O'Melveny and Gibson feel they're fully exposed to this market and are looking at other markets for their primary growth and investment,' Zimmerman said. 'But we see a real opportunity here.'

'If you look at Bingham in L.A. thus far, the reviews have been mixed,' said Bill Nason, a Southern California-based legal recruiter with Watanabe & Nason who wasn't involved in the deal. 'The Alschuler group will give Bingham's commercial litigation capability in L.A. a major shot in the arm.'

The Alschuler acquisition is Bingham's third in California in the past five years. It built its presence in the state by merging with 300-lawyer McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen in 2002, and acquiring Riordan & McKinzie the next year. That approach is rare ' and risky, Nason said. The only other firm that has grown comparably in California is DLA Piper.

Bingham McCutchen finalized its acquisition of entertainment attorney Marshall Grossman's 40-lawyer L.A. litigation shop, Alschuler Grossman. Grossman, 68, said he agreed to stick around for at least five years in exchange for a compensation package worth at least as much as he'd made at his old firm, which colleagues there said was about $2.5 million. Neither Grossman nor Bingham Chairman Jay Zimmerman would comment on whether other Alschuler partners would be guaranteed salaries.

Grossman said his litigation shop grosses about $40 million; he brings a book of business he estimated at about $15 million. Grossman has been angling to join up with a national firm for more than a year, an ambition that wasn't shared by former name partners Stanton 'Larry' Stein and Robert Kahan. On Jan. 1, they split off, with about 35 lawyers, to form Dreier Stein & Kahan.

Talks between Alschuler Grossman and Bingham got going in November when Grossman and Zimmerman met for lunch at Los Angeles' City Club, along with Alschuler's managing partner, Bruce Friedman, and Bingham's Richard Welch, the managing partner in L.A. There were some pre-existing ties, Welch recalled. Grossman had done litigation work for Riordan & McKinzie, the corporate boutique acquired by Bingham in 2003. Friedman had also helped Riordan with insurance-coverage matters. And Grossman had represented Richard Riordan, the founding partner of Riordan & McKinzie and the former mayor of L.A., who is quoted on the Alschuler home page calling Grossman 'the toughest litigator in Los Angeles.'

The practices also fit. Bingham was weak in litigation, and Alschuler needed a corporate component, especially with most of its transactional expertise leaving with Stein and Kahan. Still, Friedman said his team did some due diligence by reaching out to Bingham lawyers who'd come from Riordan. While they were aware there had been heavy attrition ' about half of the Riordan attorneys have left since the 2003 merger ' they were assured that joining Bingham had been a good move.

From Bingham's perspective, the move gives it the resources to fuel expansion in the Southern California market, where it now has 140 attorneys. Statewide, Bingham has 350. '[Major f]irms such as Latham, O'Melveny and Gibson feel they're fully exposed to this market and are looking at other markets for their primary growth and investment,' Zimmerman said. 'But we see a real opportunity here.'

'If you look at Bingham in L.A. thus far, the reviews have been mixed,' said Bill Nason, a Southern California-based legal recruiter with Watanabe & Nason who wasn't involved in the deal. 'The Alschuler group will give Bingham's commercial litigation capability in L.A. a major shot in the arm.'

The Alschuler acquisition is Bingham's third in California in the past five years. It built its presence in the state by merging with 300-lawyer McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen in 2002, and acquiring Riordan & McKinzie the next year. That approach is rare ' and risky, Nason said. The only other firm that has grown comparably in California is DLA Piper.